These regulations in front of us today are a real cause for concern. Huw Irranca-Davies, Chair of the LJC committee, has eloquently and powerfully explained the details of the concerns regarding what is an extraordinarily defective piece of work. I understand that you will be concerned that this has to be passed before the end of this year, and I would echo the LJC's question: what are the implications if this was not passed? I look forward to hearing the Minister's response to this vital question. Also, did the Minister think about this before presenting the defective set of regulations so late in the day? I'd further ask the Minister and the Government to consider carefully how we reached this point in the first place. There are numerous flaws in the definitions, which is no small matter. There are differences between the Welsh and the English versions. It includes incorrect references. If this were course work submitted for grading, then it would have failed miserably. But it's not; it's far more serious than that. This isn't a case of arguing on policy; it's nothing to do with policy. We support the general thrust of the policy, which is sound, but we cannot in good conscience allow a flawed piece of work to become law. Someone somewhere would have to pay a heavy price for this mess, were it to be on the statute book. The Government really shouldn't be presenting this to us today. Not only is it shoddy in the extreme, but, by having poor legislation like this, with mistakes that renders the whole document useless, it potentially undermines trust in devolution and our ability to legislate properly.

I understand full well that, if this is not passed, that regulations will not be in place, and that sits uneasily with me. But, at the end of the day, that's not our fault; that responsibility sits entirely on the shoulders of the Government. It's not a case of 'better to have poor legislation than no legislation at all'—that's completely the wrong attitude. We need legislation that a court of law can uphold; we need correct legislation. This is not it. I understand that you've given assurances and that some corrections will be made as soon as is practicable, but the fact remains that we will therefore be voting on the wording in front of us today to become law—a flawed piece of work. We can't allow that and we are therefore minded to vote against these regulations. I'd finally urge this Government not to put us in this situation again.