2. What legal advice has the Counsel General provided to the Minister for Rural Affairs, North Wales, and Trefnydd regarding the Trade in Animals and Related Products (Amendment and Legislative Functions) and Animal Health (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Wales) (EU Exit) Regulations 2022? OQ59181

Thank you very much for the question, Mabon.

These regulations, which came into force in December 2022, are complex and they were subject to an urgent drafting window. We are very grateful to the work of the Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee’s report on these regulations, and we've taken steps to address the points  that were raised by the committee, including an amending instrument which will be brought forward shortly.

Thank you for that response. You will recall what appeared to me, at least, before Christmas, as being a farce in this Chamber as we were forced to vote on legislation that was entirely inappropriate. It was said at that point that it would be corrected at the first possible opportunity. We’ve just heard that it hasn’t been corrected and we are over two months into the new year. Are you content that the new regulations will be fit for purpose in legal terms, and could you give us a date as to when they will be corrected?

Well, I certainly am content that the regulations will be fit for purpose, and that any adjustments or alterations that need to be made will be done in the appropriate way. The regulations themselves provide, obviously, for the continuation of the existing legal framework within Wales and Great Britain for the importation of live animals and animal products, so they are important regulations. They were made in December 2022. As you know, your committee made a number of recommendations in respect of those. I wrote to the Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee on 18 January 2023, and again on 15 February 2023. The correspondence is in the public domain. It details the process that will be used when correcting drafting deficiencies and the use of correction slips.