, Plenary
Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Diolch, Llywydd. What assessment has the Minister made of public support for the Welsh Government's plans for Senedd reform?
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
I welcome the work that the Welsh Government's done on period poverty. One of the other challenges that many people in Wales face, unfortunately, is incontinence. There are roughly 150,000 people in Wales that suffer from incontinence. It's a hidden issue…
, Plenary
Business Statement and Announcement
Trefnydd, can I call for an update from the Minister for Health and Social Services in relation to NHS dentistry in Wales? I know we've had reason to visit this many times in the past, however, there are concerns in my constituency because yet another NHS…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
First Minister, nicotine vaping is substantially less harmful to people's health than smoking and is one of the most effective tools for helping people to quit the smoking habit. We know that more than three quarters of people who use e-cigarettes as adults…
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Ministerial evidence session
And you were happy with it.
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Ministerial evidence session
I appreciate that, but this is a figure in a book that you own—in this. So, by virtue of the fact that you've used it, it's your figure as well. So, I appreciate we'll be testing the Senedd Commission on these things too, but you've included that in your…
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Ministerial evidence session
So, in short, you did ask probing questions to try and test the robustness, but you seem to have just accepted the one figure, which is a standout figure, which is the capital costs potentially associated with the additional 36 Members, all of the additional…
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Ministerial evidence session
Yes. Obviously, looking at the costs in the explanatory memorandum, many of them have been provided to the Welsh Government from other organisations, including the Senedd Commission. To what extent has the Welsh Government tested those? It is an issue that…
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Ministerial evidence session
Yes, a very short question. Just in relation to, obviously, by-election costs being a lot less on the new model than they are on the regional model, I do think that there's a reasonable case to be made for by-elections. The First Minister in FMQs this week…
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Ministerial evidence session
I just want to make—. So, if a party gets 11 per cent of the vote nationally, they shouldn't be entitled to a single seat in the Senedd?
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Ministerial evidence session
So, if a party gets 12 per cent—
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Ministerial evidence session
I've heard the Minister's answer. I don't accept that it's a good one, but I've heard it. Can I ask one more question, just on this very specific issue about the electoral system? Obviously, the one thing that we do know about the Welsh Government is that…
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Ministerial evidence session
Well, of course it does. There's direct accountability to the people, isn't there, if people are able to select an individual candidate?
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Ministerial evidence session
Forgive me, but, as I understand it, with mayoral elections, people vote for an individual person. They don't vote for a group of people, do they, to be mayor of their city?
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Ministerial evidence session
And that gives you carte blanche to do anything, does it? Well, why don't you just put a line saying, 'We will legislate', in every future manifesto, and then you can do whatever you want?
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Ministerial evidence session
But there was no proposal in your manifesto to introduce the closed list system, whereby people couldn't vote for an individual candidate of their choice, was there?
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Ministerial evidence session
Yes. Obviously, as has already been said by Jane Dodds, the departure from being able to vote for an individual candidate is a huge shift, which people in Wales will not have experienced before in Senedd elections. And given that it's such a significant…
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Ministerial evidence session
So, there was no consultation as such. It was just a political decision made and put into the—
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Ministerial evidence session
And just one final question on this: so, what consultation did you undertake with anybody regarding this particular rule?
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Ministerial evidence session
So, one of the things about the current disqualification list from being a Member of the Senedd is that, very often, the disqualification doesn't kick in until somebody is elected, yes? So, for example, if somebody is a member of a body that is sponsored by…
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Ministerial evidence session
I understand.
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Ministerial evidence session
But, of course, as you've already said, there are ways that that has been interpreted for legislative purposes in other areas. What about—
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Ministerial evidence session
But we do have such laws already, don't we—for housing purposes, for example. So, someone needs to demonstrate a strong local connection to an area in order to be eligible for support from a local authority in terms of housing. I'm not saying I disagree with…
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Ministerial evidence session
But you accept that those laws might be applicable to somebody who lives in a house over the border in England? Do you not think that proximity to a constituency perhaps is a better way to address whether someone should stand for election in that…
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Ministerial evidence session
Obviously, there is a residency requirement for candidates that is in the Bill that could lead to someone, for example, on the south Wales coast standing for election in the north Wales coast, where somebody literally a house over the border in a neighbouring…
