Wales Bill

The Government new clauses and amendments deal with a number of issues, in three main categories....

My understanding is that the Government are currently considering a report from the Law Society o...

The hon. Gentleman is clearly missing the purpose of what we are trying to do. We are seeking to ...

The right hon. Gentleman will remember that when elections for police and crime commissioners fir...

I am grateful to the shadow Secretary of State for his comments. That would of course be the pref...

The Secretary of State is making it clear that the reason for separating the franchises is the Go...

That will a matter for the Welsh Government. I am seeking to give them absolute freedom over loca...

Before the Secretary of State moves on, I want to ask about the reserved powers model. He has men...

One key purpose of the Bill is to provide clarity of powers and responsibility. I want anyone who...

To go back to the earlier point about PCC elections, will they be allowed to be held in conjuncti...

The hon. Gentleman makes an important point. There was significant progress in the turnout of PCC...

I want to be clear on the separation of the franchises for PCC elections and for local government...

I suspect the hon. Lady has misunderstood the points I am trying to make. I am seeking to give th...

The Minister mentioned the amendments that I tabled. Has he had representations from the Welsh As...

I have had representations from the Welsh Government, and we are happy to continue a dialogue in ...

Does the Secretary of State agree that changes in railway powers are needed to put Wales where it...

Negotiations are ongoing on the devolution of the franchise and how it can be achieved. If we acc...

The franchise would not change the Wales boundaries if we had a different model. We have a model ...

A host of considerations, debates and discussions are taking place between the Wales Office, the ...

Will the Secretary of State explain clearly to us what the difference is between a German state-o...

The hon. Lady will be fully aware that the rail franchise is a Wales and borders franchise, and t...

Is the Secretary of State really saying that it is OK for a German state-run organisation to run ...

I think that the hon. Gentleman is missing the point. If he has read the Silk report, he will rec...

Will the Secretary of State give way?

I will give way briefly, but I want to make some progress after that.

The Secretary of State still has not answered the question. Does he not believe that, at the very...

The OJEU advert has been made for the franchise. Good progress is being made and we wish to conti...

Going back to the issue of financial controls and audits, I welcome the examinations in Wales of ...

The hon. Gentleman raises an important point. The adjustments to the auditing arrangements demons...

On the issue of the separate legal jurisdiction, while it is obviously sensible with an emerging ...

The hon. Gentleman has made an important point and contributed in Committee to that effect, which...

The right hon. Gentleman alluded to the Silk report, but Silk talks about the need to review the ...

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for the way in which he has made his intervention, but I woul...

The Secretary of State pointed to the administration of the courts in Wales and HMCTS, which has ...

The consequence, of course, would be to spend more money on public sector administration such as ...

Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?

I will come back to the hon. Member, but I want to finish my point.

I would remind Members ...

But surely the purpose of a distinct legal jurisdiction would be the quality of justice provided ...

rose—

Order. I know the Secretary of State has a lot to tell us, but I am sure he is aware that quite a...

On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. If we are under a severe time constraint, I wonder whethe...

The debate has to finish by 7.57 pm. I call the Secretary of State.

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I will of course make swift progress, as you have requested.

...

This is one of those occasions to which we return every four or five years, and I am afraid that ...

My hon. Friend mentions Glas Cymru. Is it not the case that bringing a natural monopoly such as w...

I entirely agree with my hon. Friend. We hope to convince the Government to acknowledge the great...

Another significant aspect of Glas Cymru is that it has been able to reduce its gearing and is no...

The hon. Gentleman makes a valuable point. This is a huge success story. Why are we not shouting ...

May I also point out the superb job that Glas Cymru has done on renewable energy, which I know my...

I warmly welcome my hon. Friend’s point. Again, the Government are blind to the prospects for Wal...

I agree with many of the points that have been made, including those of my hon. Friend. I spent t...

The greatest part of the movement that my party has built on over the years is the co-operative m...

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on new clause 3—it is strong Plaid Cymru policy—but it is based...

That is for the Government to say, but my understanding is that they will be devolved and that is...

I am genuinely curious. Is the position just outlined by the hon. Gentleman also the position of ...

Yes. We are working in close harmony with the Welsh Government on most of the recommendations. Th...

The point is that since most of the necessity tests have been removed from the Bill the issue of ...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend—we acknowledge his expertise in this matter. We will be looking f...

My hon. Friend is rightly highlighting that there the debate should be broader than just what is ...

It is the virtual disfranchisement of 2 million, so it is wrong on that basis. The timing is wron...

Does my hon. Friend agree that there is also a problem because we will be losing our four MEPs so...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to say that there will be a gap there, and that was a change w...

Will my hon. Friend give way?

indicated assent.

It may seem pretty good to some hon. Members, but we are drifting a little from where we should b...

I agree with many of the points my hon. Friend has made about the democratic deficit we could be ...

I am sure they will and they should concern themselves with that. Another Member made the point l...

I do not like saying this, but I profoundly disagree with my hon. Friend on amendment 68, because...

My hon. Friend makes his point effectively, and I would like to pursue it if we were to go that w...

I rise to support amendment 60, which stands in my name and those of my Plaid Cymru colleagues, a...

In the hon. Lady’s last few sentences, she went from talking about a distinct legal jurisdiction ...

I mentioned a separate legal jurisdiction, which is what Plaid Cymru would prefer, but we are pre...

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for her generosity in giving way again. In answer to the question,...

I hope the hon. Gentleman will forgive me; I thought I had explained that previously.

Our p...

I agree with the hon. Lady’s last comment, having served alongside her on the Welsh Affairs Commi...

I agree that we are seeing a gradual momentum in favour of the change. As I said earlier, if not ...

I, too, sat through many Welsh Affairs Committee inquiries and lots of evidence from academics an...

If the hon. Gentleman will forgive me, the amendment goes into detail, even in relation to the co...

My hon. Friend the Member for Brecon and Radnorshire (Chris Davies) asked a pertinent question: w...

We would argue that a distinct legal jurisdiction is needed for the quality of decisions to be ma...

I rise to speak to new clause 3, on railways, and to amendment 2, on the community infrastructure...

I hope I can provide clarity and be helpful. Many interventions earlier—and what the hon. Lady is...

I thank the Secretary of State for his clarification.

The Bill offers an excellent opportun...

I declare that I am a county borough councillor in the Secretary of State’s constituency, althoug...

Indeed, my hon. Friend is absolutely right—we have the explanation from the horse’s mouth, becaus...

I stand to speak to new clause 2 on fixed odds betting terminals. I welcome this amendment to the...

I want to concentrate my remarks briefly on new clause 3 and the rail franchise. What the Secreta...

I agree entirely with what the hon. Gentleman is saying. Is he, as I am, intrigued by the Governm...

I did not understand the rationale of the Government when the Secretary of State tried to explain...

I rise to speak to amendments 61 and 66.

Amendment 61 seeks to devolve Welsh language broad...

The hon. Gentleman represents a constituency with a number of television producers who produce te...

No, of course not. This is Plaid Cymru’s policy and this is the argument that has been made by va...

The hon. Gentleman is surely aware of the extraordinary genesis of S4C. If not, I would like to s...

I agree entirely that it has been very generously funded, and funded without very much review for...

I am sure that my hon. Friend agrees that S4C’s funding has resulted in it currently running more...

The television landscape has certainly changed enormously. Many broadcasters are now running a gr...

I cannot allow the slur from the hon. Member for Dwyfor Meirionnydd (Liz Saville Roberts) to go u...

Responding also as the father of five children, I would say that repeats of “Cyw” are very popula...

I suspect that I can offer clarity and reassurance on this issue. There is nothing in the Bill th...

I accept that the Minister sincerely holds that view. I am reflecting on the arguments put forwar...

I met the Welsh Language Commissioner in August. We have subsequently written to her, highlightin...

Order. In fairness, I let the first one go on far too long. If you do not want to sum up at the e...

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. This matter will probably be addressed again when the Bill goes to ...

The Under-Secretary has said that the Welsh language belongs to this House as well as to the Asse...

That is a very interesting and pertinent point. Welsh, of course, is a British language. I will r...

I am pleased that this Bill has come to the House; I, too, sat through many Welsh Affairs Committ...

Diolch yn fawr iawn, Mr Deputy Speaker. Amendment 67 and new clause 10, which are in my name and ...

We are negotiating with the Welsh Government over the use of a transfer of functions order under ...

The Secretary of State is telling us that he will introduce a statutory instrument once the negot...

The hon. Gentleman makes an excellent point about the finances of any such butchery, as he descri...

The hon. Gentleman makes a valuable point. That is why the franchise was constructed as it was, a...

It is a great pleasure to follow all the hon. Members who have spoken so far. As a child, I was i...

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, for calling me as, I think, the last speaker on the first group of ...

Apart from among the Tories.

Indeed. There is increased enthusiasm for the Bill, comparing attendance on Report with that in C...

The hon. Gentleman will be aware that our amendment 60 is, line for line, what the Welsh Governme...

The hon. Gentleman is quite right. I have studied the amendment very carefully, as indeed I studi...

I am very grateful to the hon. Gentleman for making that point, which gets to the nub of the prob...

The policy may have matured, but I assert that this issue needs to be monitored, because it will ...

I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.

With this it will be convenient to discuss the following:

New clause 1—Maritime and Coastgu...

I will speak first to the Government amendments in the group, before turning to the amendments ta...

The Minister is talking about Cardiff airport, but what consultations did he undertake with the a...

I am sure there are challenges along the M4 at this point in time, but my understanding is that t...

I will speak on this issue in detail if I catch Mr Deputy Speaker’s eye later in the debate. The ...

The hon. Gentleman asks me to comment on a hypothetical assertion. I shall refrain from doing so,...

I would like the Minister to answer my question in this case. There is real uncertainty about how...

The aim of the negotiations between the Welsh Government and the Treasury is to ensure a fair fun...

Will the Minister give us an assurance that he will do everything possible to hurry up the negoti...

When the Minister concludes the discussions, hon. Members will be involved. We will certainly try...

What a bleak end to the Minister’s speech! His timid conclusion is that we have to stick to the 3...

I agree with some, though not all, of what my hon. Friend has said, but I strongly agree with him...

Yes, it is arbitrary. I know my hon. Friend has connections and would like to see more jobs creat...

Will the hon. Gentleman explain why, if Cardiff airport is facing handicaps to such an extent, it...

That is because of the wisdom of the socialist Welsh Government in taking it over—nationalising i...

I wonder whether the hon. Gentleman would agree with me on this issue. I took part in the parliam...

The hon. Lady makes a powerful point, which we should bear in mind. I believe that we should appr...

I welcome the additional energy consents that the Government are now going to include in the Bill...

I rise to speak in support of new clauses 6 and 7. With your permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, I ...

The comment I made very clearly was that the devolving of APD would, according to the surveys we ...

I am grateful for that clarification.

Plaid Cymru tried to include APD devolution in the Fi...

I agree entirely with my hon. Friend. Does he agree that the record of Governments in London, bot...

I am grateful to my parliamentary leader for that intervention. Plaid Cymru has a long-standing p...

I want to say a few words about new clause 11 and whether the devolution of policing is to be kep...

I wish to speak briefly about two areas: the amendments on energy generation and new clause 6 on ...

I rise to speak to new clauses 8 and 9, in my name and those of my Plaid Cymru colleagues. These ...

I beg to move, That the Bill be now read the Third time.

I start by thanking right hon. and...

Constitutional change in Wales moves at a measured pace. It is 800 years since Wales last had the...

I hope the hon. Gentleman will do the Hansard writers the great courtesy of providing them the te...

I am grateful for the opportunity to say a few words and make some concluding remarks to the Bill...

Like other Members, I recognise that the Bill is a huge improvement on the Bill that the Governme...

Let me begin by thanking our Bill team and our support staff for their excellent help in formulat...

I do not quite share the despondency of the hon. Member for Arfon (Hywel Williams) about the stat...