3. Statement by the First Minister: The final report of the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:32 pm on 30 January 2024.

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Photo of Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford Labour 3:32, 30 January 2024

Well, Llywydd, the report is very clear that, unless action is taken, then devolution in Wales will atrophy, that you can't just stand still. And we haven't been standing still, because we've seen things flow away from this Senedd and back to London. And, as Huw Irranca-Davies has said, Dirprwy Lywydd, it also is very clear in many of its pages that its audience is not just the Welsh Government; it is very much the Senedd itself. And Huw makes a really important point about the way in which parliamentary action—which is reflected in many reports, in the House of Lords and the House of Commons, as well as here and elsewhere—and the capacity of legislatures to get together to enhance the way in which power is properly distributed through the United Kingdom and then comes back together again to discharge common purposes, for which we agree that we want to share that sovereignty—. I think the report is very powerful in those instances too.