28 days, that’s how much the Welsh Government gets after a motion is passed by the Senedd to write a response to the motion and present it to the Senedd. This happened through the Parliamentary Accountability (Motion Responses) (Wales) Act 2021, a bill that was supported by the First Minister and Deputy First Minister.

This term the Senedd has passed three motions that would qualify under this bill: the Erasmus Motion, the Motion on a Ystrad Mynach to Bedlinog Railway and the First Aid at Work (Continuation and Expansion) Motion. The first two were passed more than 28 days ago and the Government didn’t deliver a response to the motions in question. I didn’t include motions passed last term, then at least seven motions would qualify under this bill as well.

It’s the Government’s task to keep up with these motions and write a response to them within the 28 days frame, not anyone else's. So I’m a bit disappointed that I had to notice that nobody within the Government has acknowledged this failure.

Last year the Scottish Government failed to do the same and legal action was taken by the Duke of Aberdeen and a case was brought forward to the Supreme Court. The case was dismissed as not all options in the bill were used because the Presiding Officer didn’t ask the Government to answer for their failings in the Scottish Parliament. But the bill is clear, the Government should answer for their failings otherwise there’s a possibility of going to the Supreme Court.

Now, going to the Supreme Court is the last resort and I hope that it doesn’t get to that point. This is why I made an application to the Llywydd for an Emergency Question session on the issue that two motions this term have been ignored and the Government failed to provide a statement. I hope that the Education Minister gives a statement on the Erasmus Motion and the Transport Minister gives one on the Motion on a Ystrad Mynach to Bedlinog Railway.

I can promise the Government that if they fail this then we will have to go to the Supreme Court, since we cannot have a Government in place that breaks the law without consequences.