‘No-show' First Minister ‘undermined' Senedd scrutiny
WALES' First Minister Eluned Morgan undermined a Senedd inquiry on international relations by declining to give evidence in person, a committee warned.
Delyth Jewell, who chairs the culture and international relations committee, expressed concern about a continued lack of detailed evidence from the Welsh Government.
She said: 'It is regrettable that the First Minister's decision not to attend our committee in person to give oral evidence, coupled with this lack of essential detail in written evidence, has undermined our ability to carry out meaningful scrutiny.
'That is something I hope very much will change in the future.'
Baroness Morgan, whose responsibilities include international relations, instead provided the inquiry with written evidence 'which fell below the standard we expect'.
Leading a debate on an annual report about international relations, Ms Jewell said the First Minister reneged on commitments made to the committee by her predecessors.
Baroness Morgan signalled a shift last year, publishing a 'delivery plan' with 15 aims rather than following through on a refresh of the international strategy, which contains 270 actions.
'Important commitments made to our committee in terms of involvement have been rolled back,' said Ms Jewell, who criticised a mismatch between the delivery plan and strategy.
South Wales East MS Delyth Jewell
Warning of a lack of openness, the Plaid Cymru politician said: 'This lack of coherence undermines, again, accountability and makes effective scrutiny all the more difficult.'
The Welsh Government accepted six of the committee's eight recommendations. Ms Jewell pointed out that while ministers accepted the first recommendation – which called for regular progress updates – 'the accompanying narrative contradicts that'.
Gareth Davies argued that international relations are reserved to Westminster.
The Conservative questioned the return Welsh taxpayers receive for the Welsh Government's 20 overseas offices which cost £4.6m in 2024.
Conservative MS Gareth Davies
Mr Davies told the Senedd: 'I fear that that answer would be, 'very little'. And that is why the Welsh Conservatives support shutting down overseas offices and redirecting the money back to frontline services, where it is needed most.
'This network is expensive and, in far too many cases, it appears to be duplicating work already being done by UK embassies and trade commissioners.'
But he backed the committee's calls for St David's Day to become a bank holiday – with discussions between Welsh and UK Labour ministers said to be ongoing.
Heledd Fychan was disappointed that Baroness Morgan was not in the chamber to respond to the debate on May 21: 'Not having the First Minister here today, given that we knew that this debate was happening, is very frustrating.'
Labour's Alun Davies accused the Conservatives of a lack of understanding about the importance of the Welsh Government's 'essential' overseas office network.
Labour MS Alun Davies
He said: 'They're seeking out new opportunities to bring work and jobs to this country, to increase the profile of Wales in these places. It's the work that we need done if Wales is to be taken seriously as a global nation.'
His colleague Mick Antoniw, the Welsh Government's former chief legal adviser, similarly criticised 'contradictions and confusion' from the Conservative benches.
'International relations are not reserved,' he said. 'International relations are about supporting Welsh interests in devolved areas.'
'Crucial'
Jane Hutt, secretary for social justice, trefnydd and chief whip
Responding for the Welsh Government, Jane Hutt told the chamber that the First Minister will meet the committee in June as part of a new inquiry into international relations.
The minister said: 'Scrutiny is crucially important, and it will happen not just at that committee meeting but here today as we receive your report.
'But it will be an opportunity for the First Minister to discuss the work we are doing to enhance our global relationships and how we seek to achieve our goals.'
Ms Hutt described the international strategy, which was first published five years ago, as a bold statement of intent to raise Wales' profile and grow the economy.
She agreed with Mr Antoniw: 'We need a wider international debate and I am sure the First Minister will be reflecting on that.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South Wales Argus
31 minutes ago
- South Wales Argus
Most new homes must have solar panels and heat pumps under Government proposals
The Energy Department (Desnz) said on Friday that the future homes standard (FHS), which will be published in autumn, is expected to require new residential properties to have solar panels by default. Gas boilers will also not meet the proposed standard, meaning low-carbon heating – such as heat pumps – will also likely become the new default under building regulations. With a significant amount of the UK's carbon footprint coming from gas heating of homes, the FHS will require new housing in England to produce fewer carbon emissions than those built under current regulations. Air source heat pumps use electricity and energy from the air to produce heating and hot water (Alamy/PA) The Government said the measures will also help to slash household energy bills and boost the nation's energy security. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: 'Solar panels can save people hundreds of pounds off their energy bills, so it is just common sense for new homes to have them fitted as standard. 'So many people just don't understand why this doesn't already happen. With our plans, it will.' Desnz calculates that a typical existing UK home could save around £530 a year from installing rooftop solar based on the current energy price cap. Matthew Pennycook, housing and planning minister, said: 'The future homes standard will ensure new homes are modern and efficient with low-carbon heating, while our common-sense planning changes will now make it easier and cheaper for people to use heat pumps and switch to EVs so they can play their part in bolstering our nation's energy security.' Current building regulations do not require developers to add solar panels or heat pumps to new homes. In 2023, the previous Conservative government proposed new build homes would need solar panel coverage equivalent to 40% of the building's floor area. Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband said solar panels can save people hundreds of pounds off their energy bills (PA) But this also allowed for exemptions, which would lead to no solar on many developments, the current Government says. Under the proposed changes, developers who cannot meet 40% coverage will still be required to install a reasonable amount of solar coverage – or other forms of renewable electricity generation, with rare exceptions. Ministers also say the FHS will effectively require low-carbon heating, such as domestic heat pumps installed into new builds. The previous Conservative government faced criticism for rowing back on its proposals to ban the sale of new gas boilers by 2035. While the Government is not planning to introduce such a ban, citing concerns around cost, Desnz confirmed on Friday that FHS proposals include mandating minimum criteria for energy efficiency which mean newly built homes have to install greener heating systems. Recent changes to planning rules aimed at removing barriers to heat pump installations came into force on May 29, enabling households to install a heat pump within one metre of their property's boundary without having to submit a planning application. The first quarter of 2025 saw a record number of applications to the boiler upgrade scheme, which provides households with up to £7,500 off the cost of a heat pump, seeing a 73% jump from the same quarter last year. Charles Wood, deputy director of policy (systems) at Energy UK, said: 'This change, alongside wider reforms to planning processes and network connections, will reduce bills for people in new build properties while also giving the industry confidence to invest in increased manufacturing and installer training as demand increases, creating jobs and bringing down technology costs for everyone.' The UK is legally committed to reaching its net zero target by 2050, meaning the UK must cut carbon emissions until it removes as much as it produces, in line with the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement.
South Wales Argus
31 minutes ago
- South Wales Argus
Swinney defends ‘two-horse race' comments after by-election loss to Labour
The First Minister spoke of his disappointment at his party's loss, acknowledging there is 'anger' about the cost of living and concerns around access to services in Scotland. In the run-up to polls opening on Thursday, Mr Swinney had repeatedly sought to frame the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election as a contest between his party and Nigel Farage's Reform. But in a surprise result in the early hours of Friday, Scottish Labour were victorious with their candidate Davy Russell taking 8,559 votes. The SNP's Katy Loudon took 7,957 votes, while Reform's Ross Lambie secured 7,088. Labour are celebrating their by-election win (Jane Barlow/PA) Mr Swinney spoke to journalists at the SNP headquarters in Edinburgh, saying his party had improved its position from a devastating general election result last year, but recognising they must make further progress ahead of next year's Scottish Parliament vote. He told the PA news agency: 'Clearly, we're disappointed that we didn't win last night, but we made progress in the election compared to the general election last summer, and we've got to build on that and make sure that we strengthen our support in advance of 2026. 'So the SNP made progress last night, but it's not nearly enough and we've got to build on that.' (PA Graphics) Asked if it was a mistake to call the by-election a 'two-horse race', he said: 'I called it the way I saw it. 'The way I saw it was the Labour vote was collapsing compared to the general election last summer, which it did, it was down 20%. 'We saw the Reform vote surging, which it has. The SNP sought to portray the by-election as a contest between themselves and Reform (Jane Barlow/PA) 'And in that context, I thought the SNP was best placed to see off Reform because of the scale of collapse in the Labour vote.' He said Nigel Farage represented a 'poisonous injection into our politics'. Reform UK's deputy leader Richard Tice has said he is 'delighted' with the result in Hamilton. (PA Graphics) Mr Swinney also defended his party's campaign in the constituency, saying it was 'energetic' and 'enthusiastic'. He had frequently visited the seat in the run-up to the vote. Asked if people are turning away from the SNP because of their record in government, he said: 'There's a lot of anger in the electorate just now because people are finding things tough, particularly with the cost of living, and they're concerned about about issues in terms of access to public services. 'So what my government is going to focus on is addressing the day-to-day priorities of people in Scotland, about improving their lives.' He mentioned the Scottish Government's plans to scrap peak rail fares in September and bring down NHS waiting lists.
Rhyl Journal
32 minutes ago
- Rhyl Journal
Most new homes must have solar panels and heat pumps under Government proposals
The Energy Department (Desnz) said on Friday that the future homes standard (FHS), which will be published in autumn, is expected to require new residential properties to have solar panels by default. Gas boilers will also not meet the proposed standard, meaning low-carbon heating – such as heat pumps – will also likely become the new default under building regulations. With a significant amount of the UK's carbon footprint coming from gas heating of homes, the FHS will require new housing in England to produce fewer carbon emissions than those built under current regulations. The Government said the measures will also help to slash household energy bills and boost the nation's energy security. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: 'Solar panels can save people hundreds of pounds off their energy bills, so it is just common sense for new homes to have them fitted as standard. 'So many people just don't understand why this doesn't already happen. With our plans, it will.' Desnz calculates that a typical existing UK home could save around £530 a year from installing rooftop solar based on the current energy price cap. Matthew Pennycook, housing and planning minister, said: 'The future homes standard will ensure new homes are modern and efficient with low-carbon heating, while our common-sense planning changes will now make it easier and cheaper for people to use heat pumps and switch to EVs so they can play their part in bolstering our nation's energy security.' Current building regulations do not require developers to add solar panels or heat pumps to new homes. In 2023, the previous Conservative government proposed new build homes would need solar panel coverage equivalent to 40% of the building's floor area. But this also allowed for exemptions, which would lead to no solar on many developments, the current Government says. Under the proposed changes, developers who cannot meet 40% coverage will still be required to install a reasonable amount of solar coverage – or other forms of renewable electricity generation, with rare exceptions. Ministers also say the FHS will effectively require low-carbon heating, such as domestic heat pumps installed into new builds. The previous Conservative government faced criticism for rowing back on its proposals to ban the sale of new gas boilers by 2035. While the Government is not planning to introduce such a ban, citing concerns around cost, Desnz confirmed on Friday that FHS proposals include mandating minimum criteria for energy efficiency which mean newly built homes have to install greener heating systems. Recent changes to planning rules aimed at removing barriers to heat pump installations came into force on May 29, enabling households to install a heat pump within one metre of their property's boundary without having to submit a planning application. The first quarter of 2025 saw a record number of applications to the boiler upgrade scheme, which provides households with up to £7,500 off the cost of a heat pump, seeing a 73% jump from the same quarter last year. Charles Wood, deputy director of policy (systems) at Energy UK, said: 'This change, alongside wider reforms to planning processes and network connections, will reduce bills for people in new build properties while also giving the industry confidence to invest in increased manufacturing and installer training as demand increases, creating jobs and bringing down technology costs for everyone.' The UK is legally committed to reaching its net zero target by 2050, meaning the UK must cut carbon emissions until it removes as much as it produces, in line with the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement.
