Latest news with #MickAntoniw
BBC News
08-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Automatic registration looking unlikely for next Senedd election
It will be a "tall order" to ensure that the automatic registration of voters is in place for the next Senedd election, the first minister has Welsh government had hoped to introduce the changes ahead of next May's former cabinet member who helped drive the plans described Eluned Morgan's comments as "disappointing".It is estimated that around 400,000 people in Wales are either missing or incorrectly registered. Automatic voter registration would mean that voters would not have to register themselves in order to be able to the current system, voters must register to vote authorities must then contact households to check that the existing electoral register is accurate and to invite residents to apply to be on the Senedd passed legislation to enable automatic voter registration last year. When the new law was first proposed, the government's counsel general at the time Mick Antoniw said the "ambition" was for the changes to be in place in time for the 2026 Senedd election. Asked by Plaid Cymru Member of the Senedd (MS) Adam Price on Tuesday if the government was still committed to that timetable, Morgan said: "It is important to manage expectations around the ability to roll out those automatic registrations in time for the next election."Automatic registration pilot schemes currently under way in four local authorities are due to end in September and Morgan told the Senedd the results would then need to be evaluated by the Electoral Commission."I think we've got to be realistic and practical about what that means in practice, because there will be quite a lot of work to be done before there's an ability to roll them out nationally," she said."I think that it's going to be a tall order within about three months."Local authorities have made it clear that they think that might be very difficult."Responding to the comments, Antoniw - now a backbench Labour MS - said: "It is very disappointing that it will not be in place for 2026 so we must redouble efforts to maximise registration under the current paper registration system that remains."Antoniw added that automatic registration "must" be in place for the 2027 local Blair, director of Electoral Reform Society Cymru, described the news as "disappointing but not a surprise"."The timescale, set by the Welsh government themselves, has made this decision seem somewhat inevitable," she said. "The Welsh government should be clear. "They should either show real leadership in making automatic registration happen or confirm as soon as possible what plans will be in place in its stead in just ten months' time to ensure as many people as possible are registered to vote."
Western Telegraph
28-06-2025
- Business
- Western Telegraph
Senedd hears future generations law ‘lacks teeth'
The Senedd's equality committee took evidence as part of follow-up scrutiny a decade on from the Welsh parliament passing the Well-being of Future Generations Act in 2015. Labour's Mick Antoniw warned the Act, which aims to put sustainable development at the heart of decision making, lacks impetus and risks being a "bureaucratic tick-box exercise'. Mr Antoniw, who was involved in early stages of scrutiny of the then-bill, said: 'It started off… as a sustainability bill until no one could actually define what they meant by sustainability… came up with the term future generations and… that might be seen to be equally nebulous.' As well as describing the Act as vague, the former minister suggested Wales' future generations commissioner has few – if any – powers to hold public bodies to account. He said: 'I always thought that was a mistake right from the beginning, [you] don't give it proper teeth to actually have the impact that shifts decision making.' Calvin Jones, an environmental economist, said the commissioner and his predecessor told him their only 'big stick' is to 'name and shame' which they are reluctant to do. 'As soon as you get the stick out, people take their eyes off the carrot,' he said. 'There's this constant tension between wanting to chivvy the laggards along but realising once you get a reputation as somebody who's an auditor effectively then games start being played and boxes start being ticked. 'That tension has always stymied the way in which the commissioners have been prepared to name and shame which was, I think, the only serious bit of teeth in the Act.' Prof Jones, who left Cardiff University in May, suggested Audit Wales should have more of a role in holding public bodies to account in a similar way to their bookkeeping duties. He warned of a major lack of funding for the commissioner's office, describing the money allocated by the Welsh Government as akin to using a sticking plaster on the Titanic.
South Wales Argus
26-06-2025
- Business
- South Wales Argus
Senedd hears future generations law ‘lacks teeth'
The Senedd's equality committee took evidence as part of follow-up scrutiny a decade on from the Welsh parliament passing the Well-being of Future Generations Act in 2015. Labour's Mick Antoniw warned the Act, which aims to put sustainable development at the heart of decision making, lacks impetus and risks being a "bureaucratic tick-box exercise'. Mr Antoniw, who was involved in early stages of scrutiny of the then-bill, said: 'It started off… as a sustainability bill until no one could actually define what they meant by sustainability… came up with the term future generations and… that might be seen to be equally nebulous.' As well as describing the Act as vague, the former minister suggested Wales' future generations commissioner has few – if any – powers to hold public bodies to account. He said: 'I always thought that was a mistake right from the beginning, [you] don't give it proper teeth to actually have the impact that shifts decision making.' Calvin Jones, an environmental economist, said the commissioner and his predecessor told him their only 'big stick' is to 'name and shame' which they are reluctant to do. 'As soon as you get the stick out, people take their eyes off the carrot,' he said. 'There's this constant tension between wanting to chivvy the laggards along but realising once you get a reputation as somebody who's an auditor effectively then games start being played and boxes start being ticked. 'That tension has always stymied the way in which the commissioners have been prepared to name and shame which was, I think, the only serious bit of teeth in the Act.' Prof Jones, who left Cardiff University in May, suggested Audit Wales should have more of a role in holding public bodies to account in a similar way to their bookkeeping duties. He warned of a major lack of funding for the commissioner's office, describing the money allocated by the Welsh Government as akin to using a sticking plaster on the Titanic.
South Wales Guardian
25-06-2025
- Business
- South Wales Guardian
Senedd hears future generations law ‘lacks teeth'
The Senedd's equality committee took evidence as part of follow-up scrutiny a decade on from the Welsh parliament passing the Well-being of Future Generations Act in 2015. Labour's Mick Antoniw warned the Act, which aims to put sustainable development at the heart of decision making, lacks impetus and risks being a "bureaucratic tick-box exercise'. Mr Antoniw, who was involved in early stages of scrutiny of the then-bill, said: 'It started off… as a sustainability bill until no one could actually define what they meant by sustainability… came up with the term future generations and… that might be seen to be equally nebulous.' As well as describing the Act as vague, the former minister suggested Wales' future generations commissioner has few – if any – powers to hold public bodies to account. He said: 'I always thought that was a mistake right from the beginning, [you] don't give it proper teeth to actually have the impact that shifts decision making.' Calvin Jones, an environmental economist, said the commissioner and his predecessor told him their only 'big stick' is to 'name and shame' which they are reluctant to do. 'As soon as you get the stick out, people take their eyes off the carrot,' he said. 'There's this constant tension between wanting to chivvy the laggards along but realising once you get a reputation as somebody who's an auditor effectively then games start being played and boxes start being ticked. 'That tension has always stymied the way in which the commissioners have been prepared to name and shame which was, I think, the only serious bit of teeth in the Act.' Prof Jones, who left Cardiff University in May, suggested Audit Wales should have more of a role in holding public bodies to account in a similar way to their bookkeeping duties. He warned of a major lack of funding for the commissioner's office, describing the money allocated by the Welsh Government as akin to using a sticking plaster on the Titanic.
South Wales Argus
04-06-2025
- General
- South Wales Argus
Littering and fly-tipping 'growing problem' in Wales
Mick Antoniw, Member of the Senedd for Pontypridd, has published poll findings which reveal that tackling the epidemic of littering and fly-tipping experienced in every corner of Wales should be a key priority for the Welsh Government. The results highlight public support for the increased use of existing penalties and for the introduction of new penalties such as driving licence points for people who litter from cars. Mick Antoniw MS said: "These results are crystal clear. "Littering and fly-tipping is a growing problem across Wales and people expect government to do something about it. "The public is also unconvinced that current penalties act as a credible deterrent, with 66 percent saying that penalties are too lenient. "A clear majority of people in all parts of Wales want to see current penalties used more effectively and 58 percent support the introduction of penalty points being added to the licence of anyone who throws litter from a car window. "I believe it is time for us all to get serious and get tough on this sort of anti-social behaviour, which blights so many communities.
