Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Government collects data on how many young people with cancer were diagnosed in A&E.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Disease Registration Service in NHS England, as the national cancer registry, collects diagnosis and treatment data on cancer patients in England. Data is available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/ndrs

The most recent published data on registrations of cancer in young people is in the Accredited Official Statistics on Cancer Registrations covering 2022, which is available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/cancer-registration-statistics/england-2022

Young people, those aged zero to 24 years old, are diagnosed with types of cancer that are only stageable in half of all cases. Of those diagnoses which are stageable, the proportion of diagnoses with a valid recorded stage that are diagnosed at stage 1 is 35%. Of those diagnoses which are stageable, the proportion of diagnoses with a valid recorded stage that are diagnosed at stage 2 is 26%.

The most recent published data on how young people presented with cancer is in the Rapid Cancer Registration Data set. The most recent complete year for which data is available is 2023. Further information is available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/ndrs/data/data-sets/rcrd

Approximately 39% of young people first present in hospital as an emergency presentation.

Some of the most common cancers diagnosed in young people, like brain tumours, have very significant symptoms associated with them, and in these cases the recommended course of action is to attend accident and emergency rather than following a managed pathway.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department collects data on how many young people with cancer were diagnosed at stage (a) one and (b) two.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Disease Registration Service in NHS England, as the national cancer registry, collects diagnosis and treatment data on cancer patients in England. Data is available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/ndrs

The most recent published data on registrations of cancer in young people is in the Accredited Official Statistics on Cancer Registrations covering 2022, which is available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/cancer-registration-statistics/england-2022

Young people, those aged zero to 24 years old, are diagnosed with types of cancer that are only stageable in half of all cases. Of those diagnoses which are stageable, the proportion of diagnoses with a valid recorded stage that are diagnosed at stage 1 is 35%. Of those diagnoses which are stageable, the proportion of diagnoses with a valid recorded stage that are diagnosed at stage 2 is 26%.

The most recent published data on how young people presented with cancer is in the Rapid Cancer Registration Data set. The most recent complete year for which data is available is 2023. Further information is available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/ndrs/data/data-sets/rcrd

Approximately 39% of young people first present in hospital as an emergency presentation.

Some of the most common cancers diagnosed in young people, like brain tumours, have very significant symptoms associated with them, and in these cases the recommended course of action is to attend accident and emergency rather than following a managed pathway.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of young people with cancer were entered into clinical trials in March 2025.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) does not currently hold data on the number of young people with cancer enrolled into clinical trials in March 2025 as this time period is still ongoing.

Department-funded NIHR research and infrastructure is enabling clinical trial participation for children and young people with cancer. Through the NIHR, the Department also jointly funds the Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre Paediatric Cancer Network with Cancer Research UK and the Little Princess Trust, which brings together clinicians and translational scientists to run early phase clinical trials for children and young people with cancer.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help increase awareness of the symptoms of cancer amongst young people.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England and other local health organisations publish information on the signs and symptoms of cancers that are most common in children and young people.

However, the Department recognises there is more to be done to improve outcomes and experience for children and young people with cancer. We also know that children's experiences of cancer are not uniform, and that there are inequalities in care and outcomes between different groups.

That is why we have relaunched the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce which will identify improvements for children across four key areas: early detection and diagnosis, genomic testing and treatment, research and innovation, and patient experience.

The Department is committed to ensuring the experiences of young cancer patients are reflected in our work. We are working with Taskforce members to assemble a Patient Experience Panel, made up of young people with lived experience of cancer and their families, which will feed directly into the work of the Taskforce.

The Taskforce will play a key role in ensuring that children and young people with cancer are carefully considered as part of the national cancer plan, which will examine how to reduce inequalities faced by different patient groups. Alongside the relaunch of the Taskforce, we have launched a Call for Evidence, in which the views of people across the country will inform our plan to improve cancer care. Those who wish to share their views can do so by 29 April 2025 on the new online platform, which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/shaping-the-national-cancer-plan

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the national cancer plan will help to tackle inequalities for young people with cancer.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England and other local health organisations publish information on the signs and symptoms of cancers that are most common in children and young people.

However, the Department recognises there is more to be done to improve outcomes and experience for children and young people with cancer. We also know that children's experiences of cancer are not uniform, and that there are inequalities in care and outcomes between different groups.

That is why we have relaunched the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce which will identify improvements for children across four key areas: early detection and diagnosis, genomic testing and treatment, research and innovation, and patient experience.

The Department is committed to ensuring the experiences of young cancer patients are reflected in our work. We are working with Taskforce members to assemble a Patient Experience Panel, made up of young people with lived experience of cancer and their families, which will feed directly into the work of the Taskforce.

The Taskforce will play a key role in ensuring that children and young people with cancer are carefully considered as part of the national cancer plan, which will examine how to reduce inequalities faced by different patient groups. Alongside the relaunch of the Taskforce, we have launched a Call for Evidence, in which the views of people across the country will inform our plan to improve cancer care. Those who wish to share their views can do so by 29 April 2025 on the new online platform, which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/shaping-the-national-cancer-plan

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will meet young people with cancer to discuss their experiences.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England and other local health organisations publish information on the signs and symptoms of cancers that are most common in children and young people.

However, the Department recognises there is more to be done to improve outcomes and experience for children and young people with cancer. We also know that children's experiences of cancer are not uniform, and that there are inequalities in care and outcomes between different groups.

That is why we have relaunched the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce which will identify improvements for children across four key areas: early detection and diagnosis, genomic testing and treatment, research and innovation, and patient experience.

The Department is committed to ensuring the experiences of young cancer patients are reflected in our work. We are working with Taskforce members to assemble a Patient Experience Panel, made up of young people with lived experience of cancer and their families, which will feed directly into the work of the Taskforce.

The Taskforce will play a key role in ensuring that children and young people with cancer are carefully considered as part of the national cancer plan, which will examine how to reduce inequalities faced by different patient groups. Alongside the relaunch of the Taskforce, we have launched a Call for Evidence, in which the views of people across the country will inform our plan to improve cancer care. Those who wish to share their views can do so by 29 April 2025 on the new online platform, which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/shaping-the-national-cancer-plan

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is taking steps to measure the effectiveness of the steps his Department is taking to reduce HIV stigma.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), NHS England, and a broad range of system partners are developing a new HIV Action Plan, which will include an objective on tackling stigma. The Terrence Higgins Trust, the Elton John AIDS Foundation, and the National AIDS Trust have been undertaking external stakeholder engagement within the community and voluntary sector to feed into the new HIV Action Plan, which we aim to publish this year.

The Department is investing over £5.5 million from 2021 to 2026 to deliver the national HIV prevention programme, HIV Prevention England (HPE). HPE aims to reduce the stigma around HIV testing, through National HIV Testing Week, during which we dispatch over 20,000 HIV testing kits in England. HPE also hosted a HIV Stigma Symposium in March 2024, which brought together approximately 100 community experts, activists, healthcare professionals, and affected individuals to discuss the impact of HIV stigma and explore effective stigma reduction strategies.

The UKHSA continues to monitor the levels of stigma and discrimination experienced by people living with HIV within the health and social care system, through the Positive Voices survey, most recently published in 2024.

Officials in the Department continue to meet with counterparts from Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland to share information to help end new HIV transmissions by 2030.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking with his counterparts in other countries to share best practice for reducing HIV stigma.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), NHS England, and a broad range of system partners are developing a new HIV Action Plan, which will include an objective on tackling stigma. The Terrence Higgins Trust, the Elton John AIDS Foundation, and the National AIDS Trust have been undertaking external stakeholder engagement within the community and voluntary sector to feed into the new HIV Action Plan, which we aim to publish this year.

The Department is investing over £5.5 million from 2021 to 2026 to deliver the national HIV prevention programme, HIV Prevention England (HPE). HPE aims to reduce the stigma around HIV testing, through National HIV Testing Week, during which we dispatch over 20,000 HIV testing kits in England. HPE also hosted a HIV Stigma Symposium in March 2024, which brought together approximately 100 community experts, activists, healthcare professionals, and affected individuals to discuss the impact of HIV stigma and explore effective stigma reduction strategies.

The UKHSA continues to monitor the levels of stigma and discrimination experienced by people living with HIV within the health and social care system, through the Positive Voices survey, most recently published in 2024.

Officials in the Department continue to meet with counterparts from Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland to share information to help end new HIV transmissions by 2030.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking help support community organizations to tackle HIV stigma.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), NHS England, and a broad range of system partners are developing a new HIV Action Plan, which will include an objective on tackling stigma. The Terrence Higgins Trust, the Elton John AIDS Foundation, and the National AIDS Trust have been undertaking external stakeholder engagement within the community and voluntary sector to feed into the new HIV Action Plan, which we aim to publish this year.

The Department is investing over £5.5 million from 2021 to 2026 to deliver the national HIV prevention programme, HIV Prevention England (HPE). HPE aims to reduce the stigma around HIV testing, through National HIV Testing Week, during which we dispatch over 20,000 HIV testing kits in England. HPE also hosted a HIV Stigma Symposium in March 2024, which brought together approximately 100 community experts, activists, healthcare professionals, and affected individuals to discuss the impact of HIV stigma and explore effective stigma reduction strategies.

The UKHSA continues to monitor the levels of stigma and discrimination experienced by people living with HIV within the health and social care system, through the Positive Voices survey, most recently published in 2024.

Officials in the Department continue to meet with counterparts from Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland to share information to help end new HIV transmissions by 2030.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of literacy programs in prisons.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

We have robust evidence on the positive benefits of education to reducing reoffending, however, we don’t have specific evidence for the link between literacy levels and reoffending. We are currently improving our understanding of factors influencing participation in different prison education types, including literacy courses, through the Better Outcomes through Linked Data (BOLD) programme.

This learning will continue to support our evolving understanding of what more we can do to improve literacy in prisons. We are also investing in an evaluation of the new Prisoner Education Service which will include the delivery of functional English skills.

The success of formal literacy education is primarily measured by prisoners ‘achieving’ and getting an accredited qualification. Latest published data (for 2023/24) shows a 5% increase in participation in English functional skills and a 21% increase in prisoner learners who achieved a full grade in English functional skills, compared to 2022/23, across public prisons in England

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department provides support for prisoners to help them continue improving their literacy skills after release.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

A key aim of His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) prison education service is to support prisoners to develop their functional literacy skills so that they can be fully rehabilitated into society upon release. Prisoners have access to local further education colleges in the community, and prison libraries can work with local libraries to ensure prisoners can register for services upon release.

Post-release, male ex-prisoners with education needs are signposted towards existing services including Creating Future Opportunities, which supports prisoners to address barriers to accessing opportunities, such as low levels of literacy, Department for Work and Pensions, and other local provisions. For women on probation, the Women’s Services contracts deliver holistic wraparound support that in addition to the specific ETE pathway, offers other support services to women that increase their ability to progress in education.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to (a) measure and (b) evaluate the effectiveness of literacy programs in prisons.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

We have robust evidence on the positive benefits of education to reducing reoffending, however, we don’t have specific evidence for the link between literacy levels and reoffending. We are currently improving our understanding of factors influencing participation in different prison education types, including literacy courses, through the Better Outcomes through Linked Data (BOLD) programme.

This learning will continue to support our evolving understanding of what more we can do to improve literacy in prisons. We are also investing in an evaluation of the new Prisoner Education Service which will include the delivery of functional English skills.

The success of formal literacy education is primarily measured by prisoners ‘achieving’ and getting an accredited qualification. Latest published data (for 2023/24) shows a 5% increase in participation in English functional skills and a 21% increase in prisoner learners who achieved a full grade in English functional skills, compared to 2022/23, across public prisons in England

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she has made a comparative assessment of the relationship between literacy improvement and re-offending rates.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

We have robust evidence on the positive benefits of education to reducing reoffending, however, we don’t have specific evidence for the link between literacy levels and reoffending. We are currently improving our understanding of factors influencing participation in different prison education types, including literacy courses, through the Better Outcomes through Linked Data (BOLD) programme.

This learning will continue to support our evolving understanding of what more we can do to improve literacy in prisons. We are also investing in an evaluation of the new Prisoner Education Service which will include the delivery of functional English skills.

The success of formal literacy education is primarily measured by prisoners ‘achieving’ and getting an accredited qualification. Latest published data (for 2023/24) shows a 5% increase in participation in English functional skills and a 21% increase in prisoner learners who achieved a full grade in English functional skills, compared to 2022/23, across public prisons in England

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to improve literacy rates amongst prisoners.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Improving literacy education, including reading, is a priority for His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS). HMPPS has established a panel of experts to provide advice on effective approaches for teaching reading in prisons. This expert panel includes representatives from the Department for Education with whom we work closely to ensure that prison education is well-aligned with community education.

HMPPS has also worked to improve literacy rates for prisoners through core literacy education and whole prison reading strategies. Latest published data (for 2023/24) shows a 5% increase in participation in English functional skills across public prisons in England, and a 21% increase in prisoner learners who achieved a full grade in English functional skills, compared to 2022/23. Heads of Education, Skills and Work are now in every prison, bringing expertise from the education sector directly to prison education. New core contracts will be launched later this year which will deliver enhanced screening and assessment in English, reading and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), as well as screening for additional learning needs. HMPPS is piloting two reading and literacy projects across 15 prisons to test approaches to reading and literacy. Reading screening has been introduced to identify prisoners reading support levels, enabling the development of prison reading strategies and effective commissioning through the Core Education Contracts.

All prison officers undergo training in their roles and responsibilities with supporting education, including literacy education and reading. At the launch of the National Reading Framework, HMPPS provided dedicated training to key HMPPS staff. The National Reading Framework provides guidance for prisons to develop and assess the impact of tailored reading support for prisoners as well as promoting a culture where prisoners are encouraged to read for pleasure.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what training is provided to prison staff to support literacy education.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Improving literacy education, including reading, is a priority for His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS). HMPPS has established a panel of experts to provide advice on effective approaches for teaching reading in prisons. This expert panel includes representatives from the Department for Education with whom we work closely to ensure that prison education is well-aligned with community education.

HMPPS has also worked to improve literacy rates for prisoners through core literacy education and whole prison reading strategies. Latest published data (for 2023/24) shows a 5% increase in participation in English functional skills across public prisons in England, and a 21% increase in prisoner learners who achieved a full grade in English functional skills, compared to 2022/23. Heads of Education, Skills and Work are now in every prison, bringing expertise from the education sector directly to prison education. New core contracts will be launched later this year which will deliver enhanced screening and assessment in English, reading and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), as well as screening for additional learning needs. HMPPS is piloting two reading and literacy projects across 15 prisons to test approaches to reading and literacy. Reading screening has been introduced to identify prisoners reading support levels, enabling the development of prison reading strategies and effective commissioning through the Core Education Contracts.

All prison officers undergo training in their roles and responsibilities with supporting education, including literacy education and reading. At the launch of the National Reading Framework, HMPPS provided dedicated training to key HMPPS staff. The National Reading Framework provides guidance for prisons to develop and assess the impact of tailored reading support for prisoners as well as promoting a culture where prisoners are encouraged to read for pleasure.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Education on improving literacy education in prisons.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Improving literacy education, including reading, is a priority for His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS). HMPPS has established a panel of experts to provide advice on effective approaches for teaching reading in prisons. This expert panel includes representatives from the Department for Education with whom we work closely to ensure that prison education is well-aligned with community education.

HMPPS has also worked to improve literacy rates for prisoners through core literacy education and whole prison reading strategies. Latest published data (for 2023/24) shows a 5% increase in participation in English functional skills across public prisons in England, and a 21% increase in prisoner learners who achieved a full grade in English functional skills, compared to 2022/23. Heads of Education, Skills and Work are now in every prison, bringing expertise from the education sector directly to prison education. New core contracts will be launched later this year which will deliver enhanced screening and assessment in English, reading and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), as well as screening for additional learning needs. HMPPS is piloting two reading and literacy projects across 15 prisons to test approaches to reading and literacy. Reading screening has been introduced to identify prisoners reading support levels, enabling the development of prison reading strategies and effective commissioning through the Core Education Contracts.

All prison officers undergo training in their roles and responsibilities with supporting education, including literacy education and reading. At the launch of the National Reading Framework, HMPPS provided dedicated training to key HMPPS staff. The National Reading Framework provides guidance for prisons to develop and assess the impact of tailored reading support for prisoners as well as promoting a culture where prisoners are encouraged to read for pleasure.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking with international organizations to help improve access to HIV prevention tools in Africa.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK's funding and political support of global health institutions such as WHO, Unitaid, UNAIDS, CHAI, Medaccess, the Global Fund, and the Robert Carr Fund helps to ensure that people at high risk of HIV, including in Africa, can access HIV prevention and treatment when needed. This includes accelerating affordable access to new innovations. For example, our funding to Unitaid has helped expand affordable HIV self-testing for less than US$2 in 135 low-and middle-income countries and allowed for over 4.8 million kits to be distributed in Africa. Wider market shaping initiatives support generic production, increasing access to innovative medical countermeasures for HIV prevention, like Lenacapavir.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help ensure that (a) marginalized and (b) high-risk populations in (i) low and (ii) medium-income countries receive adequate HIV prevention support.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Addressing stigma, discrimination and barriers to access to HIV prevention, testing and treatment is vital for the global HIV response. The UK is a champion of human rights globally, and our funding to the Robert Carr Fund and UNAIDS has helped to combat stigma and improve access to services for those most marginalised, including LGBT+ people, in low- and middle-income countries.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to publish a Sexual Health Action Plan.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

We are committed to improving sexual heath in England, and the Department, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), NHS England, and a broad range of system partners are working together to develop a new HIV Action Plan, which we aim to publish this year. A key objective of the new plan will be to stabilise and support wider sexual health system enablers.

To help improve local authority commissioned sexual and reproductive health services, in 2025/26 we are increasing funding through the ring-fenced Public Health Grant to £3.858 billion, providing local authorities with an average 5.4% cash increase and a 3% real terms increase. This represents a significant turning point for local health services, marking the biggest real-terms increase after nearly a decade of reduced spending.

We continue to support the delivery of local sexual health services, by providing guidance and data to support local decision makers. In October 2024, the UKHSA published the STI Prioritisation Framework, which, combined with ongoing support from the UKHSA, will enable local systems to identify which combination of interventions to focus on for which populations, informed by the local situation.

Found: Mathew Chris Law Jayne Kirkham Brian Leishman Daniel Francis Sarah Hall Sorcha Eastwood Paul Davies

Found: decision is made on developing the preferred NCAP scheme’ as quoted by Ken Skates MS in his answer to Paul Davies

Found: tabled a debate for next week on grooming gangs, including a call for a National Inquiry: NDM8821 Paul Davies

Found: Mae arweinydd y Ceidwadwyr yn y Cynulliad, Paul Davies, wedi dweud25 na fydd yn cynyddu cyllideb y corff

<p>Diolch yn fawr, Paul Davies. Clearly, this is an area where action is being taken in terms of tackling waiting times, and ophthalmology is crucially important. Of course, in Wales, we do have that eye care initiative, which enables optometrists to play a key role in engaging and then referring for secondary care. But this is an issue that I will, of course, draw to the attention of the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care in terms of your question in your region, which, of course, is Hywel Dda. And I'm sure that you will be raising this with them, as it's their responsibility.</p>

<p>That takes us on to item 2, the Legislation (Procedure, Publication and Repeals) (Wales) Bill, Stage 2.&nbsp;Our first substantive item today is Stage 2 proceedings on the Legislation (Procedure, Publication and Repeals) (Wales) Bill.&nbsp;I welcome&nbsp;Julie James MS, Counsel General and Member in charge of the Bill, and&nbsp;Claire Fife, policy adviser to the Counsel General and head of the legislative codes office, Welsh Government.&nbsp;In relation to this item, Members should have before them the marshalled list of amendments and the groupings of amendments for debate. We also have correspondence from Adam Price MS and from the Open Spaces Society included within our papers.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The marshalled list of amendments is the list of all amendments that have been tabled, marshalled into the order of consideration we agreed on 17 March.&nbsp;You will see from the groupings list that amendments have been grouped to facilitate debate, but the order in which they are called and moved for a decision is dictated by the marshalled list.&nbsp;Members will need to follow the two papers, although I will advise Members, when I call them, whether they are being called to speak in the debate or to move their amendments for a decision.&nbsp;There will be one debate on each group of amendments.&nbsp;Members who wish to speak in a particular group should indicate this in the usual way.&nbsp;I will call the Counsel General to speak on each group. In accordance with the established convention, as Chair, I will move amendments in the name of the Counsel General. For expediency, I will assume that the Counsel General wishes me to move all her amendments and I will do so at the appropriate place in the marshalled list. I see a 'yes' from the Counsel General there. Counsel General, if you do not want a particular amendment to be moved, please indicate this at the relevant point in proceedings.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Amendment 1, in group 8, has been tabled by Paul Davies. I understand that Laura Anne Jones will move and speak to this amendment. In line with our usual practice, legal advisers to the committee and the Counsel General are not expected to provide advice on the record. If Members wish to seek legal advice during proceedings, please do so by passing a note to the legal adviser.</p>

<p>Diolch, Cadeirydd. So, I completely agree, Alun, with your summary there, and I'm very grateful, actually, to both Adam and Paul Davies for the amendments because I think the amendments that have been brought forward show a set of ambitions that we share broadly. It's clear that a lot of thought has gone into the aims of the Bill and what we're trying to do with it, so I'm grateful for that, and I think this group and the one that follows really show that as well.</p>
<p>There's clearly a developing strength of feeling that procedures established in Westminster decades ago are probably not the only way to look at subordinate legislation. Personally, I agree with that entirely. As I said in the general principles debate, I also think a committee that looks at the actual merits of the instrument and its content is something we need as well. So, this is not just about amending it, because, as I said, we have increasingly a situation where we have policy content in statutory instruments. And, at the moment, we have this committee looking at statutory instruments because they're considered to be a technical legislative instrument, but we don't have a policy committee looking at them, although I think we could have that.</p>
<p>The committee is, clearly, also looking at the possibility of amending instruments, and what Adam is proposing with amendment 23 could be one way of amending an instrument, subject to the new section 37C, before it's approved and made. I just want to remind the committee what Ruth Fox from the Hansard Society noted in her evidence to the committee during Stage 1, which is that the new section 37C requires the Senedd to reach a resolution to approve an instrument. It doesn't set out how the Senedd reaches that point, and she argued it could be done in Standing Orders. In fact, her view was that as little as possible should be set out on the face of a Bill, and procedures played a role in achieving that. She also pointed to concerns about whether a Parliament's decision to amend instruments, which has been delegated to the Executive to make, might undermine the fundamental principles of the delegation.</p>
<p>So, I think there are some complexities there. I'm not saying I agree with that, but I think that there are some complexities there around the way that the delegation to the Executive in the various instruments that set out the statutory instrument-making power needs to be seriously considered, and I thought the committee dealt with all of these points very sensibly at Stage 1 when it recommended, in effect, that the Business Committee needed to consider the issues.&nbsp;My understanding is that the Business Committee have yet to consider recommendations 5 and 6 of the Stage 1 report, but I'm sure that they are going to do that as part of their forward work programme.&nbsp; &nbsp;</p>
<p>Look, this is something that the Senedd and the Government both have an interest in, but I think it needs a fuller and wider debate, and probably a committee inquiry where a range of views can be taken. But I think there is a suitable way forward to be taken, and whilst, Adam, I absolutely appreciate what you're trying to do here, I don't support it in this particular guise. But, as Adam said, I think it's something that we really should seriously consider recommending. Alun and I both sit on the Future Senedd Committee, where we've been looking at some of the recommendations as well, and I know that the Business Committee is considering some of them.&nbsp;</p>
<p>So, I suppose, overall, I'm saying I don't support it in the amendment that you've brought forward today, but I'm very happy to engage in an ongoing conversation about the best way of doing it.</p>

<p>Yes, I know. Thank you, Chair. Sorry. Well, you've probably heard what I'm going to say, but thank you very much for that, Chair. As my colleague Paul Davies has already made clear, the Bill does not provide for the creation of a King's Printer for Wales as a separate role, and I share the Counsel General's view that a separate administration is not needed. Therefore, I will be opposing amendment 34. Thanks.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Thank you, Chair, and yes, I move the amendment in the name of my colleague Paul Davies. I believe the amendment is pretty self-explanatory. I believe that there should be a review of the Legislation (Wales) Act 2019, as amended by this Bill, on the new Parts 2A and 2B. It presents a vital opportunity to make sure that this legislation is serving its intended purpose. The committee has rightly encouraged the Welsh Government to give further consideration to undertaking a post-legislative review of the Bill, so I hope all Members will continue to support that principle. As part of that review, I believe there needs to be a requirement to consider the format of Welsh statutory instruments in order to address any problems and the requirement to consult with the Welsh Language Commissioner, so that he or she can provide a commentary on any impacts that there might be on the Welsh language. Diolch.</p>

<p>That takes us on to group 8. The eighth and final group of amendments relates to&nbsp;post-legislative review. The lead amendment in this group is amendment 1, and I call on Laura Anne Jones to move and speak to the lead amendment, tabled in the name of Paul Davies, and speak to the other amendment in the group.</p>

<p>Amendment 1 (Paul Davies) moved.</p>