THE Welsh Conservatives have accused Labour of prioritising constitutional navel-gazing rather than addressing issues that face the people of Wales.

In the Chamber today, the First Minister outlined a series of Bills that the Labour Government will be looking to put before the Senedd over the next year. The bills include:

  1. Banning or restricting Single Use Plastics in Wales; with England and Scotland having banned the use of single use plastics as far back as October 2019.
  2. A Clean Air Bill; promised in the First Minister’s leadership manifesto four years ago.
  3. An Agriculture Bill; passed in England as far back as 11 November 2020.
  4. A Coal Tip Safety Bill; after playing politics with the issue of coal tip safety in Wales, Labour ministers must act to ensure that they take responsibility for coal tip safety in Wales.
  5. An Infrastructure Consenting Bill; outlined four years ago in June 2018.
  6. A Senedd Reform Bill; having not being previously outlined in any detail before being issued in an announcement by the First Minister and Adam Price MS.

Commenting on the news, leader of the Welsh Conservatives, Andrew RT Davies MS said: “After years of dithering and delaying, this Labour Government has finally seen fit to introduce key pieces of legislation that would save lives. For years Welsh Conservatives have been calling for the introduction of a Clean Air Act only to be met with deafening silence from Labour.

“It is regrettable that there has been no inclusion of either an Autism Act or a British Sign Language Bill, both of which the Welsh Conservatives have long called for.

“To top it off, Labour and their nationalist coalition partners are rushing through their pet project to increase the number of politicians in Cardiff Bay, costing the taxpayer up to £100 million. This once again shows just how out of touch Labour ministers are.

“What this Labour Government needs to be doing is focus on addressing the priorities of hard-working families across Wales and sort our NHS waiting lists, improve education standards and provide opportunities for better employment.”