Assembly ideas to feed into debate at British Irish Parliamentary Plenary
18 October 2012
A group of Assembly Members from the National Assembly for Wales will attend the British Irish Parliamentary Assembly (BIPA) Plenary session in Glasgow, on 22 & 23 October.
It is the 45th Plenary of BIPA, which brings together politicians from Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Westminster Parliament, Irish Parliament, the Isle of Man, and legislatures from Guernsey and Jersey.
The aim of such sessions is to discuss matters of mutual interest, with topics at this session including energy and enterprise, the food & drinks sector and tourism.
It offers an opportunity for Assembly Members to share their thoughts on the recent work of Assembly Committees in looking at wind energy and the Food Hygiene Rating (Wales) Bill.
“These inter-parliamentary sessions are very worthwhile on two grounds,” said David Melding AM, the Assembly’s Deputy Presiding Officer and lead delegate.
“Not only can we learn from the ideas and policies of other parliaments within the UK and Ireland, but also show them the valuable scrutiny work that our committees undertake.
“The Food Hygiene Bill will make Wales unique in putting a statutory duty on food producers to display their hygiene ratings, while our Environment & Sustainability Committee has recently finished a substantial piece of work on the future of energy production in Wales.
“So we have a lot to tell our colleagues in other UK legislatures and Ireland, but my colleagues and I are also looking forward to hearing the views from other parts of the United Kingdom and Ireland.”