People of the Senedd

Rhys ab Owen MS

Rhys ab Owen MS

Senedd Regional Member

Independent Plaid Cymru Member

Not affiliated to a Political Group

South Wales Central

My Senedd Activities

for all involved. It is only right that we have such a process, but that process needs to improve, and it must improve for all parties involved. The complaint was submitted to the standar...

Plenary | 13/03/2024

Diolch, Llywydd, for theopportunity to speak, and thank you in advance to my fellow Members for listening to what I have to say. I'll be making my speech in English as I want to speak dir...

Plenary | 13/03/2024

What is the Welsh Government doing to ensure that developers begin surveys and remediation in a timely manner given the leaseholder support scheme ends at the end of this year?

Tabled on 07/03/2024

Diolch, Cwnsler Cyffredinol. One argument in favour of setting up a first-tier tribunal with multiple chambers is the opportunity to save money, to allow for the pooling of resources into...

Plenary | 06/03/2024

4. What progress has been made on the reform of devolved tribunals? OQ60789

Plenary | 06/03/2024

are having to navigate layers of bureaucracy in order to get similar results. Constituents engaging with the leaseholder support scheme have complained of a lack of timescale, communicati...

Plenary | 06/03/2024

More information and calendar events

Detailed information: Rhys ab Owen MS

Biography

Key interests and achievements

Rhys's main interests are constitutional affairs, taking action on the climate emergency, eradicating child poverty and ensuring a better life for families and those affected by dementia. He also takes a keen interest in the local history of Cardiff, the Welsh language along with legal and justice matters.

Personal history

Rhys was born and raised in Cardiff where he attended Ysgol Glantaf. He studied law at Oxford University and completed his Bar course at Cardiff University. He was awarded the Pantyfedwen Scholarship.

Rhys lives in Cardiff with his wife and their daughter.

Professional background

Prior to his election,  Rhys worked as a barrister for Iscoed Chambers, Swansea. He has practiced as a barrister since 2010.

He was appointed a First Tier Tribunal Judge in the Social Entitlement Chamber (2019 -2021)

He sat on the Advisory board of the Wales Governance Centre Justice and Jurisdiction project, was a Panel Member Welsh Government Public Law Scheme and a Law Lecturer at Swansea University from 2014-2019.

In 2018-19, Rhys undertook work with the Welsh Government as Head of Policy for the Commission on Justice in Wales chaired by Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, former Chief Justice of England and Wales.

Political history

In 2017, Rhys stood in the Cardiff Council election in the Canton ward, where he increased the Plaid Cymru vote from 910 to 2,105.

Since being elected, to the Senedd he has led and supported a number of prominent campaigns, such as calling for justice for those living in high rise flats in Cardiff Bay, a decent pension for 1950s born women and campaigned for a National Care System for Wales to complement the Welsh National Health Service.

Cross Party Membership

Rhys was elected chair of the cross party group on dementia on Wednesday 10 November 2021, with Jayne Bryant MS elected as deputy.

Membership

Terms of office

  1. 08/05/2021 -

View Current Register of Interests

Cross Party Membership

Elections

Media Assets

Calendar events: Rhys ab Owen MS