Gareth Bennett: Thank you for the offer, Joyce, but there is no time. Now, we have to make a distinction here between the very genuine and meaningful rights that we enjoy here in the United Kingdom that have evolved over 1,000 years and more, and the very narrowly focused minority rights stuff that we get told, today, signifies human rights. We have a functioning democracy here in the UK. We have basic...
Gareth Bennett: Yes, well done, Simon. Therefore, they should enjoy some rights. But we can't go on as a society endlessly acceding to the demands of minorities. At some point, we have to recognise that granting more rights to a particular minority group will negatively impact on the rights of the majority of people in our society as a whole. We have a perfect example of this with the recent controversies...
Gareth Bennett: Thank you, Llywydd. There will be no apology. There will be no withdrawal.
Gareth Bennett: Diolch, Llywydd. I refer to the point of order that was raised with you on 13 December last year. I'm sorry that people took offence at what I said and I wish to make it clear that I respect your authority as Chair. I do, however, stand by the views I expressed about the proposed changes to the gender recognition Bill.
Gareth Bennett: 8. Will the Cabinet Secretary provide an update on Welsh Government discussions with Natural Resources Wales about the Roath flood scheme development in Cardiff? OAQ51572
Gareth Bennett: Yes, and thanks for arranging that meeting. I think that was a useful clear-the-air meeting, as far as it went. The problem is, by that point, we already had many local residents protesting against the felling of trees by climbing up the trees and doing other activities on site. So, clearly, something did go wrong with the consultation. Could you now work with NRW to assess exactly what did...
Gareth Bennett: Thank you, Dirprwy Llywydd. Minister, we've had the issue of homelessness in the news a lot lately. This tends to become a big topic as we approach Christmas every year, but, more significantly, we've also had the latest annual empty homes figures, which show a rise in Wales from an estimated 23,000 empty homes a year ago to 25,000 homes now. So, despite the Welsh Government's Houses into...
Gareth Bennett: Yes. Thanks for the answer. I think an holistic approach, as you've advocated, would be good, but I think you need to keep on top of the empty homes situation as a specific issue. Now, in terms of increasing housing supply in other ways, I know that you and Mark Drakeford, the Finance Minister, have been having discussions over a possible vacant land tax. Could you give us any update on the...
Gareth Bennett: Yes, thanks. I appreciate that it's still a work in progress and, of course, it cuts across the finance Minister's portfolio, so I look forward to an update in due course. So, perhaps instead of me pursuing that issue, I could go back to the empty homes problem. Councils in Wales also have the power to take control of empty homes through empty dwelling management orders. Now, the figures...
Gareth Bennett: Yes, it's good that this issue is being addressed at a governmental level. However, there is recent evidence that companies like Tesco are now losing a lot more money from shoplifting since bringing in automation in the form of self-scanning machines. Is there now a case for the Welsh Government to work with those companies in trying to move away from unnecessary automation and go back...
Gareth Bennett: Thanks to the Minister for bringing today's debate. I haven't yet had any formal contact with the new Minister, either in the Chamber or in committee, so I'd like to officially welcome him into his new role. I think we all feel, certainly in this section of the Chamber—by which I mean the UKIP seats—that he has shown a lot of promise, and I believe he could be a valuable addition to the...
Gareth Bennett: Okay, sorry. I might have slightly simplified what you said. Anyway, I'm going to have a look at what happens in London. To get into the Victoria and Albert Museum is free, but entry to special exhibitions—and there are always numerous special exhibitions on at the V&A—currently ranges from £8 to £19. Now, we have to remember that entry to the V&A's general displays is free. So, they...
Gareth Bennett: Well, I'll go on to that, Lee. I will tell you later. It has recently been refurbished with the addition of a new main building, a craft workshop and other facilities. The new building contains an enlarged cafe, activity and event spaces, some of which can be hired out to groups, and a bigger gift shop. So, this will hopefully help the museum at St Fagans to raise more revenue, and is...
Gareth Bennett: No, not that. The maritime museum, as was, is now called the National Waterfront Museum. Before long, we will have the Big Pit National Coal Museum changing its name into the 'National Industry Museum' or some similarly anodyne title. I sometimes wonder who dreams these name changes up. Every time you change a name, you will lose potential customers because you are changing a well-known...
Gareth Bennett: Thanks to the Minister for today's statement. There are a few sensible points in that statement that we would broadly support, and some more contentious ones. To start off with the good stuff: the role of the council chief executive as the returning officer in local government elections. We would agree with you that it should now be a statutory role for the council chief executive, and the...
Gareth Bennett: 2. What steps is the Welsh Government taking to reduce the risk of crime and violence in schools? OAQ51666
Gareth Bennett: Yes. Thanks for that answer. I agree that we do need to understand. We also perhaps need to pursue a standard approach to monitoring the level of violence so that at least we can also ascertain how much actually is going on, which is something that the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers are currently calling for. So, would you be minded now to think about a...
Gareth Bennett: Thanks to Mick Antoniw and the other sponsors of today's debate. The issue of leaseholds and freeholds is not a new one in Wales. I'm not going to attempt to go all the way back to the eleventh century, as Mick did, but we did have a well-publicised situation during the 1950s when a large number of miners' homes in the south Wales Valleys had leases that the occupiers weren't able to...
Gareth Bennett: 6. What assessment has the Welsh Government made of planning consent and change of use in relation to pubs in Wales? OAQ51734
Gareth Bennett: Thanks for that response. Yes, you mentioned on a previous occasion that you were a member of CAMRA, and it's good that you are involved in the real ale sphere. We are trying to—. We've got a cross-party group now. Nick is involved in it as well. Simon Thomas is running it. We're going to, hopefully, help you to push this forward, because we have been waiting rather a long time for a...
