Mark Reckless: We don't agree with the change in the franchise, but Mark Isherwood has already spoken about those, and I will therefore focus my remarks on areas where I think we agree with the Government, at least in principle. The single transferrable vote—we'd like to see electoral reform, and I think STV has a lot of attractions, and actually I think it's quite exciting that the Welsh Government is...
Mark Reckless: 2. Will the Commission make a statement on the Llywydd and the Chief Executive’s interactions with Sir Roderick Evans in respect of standards complaints? OAQ54706
Mark Reckless: Will the finance Minister make a statement on the Welsh Government's relationship with Gavin Woodhouse, Afan Valley Limited and Northern Powerhouse Developments Limited?
Mark Reckless: The economy Minister visited Gavin Woodhouse's Afan valley project and starred in a promotional video for it. The project has now stalled after administrators were appointed. Since Dai Lloyd questioned you about this in July, the administrators have stated there were signs that Gavin Woodhouse's hotel projects were a Ponzi scheme. I'm sure we're all pleased to hear that no Welsh Government...
Mark Reckless: So, why in one complaint, ruled as being without merit by the standards commissioner, did he refer to an e-mail suggesting you as Llywydd would deal with it by knocking heads together? Why were there—[Inaudible.]
Mark Reckless: Well, could I specifically ask the Llywydd: why was there a need to ensure you were on side, as the complaint involved a Labour woman and a Brexit man? And was this proper conduct by the standards commissioner?
Mark Reckless: Well, First Minister, that £3.4 billion of Barnett consequential is dependent on a huge increase in public borrowing and, if you succeed in your aim to force the people of Wales and the UK to vote again and succeed in your campaign to remain, you will be banned from borrowing that money by European Union rules. Now, First Minister, Labour's manifesto has promised to build 100,000 council...
Mark Reckless: First Minister, given you only built 57 council houses last year, people can judge the plausibility of that, or otherwise, for themselves. You have said that you are going to—and I quote your manifesto here in 2016: 'We will deliver an extra 20,000 affordable homes in the next term'. Yet that implies 4,000 a year. You've been averaging only 2,500 a year. Is it really plausible that you are...
Mark Reckless: [Inaudible.]—how many did you build then?
Mark Reckless: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. We talk about how we're keen to increase house building and construction in Wales, both to provide housing and to generate economic growth, yet the reality is we put more and more restrictions and conditions on what developers have to do before they are allowed to develop. One of these has been the sustainable urban drainage requirements. When I served on the Economy,...
Mark Reckless: Many of our students will, at some stage of their careers, seek employment over the border in England. It's only recently that England has diverged from our grading system by moving to one to nine, but I just wonder whether, over the longer term, the education Secretary sees any risks to Welsh students in that divergence getting their qualifications treated as they should be in England,...
Mark Reckless: I thought there was an instructive divergence between how the two previous speakers described what the institution was becoming. Rhun referred to our flowering into a national Parliament, while David referred to our becoming a classic Westminster-model institution. In either event, I think it's important that we call ourselves what we are and since we now have primary law-making powers and we...
Mark Reckless: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd, and can I thank all Members for their contribution to the debate? May I thank Plaid for their support for our motion today, and share my disappointment that the Conservatives and Labour are coming together tonight to resist transparency of a lobbying register? Caroline introduced—
Mark Reckless: Yes, I'd be delighted to, Andrew.
Mark Reckless: In principle, I think that's a fair point, Andrew. There was, though, reference, I think in Dai's contribution, to this having first been looked at two and a half years ago, and I welcome what you said in your speech, but I did find it contradictory in one bit in that you said that you wanted to leave this in the hands of the Commission and then, at the end of your speech, you said that it...
Mark Reckless: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I think this is my second speech on the trot. I'm talking about bus services in Wales, and, before we declared a climate change emergency, a key public policy reason to support buses was to reduce congestion. And I first understood a key aspect of this properly when I heard from Nigel Winters, who was, at least then—he may still be—the managing director of...
Mark Reckless: One constituent of mine, Carol Gulliford from Torfaen, told the South Wales Argus that, if services that she uses are cut, she would have to rely on other people and she worries that she won't be able to 'get out and see people and...go to the shops. I won't be able to do anything for myself'. The same lady highlighted how services affect others: 'Lots of people up this way use it to go to...
Mark Reckless: However, I think what we also need to recognise is that the overall level of bus usage in Wales is substantially less than it is in England and Scotland. The number of journeys per head of population is in the low 30s in Wales, compared to between 70 and 80 in England and Scotland. So, I'd like to ask the Minister—. He referred in a late September statement this year to the general...
Mark Reckless: Diolch, Llywydd. May I congratulate the First Minister, the education secretary, the 107 schools and the 3,165 learners who took part in the PISA tests? They are significantly better than the very poor results we saw in 2016, and I think it's appropriate to put that on the record. If it had been the other way, I would have been coruscating in my criticism. Can I, however, ask about the...
Mark Reckless: Well, I think what Welsh Government has said in response to these results is broadly fair, and I think the points about the OECD comparisons are well worth noting in light of what we saw three years ago and the difference in the debate there. And I think that should be reflected in our comments. Will the First Minister, though, accept that the picture is not as rosy in the intra-UK...
