Mark Reckless: I thank my group leader and party’s agricultural spokesperson for his contribution. He rightly observes that the common agricultural policy has been dominant in EU spending since, and indeed before, we joined in 1973. He’ll also be aware that that proportion of spending has come down over that time from near 90 per cent to around a half in more recent times. We talk about wanting to...
Mark Reckless: I thank the Member for her contribution. She ably represents her urban constituents, and brings that perspective to the committee deliberations. In terms of horticulture, it’s not an area that has traditionally been within the CAP, although the free trade framework within the EU sees us have very substantial imports, particularly, I believe, from Denmark and, especially, the Netherlands....
Mark Reckless: I think for the broader context, we will have an opportunity to take a more cross-cutting approach to agriculture in rural development, because of the policy freedoms we would have post Brexit. I do, again, emphasise, though, that it is going to be quite time-consuming and demanding for members of our committee, but also potentially for the Assembly as a whole, in developing the legal...
Mark Reckless: I congratulate Simon Thomas and other Members on securing this debate, and I agree with the motion that is proposed. We welcome the ‘State of Nature 2016 Wales’ report, and we commend the organisations involved in developing that report. I have, however, been struck that, as well as that ‘State of Nature 2016 Wales’ report from many organisations, largely in the third sector, we also...
Mark Reckless: Diolch, Lywydd. It’s a pleasure to move the motion to propose that the National Assembly for Wales supports the abolition of tolls on the Severn bridges following their return to the public sector. The Severn tolls hold back the Welsh economy, discourage tourism and unnecessarily divide Wales from England. There is £90 million at least of direct cost that the tolls take in every year, and...
Mark Reckless: It is, and, indeed, I agree with that observation. The bridge, of course, is entirely within England, unlike the southern, newer bridge, which is split between England and Wales at its midpoint. The Severn Bridges Act in 1992 carved out some of the residual defects that there may have been in that bridge and issues regarding them from the concession, which meant that the concessionaire...
Mark Reckless: Turning now to the other amendments, the Conservative motion I found a little waffly and a bit sort of hedged around with qualifications. I thought it was perhaps best categorised as a holding position pending instruction from Westminster, but potentially an improvement on where they were before. And the Plaid motion—I see it calls for the responsibility for the Severn bridges to be...
Mark Reckless: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I am grateful to my party colleague, Gareth Bennett, for his contribution. I am grateful to Lee Waters and Jenny Rathbone for coming to the Chamber to focus on the environmental perspective. I am grateful to Russell George for his balanced contribution, and I think colleagues look forward to seeing the source of this 25 per cent, and, certainly, we would...
Mark Reckless: 7. When did the First Minister first call for the abolition of tolls on the Severn bridges? OAQ(5)0282(FM)
Mark Reckless: I’ve read the manifesto—
Mark Reckless: My previous quote was: ‘We couldn't abolish the tolls, let's be perfectly frank about that. But of course any money that is raised could be applied to the M4’. But that was in 2012, and I credit the First Minister for the position he now adopts. I've raised with him the issue that the UK Government's own powers to levy tolls under the Severn Bridges Act 1992 expire after a certain amount...
Mark Reckless: I’m also grateful to the Cabinet Secretary for her statement. She says she hopes to work with parties across the Chamber, at least ones she deemed to have in-depth knowledge of the sector. She also said she welcomed the consensus that greeted the principles of Professor Diamond’s report. I’d like to just then start on two areas where I was very pleased to hear what she said just now. I...
Mark Reckless: I will continue. I wonder if I might ask the Cabinet Secretary, in light of that—the £1,000 that was previously described as being given across the board to families that earn even more than £59,200 now, or £80,000 or £81,000 before, is that still within the system proposed? It wasn’t mentioned in her statement here. And secondly, can I just clarify that this £1,500 loan write-off...
Mark Reckless: I thank the Cabinet Secretary for his statement. I note him saying that this new tax will be broadly consistent with the existing landfill tax, which will provide stability and reassurance to businesses and minimise the risk of waste tourism. I wasn't familiar with that final concept before today, but I welcome the overall approach. It's a similar approach to what he has shown in the land...
Mark Reckless: Diolch, Lywydd. Last week, ‘The Sunday Times’ published it’s ‘parent power’ tables, including the top 400 state secondary schools across the UK weighted by GCSE and A-level results. Is the Cabinet Secretary happy that the top Welsh school in that ranking was one hundred and eighty-second?
Mark Reckless: I thank the Cabinet Secretary for her answer, and of course next year and afterwards we may not have the opportunity to make such comparisons across the border because the GCSE grading system is changing in England from A to G to 9 to 1, and Wales is not taking that path. As a parent seeking to compare primary schools, and standards across different schools, I’ve found that a much greater...
Mark Reckless: I note the Cabinet Secretary’s response, but the complete record is not available. I would quite like to look at what the key stage 2 results are for different schools across Wales, and to compare what the trend is in that and what improvements there have been, and to make comparisons, appropriately adjusted, between schools, as would many other parents. The system is set up for her and for...
Mark Reckless: We are around seven years into a period of economic recovery, albeit from an absolutely terrible recession. There’s been substantial growth in the overall UK and Welsh economies. Unemployment is really very low by historical comparisons, at least over the last 30 years, in both Wales and the UK. The budget deficit at a UK level is still approaching £70 billion, approximately 4 per cent of...
Mark Reckless: Yes, I’m very happy to.
Mark Reckless: Yes, and I look forward to working with the Chair of the Finance Committee and others on that. I think the proposal that any change in a budget line that were to be submitted as a motion should at the same time have an amendment as to either an increase in taxation or a reduction in spending which would counter that. But, subject to that, I think we would benefit from having that democratic...
