Mark Reckless: Will Welsh Government treat the Assembly with equivalent respect in that debate and vote as it has with the recent vote to publish a leak report?
Mark Reckless: Is it right for women so often to be guided to midwife-led birthing units as a default option, rather than to consultant-led labour wards?
Mark Reckless: 1. What assessment has the Counsel General made of the work of the Commission on Justice in Wales? OAQ51888
Mark Reckless: A month into his appointment as Lord Chief Justice, Lord Thomas gave a lecture in which he said that European lawyers looked at England and Wales with admiration of our legal system for its independence, for its professionalism and for the fact that it has been the essential underpinning of our democratic way of life, and our general prosperity for hundreds of years. While many of us...
Mark Reckless: Will the Member give way?
Mark Reckless: Could he help me at all to understand why spending is £700 less per pupil in Wales, when it's health spending that's had the real cuts in Wales compared to England? And I had understood that local government had been treated relatively generously in Wales compared to England. Why hasn't that money flowed through from local government to schools?
Mark Reckless: First Minister, the people of Newport have been promised significant investment with a new digital cluster, which could revitalise the city. Will you provide the opportunities for adults currently on low-paid employment to retrain for Newport's emerging digital economy?
Mark Reckless: Will you provide the opportunities for adults who are currently in low-paid employment to retrain—that's likely part time—for Newport's emerging digital economy?
Mark Reckless: First Minister, do you at least welcome the 100,000 reduction in the number of Welsh children living in absolute poverty since 2010, and do you accept that the benefit cap has impacted most in London, which had 90 per cent of housing benefit claims above £20,000 rather than in Wales, and will you credit the near doubling of the tax-free allowance since 2010 for its role in helping many less...
Mark Reckless: First Minister, Newport council recently unveiled their master plan for the future of Newport city centre, but unfortunately it contained so little detail and so little in the way of firm proposals that it only attracted 24 responses. Would he join me in encouraging Newport City Council to step up to the opportunities that the scrapping of the Severn tolls gives and put real investment into...
Mark Reckless: I'm glad to hear this will be the bee's knees by the time it comes to Cardiff. And I'd like to thank the Minister particularly for his clarity that this childcare element is aimed at working parents, and there are trade-offs, and there are some who won't benefit, and he's taken that approach, and we will see how it works, in line with his party's manifesto. I'd also say that, because it's 48...
Mark Reckless: In his latest spotlight on Cardiff offices, Ross Griffin, the director of UK investment at Savills, says that the increase in stamp duty to 6 per cent on a significant office development will deter investment by making Wales more expensive as investors target English regional cities instead of Cardiff, cutting the flow of capital into the Cardiff market. He concludes that this will limit...
Mark Reckless: Up until now, it's fair for Welsh Government to say they haven't had all the tools they need to confront teacher shortages, but from next year, Welsh Government will set teachers' pay and conditions. From then, there can be no excuse if we do not see improvement in teacher recruitment. As well as improving terms and conditions, we need to increase the number of routes into teaching. Darren...
Mark Reckless: 3. Will the First Minister make a statement on public ownership of retail and commercial property? OAQ52058
Mark Reckless: I certainly look forward to those Qatar flights starting. First Minister, on 11 April, Ken Skates said that there had been no transaction connected with the proposed Cardiff bus station that would create a liability for stamp duty land tax or land transaction tax. Yet, on 18 April, he said Welsh Government had recently bought the site from Cardiff Council for £12 million. Did Welsh...
Mark Reckless: Cabinet Secretary, you said earlier that all children attending secondary school were entitled to free transport, but that surely doesn't apply to children attending sixth form. And in the case of Merthyr, is it really appropriate, if sixth-form provision is only going to take place for that age group at Merthyr college, for the council to be consulting on making all children of that age...
Mark Reckless: Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the level of choice available in post-16 education?
Mark Reckless: Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the future allocation of patients between the major trauma centre in Cardiff and Grange University Hospital?
Mark Reckless: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I move the motion in the name of Paul Davies AM. I will address the amendments first. We're happy to support Plaid's amendment 2, reflecting the devolution of powers agreed between the Assembly and the Conservative-led Government at Westminster. We also support Plaid's amendment 3. With our new tax powers, we need good scrutiny over how they are used and any impact on...
Mark Reckless: Ah, excellent.
