Mick Antoniw: Will the Member take an intervention?
Mick Antoniw: So, when the price of cigarettes was increased, did that increase or decrease the actual consumption of tobacco?
Mick Antoniw: Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd. As the Cabinet Secretary has said, these regulations provide for various provisions of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 and the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 to be applied to the investigation of offences conducted by the Welsh Revenue Authority, and they include obtaining entry to premises under specified circumstances and seizing relevant items....
Mick Antoniw: 1. Will the Welsh Government make a statement on the implications of the Gambling Commission’s report on gambling in Wales? 156
Mick Antoniw: Cabinet Secretary, thank you for that. I know this is a matter that you regard yourself of some importance. The data we have shows that there are 30,000 people in Wales who report gambling problems, 100,000 are identified at risk, 22,500 children aged between 11 and 15 who are in some way involved in gambling, and the estimated cost to Wales so far is between £40 million and £70 million....
Mick Antoniw: Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd. You will be very, very pleased to know that we reported on this Bill on 9 March and we made only one recommendation to the Member in charge and, as such, my contribution will be comparatively short. With regard to the need for the Bill, we welcome the approach adopted by the Member in charge in providing a Bill that is a consolidated piece of legislation, and we...
Mick Antoniw: I have no problem whatsoever with the principles as they're outlined in the amendment, and as it's drafted, and to that extent, in its drafting, it is a good amendment. It is just that it is a wholly inappropriate amendment in this particular piece of legislation. I have to say, from my personal view, had this been an amendment that came before the Constitutional and Legislative Affairs...
Mick Antoniw: Well, no. In actual fact, David, as you well know, what I'm doing is commenting on an amendment that's put in that has not been raised previously, an amendment that could be raised at any stage in any piece of legislation, and I'm also reminding you, of course, that the Welsh Bill is different from the Scottish Bill and has adopted a different approach. What I'm actually saying is that...
Mick Antoniw: Yes. I'll just make this point that if there is any merit whatsoever in the argument, 'This might cause difficulty for the Bill at a later stage,' is it a gamble you're prepared to risk the whole of the legislation on, on the basis of a luxury?
Mick Antoniw: What relevance does that have to this legislation?
Mick Antoniw: What possible relevance does that have?
Mick Antoniw: No, I did not. With respect—with respect—the Member has got it wrong, as he has got so many things on this wrong. It was a recommendation from the Counsel General, and it was appropriate because of specific circumstances. It has no comparison whatsoever. The point is: are you prepared to gamble with what is the most important constitutional piece of legislation we've had in this Chamber?
Mick Antoniw: I will only ask for one statement. Can I ask for a statement on the social implications for the people of Wales and in respect of access to justice of the Tory Government's court closure programme? And can I just remind you of the particular courts that I'm concerned with that the Tories have closed: Abertillery, Rhondda, Caernarfon, Aberdare, Barry, Carmarthen, Port Talbot, Pwllheli,...
Mick Antoniw: 7. What are the potential implications for Welsh Government funding decisions of the UK Government’s reduction in police budgets? OAQ51974
Mick Antoniw: Cabinet Secretary, you've seen the growing debate on community safety, particularly the incidents, for example, in London, just to mention one area, the growth of knife crime, and the debate around the impact of police budget cuts around that. Of course, the UK Government's argument is that the Tory cuts in policing have not led to those increases in violent crime. Well, can I just draw the...
Mick Antoniw: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. 'Shock result' is perhaps an overused term in sport. In reality, instances of teams overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds are relatively rare. The USSR's Olympic victory over the USA basketball team in 1972 is a controversial example. Leicester City winning the premiership title is a testament to how, in sport, teamwork can make the most unlikely...
Mick Antoniw: I firstly welcome the report and also the really important contribution that the committee has made to our understanding of the challenges that we're going to face as we approach Brexit. There are two areas that I particularly want to refer to. One is that the Chair of the committee, Dai Rees, and myself attended in Edinburgh the interparliamentary forum, a body of nearly all the...
Mick Antoniw: We have, from time to time, discussed international issues. I know that, in the past, we've looked at the issue of apartheid in South Africa and Nelson Mandela. We discussed Catalonia not so long ago and I've certainly raised issues with regard to Ukraine, and in the last session, we did have discussions on issues of nuclear weapons. I do agree, though, that we have to be cautious about...
Mick Antoniw: 5. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the role of education in combating problem gambling? OAQ52020
Mick Antoniw: Thank you for that answer. I wonder if you'd perhaps go a bit further. What we know, from the Gambling Commission, is that about 0.5 million pupils across England and Wales, between 11 and 15, are now gambling on a weekly basis. That would correlate to around 25,000 children in Wales between the ages of 11 and 15 gambling on a weekly basis, a number of those now being problem gamblers. In the...
