Mark Reckless: Well, the reason we're opposing the amendment is that it starts with 'delete all' with reference to our motion. We also have some concerns about how Welsh Government is treated compared to local authorities and potentially some other bodies, and the potential differences between LTT and SDLT and the centralising effects we think that may unhelpfully have on partnerships. I previously...
Mark Reckless: Will the Member give way?
Mark Reckless: Can he explain how he will get this taxation by raising this rate from 5 per cent to 6 per cent when the people investing have the opportunity to not pay it at all by going to Reading or Bristol or Birmingham instead?
Mark Reckless: Will the Member give way?
Mark Reckless: Will the Member give way?
Mark Reckless: But is it not the case that, by stepping in and buying this site, the Welsh Government, which doesn't pay tax because of its Crown exemption, is avoiding tax that would be paid potentially by another of its partners? The guidance on the LTT says that if it's bought jointly with another public authority not so exempt, e.g. a local authority, the exemption won't apply, and then later the...
Mark Reckless: Will the Minister give way? The purchase of this site, I understand, on 28 March, and then the granting of the 999-year lease on 29 March, took place under the SDLT regime. If it had taken place three days later, Ministers would not have avoided their own regime. I have raised very serious points about what happens to local authorities, what happens to other public sector bodies, why the...
Mark Reckless: I didn't say that. We didn't say that.
Mark Reckless: Will the Member give way?
Mark Reckless: You said at the beginning of this speech that this was akin to a tax. Isn’t the big difference with Scandinavia that, there, it is a tax, and at least the revenues can be used to support high-quality public services? Here, the money raised would just go as higher profits to the private companies who produce them and sell them.
Mark Reckless: Diolch, Llywydd. I'm delighted to speak today in favour of the National Assembly for Wales giving our legislative consent to the European Union withdrawal Bill. This is, of course, the UK Government's legislative mechanism for leaving the EU with maximum certainty, continuity and control, and I'm delighted to support it. Back at the first First Minister's questions after the summer, I was...
Mark Reckless: Of course.
Mark Reckless: The purpose of Plaid Cymru is to bring about an independent Wales, breaking up the United Kingdom. I respect, but I do not agree with, your objective. Returning to the legislative consent motion and what we are debating today, this Bill has been hugely improved by the efforts, yes, of Welsh Government, but also, I think, others, and I'd like to congratulate both Mark Isherwood and David...
Mark Reckless: Will the Member give way?
Mark Reckless: Is it not the case that, as well as the inter-governmental agreement, we have, as far as the Sewel convention is concerned, an extension to regulation-making powers and a requirement that the House of Lords must approve them too?
Mark Reckless: Thank you. He said that the alternative was to go back to the unsatisfactory draft of the Bill before, but is it not the case that, actually, his Government has protected the Scottish people and their devolution settlement, and that it's his negotiation of what he's agreed for Wales that will now apply to Scotland, even though Nicola Sturgeon has not done the sensible thing that his...
Mark Reckless: Leader of the house, Newport has been attracting investment into the digital sector and is keen to attract significantly more with support from Welsh Government. You mentioned the software academy and the potential of degree-level qualifications. Does there also need to be even more emphasis on training for people who are in, perhaps, lower paid jobs at the moment, and are part-time, so that...
Mark Reckless: Will the First Minister make a statement on the balance between public and private investment in Newport?
Mark Reckless: Will the Member give way?
Mark Reckless: Is he aware that this would be far easier to implement on the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland border than it is in Switzerland? The Member mentioned that 10 times the volume of people cross the Swiss border, but, in terms of goods, the figure is around one hundredth of the amount of goods crossing the Northern Ireland border as crosses that Swiss border.
