Gareth Bennett: Diolch, Lywydd. The Minister is probably aware that we’re facing a problem in the UK regarding waste collection. In short, there’s a lot of rubbish lying around. In Wales, we have Conwy council rolling out a four-weekly collection, but this kind of scheme has already failed across the border in Bury in greater Manchester. So, how does the Minister view these four-weekly collection cycles?
Gareth Bennett: Thank you, Minister, for that statement. I appreciate that you see a separation between your own powers and the jurisdiction of the local authorities. However, we could perhaps take more of a leading role in the Assembly in this kind of area. I note that a lot of the impetus to reduce rubbish collection was to comply with EU targets on recycling and landfill. As we are now seemingly set to...
Gareth Bennett: Thank you, Minister; thank you for that acknowledgement that there may be a role in the Assembly for that debate. I further note that a large part of the EU legislation in this area—sorry to labour the point—was driven by Germany and Denmark, which had few available landfill sites. In the UK, we have many disused quarries and gravel pits, so we simply don’t need to comply with these...
Gareth Bennett: I’m sure we all applaud the efforts of the Welsh athletes who competed in Rio, in both the Olympics and the Paralympics, whether they won medals or not, and I’m sure that the homecoming will be a great occasion. The Minister refers, in his final paragraph, to the fact that sporting excellence begins with participation at grass-roots level, which other Members have alluded to earlier...
Gareth Bennett: I don’t want to labour the issue of the lack of pages, because Julie’s already taken umbrage with that, but even if we accept it’s only 16 pages long, even within its small size, there is a certain lack of content within it. I wasn’t here five years ago, but I’m told that the equivalent document then was 600 pages long. That does seem to indicate a certain shortcoming in some area.
Gareth Bennett: Yes, sure.
Gareth Bennett: Perhaps they have overcompensated in that instance. Maybe they should have struck a balance somewhere in the middle. [Assembly Members: ‘Ah.’]
Gareth Bennett: There was also something, I believe, in the previous Assembly, called a delivery unit. It’s no longer with us, as far as I know. It appears to have delivered nothing, as very few targets were met, and was thus itself delivered into oblivion. So, now, the targets have largely disappeared, and what we are left with is a catalogue of vague ambitions and no means of monitoring how far we can...
Gareth Bennett: Thanks, Minister, for your statement today. The statement is in some ways welcome, as the new Minister for local government is at least appearing to be more consultative in his approach than his predecessor. We also have more clarity on the council elections next May, and, more importantly for council workers, a degree more clarity on the future shape of local government in Wales. However, as...
Gareth Bennett: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. We in UKIP Wales also note the Welsh Government’s intention to revoke right to buy here in Wales. We also see right to buy as a valuable opportunity for home ownership, and of course we support more house building, if, of course, the houses can be built in the right places. However, although we support the Conservative proposal, we do have several...
Gareth Bennett: Thanks, Minister, for your earlier answers, and I was pleased that you mentioned the Wales coastal path, which we’ve had since 2012, and that’s a great step forward. But, of course, many of the near 900 miles are blighted by coastal erosion, which was also mentioned in an earlier debate today—or question. I wondered what measures you could take to maintain access to the paths in light...
Gareth Bennett: Thanks to Lee for instigating the debate. Yes, there are long-term health benefits of physical activity, which could also translate into long-term financial benefits, if, that is, we can reduce conditions such as obesity and diabetes. I acknowledge that the Welsh Government is now attempting a more joined-up approach to this issue, which inevitably crosses over the boundaries of several...
Gareth Bennett: I just wanted to raise a technical issue with the Minister. Now, when you made your statement on local government reform recently, you kindly briefed me some days before, and I was grateful for it, and, of course, I respected the embargo. With your local government settlement, to my disappointment, I only received the briefing at 1.30 p.m. today. Could we have an early briefing wherever...
Gareth Bennett: Thanks. Thanks, Chairman, for your statement. It is a welcome development that the committee is looking closely at the issue of refugees. A lot of the work, though, will inevitably involve hearing from groups who are involved with refugees, groups trying to help them to integrate with society as a whole, groups providing services for refugees, and some of these groups also call for us to take...
Gareth Bennett: Thanks to Sian for moving the debate today. Some of the Plaid Cymru proposals we in UKIP Wales fully support. Yes, we agree with the first part, that good local government can make—and I paraphrase here—a valuable social contribution. There’s nothing to disagree with there. On point 2, on poverty of ambition of local government, as attested by the Williams commission, well, yes, we...
Gareth Bennett: Sure.
Gareth Bennett: Thank you, Hefin, and, given the information you have imparted, I may, perhaps, have been mistaken and I do withdraw my comments. This doesn’t actually detract from the substance of the need for a national pay scale, perhaps along the lines of the civil service pay scale. That would be entirely welcome. But we now come to the issue that has only fleetingly been mentioned today—Rhun just...
Gareth Bennett: The reality is that, of the 16 to 24 age group, only 30 per cent pay income tax. If you want to extend the tax argument, you could extend the vote to 10-year-olds who go to the shops and pay VAT on a packet of Smarties.
Gareth Bennett: Yes. We support the Conservative amendments.
Gareth Bennett: 3. What assessment has the First Minister made of lobbying rules which apply in other UK governments? OAQ(5)0238(FM)
