Mark Reckless: I will take an intervention.
Mark Reckless: I don't think you are understanding me correctly, because I do accept that the personal can be political and I do think that some behaviours are so transgressive of social norms that there is justification for legislation and in some cases, criminalisation. I'm just saying that I'm not convinced that our society is yet there in respect of this issue, because I think there are so many parents...
Mark Reckless: Does the Minister share my frustration that it's not clear whether Plaid are complaining about fraud or are complaining about the law? Is the issue that second-home owners are reclassifying them as holiday homes but still living in them themselves part time and not renting them out? In which case that's fraud. Is it that they're not renting them out very much and they're not actually reaching...
Mark Reckless: To rename the committee, and I want to speak on that as well.
Mark Reckless: Yes, that was an objection, and I thought I'd asked to speak.
Mark Reckless: Diolch, Llywydd, much appreciated. I'm not sure what happened there. I object to the motion for two reasons. One is simply in terms of timing. Welsh Government has for some time trailed a debate on the justice commission report, and I think the first thing this morning we had an e-mail announcing the motion under that would be Tuesday of next week. I think it would be better for...
Mark Reckless: Will the Member give way?
Mark Reckless: I trust the Member enjoys her party and her bongs. I was speaking yesterday to the First Minister about the different ways in which we were marking Brexit day, and I'm glad to see the Conservatives bring forward this motion today. I hear voices from various sides saying that we should come together, and I think that is a worthy sentiment. I'm disappointed that the Welsh Government do not...
Mark Reckless: No, I don't agree. I accept the first part of the Member's statement, particularly with reference to Theresa May's Government and the way it acted. It's not for me to defend Theresa May's Government, but I would note that it was also the behaviour of the Labour Party in the Commons that led to the situation we had. And I'm afraid I doubt the sincerity of many of those MPs who were effectively...
Mark Reckless: —let's make a success of it. Let's work together.
Mark Reckless: Will the Member give way?
Mark Reckless: I just wonder, given the historical sweep and span that he has today, whether, looking back, he would have any regrets for his own role in voting for the Maastricht treaty?
Mark Reckless: Joyce Watson there chastises Nigel Farage for only attending one European Union fisheries committee. He's done something rather more valuable for fishermen by getting us out of the EU and them out of the CFP. I thank Andrew R.T. Davies and Llyr Gruffydd for their generous comments about our motion. I only express my disappointment they won't be supporting it, in light of them. I think Andrew...
Mark Reckless: The Member is absolutely correct and I commend him and his party in Government on what they have now done in this area. Amendment 5 we also support, and amendment 6—the maximum sustainable yield. I think that approach seems to have quite a broad consensus of—. So, that's why I was a little surprised with Huw Irranca's intervention earlier. I wasn't quite sure why he left, because I...
Mark Reckless: Clearly, it is the 200-mile or median line limit, and some fish will cross over borders. But isn't it the case, actually, that the majority of fish stocks do not?
Mark Reckless: Now we have left the EU, could I ask you, First Minister, about how the Welsh Government should be consulted on future trade agreements and what your priorities are? Of course, if the UK Government had listened to you before, when you said tariffs would devastate the UK car industry by causing it to relocate to the EU, they might be surprised by this week's news. Groupe PSA, who make...
Mark Reckless: Thank you. Of course, it's not me who's saying these things, but the car companies, as reported in the Financial Times. But it should not be a surprise that, when the EU sells £265 billion-worth of goods to us and we only sell £170 billion-worth of goods to them, if you make trade more expensive through tariffs, that production would relocate on a net basis from the EU to the UK in light...
Mark Reckless: I did think we had been here before, but I thank the Minister, who's made a fulsome apology and perhaps, I think, has gone further even than necessary in terms of accepting or apologising for error. And I think I'd say also I think it's an issue for us as an Assembly. We debated this before, I spoke and I myself did not notice this error or draw it to the Minister's attention and no other...
Mark Reckless: I thank Rhun for his contribution there and for his service on the Finance Committee. We're sorry to have lost him. And I also welcome Nick Ramsay back to the Chamber and thank him for his contribution. He mentioned the airport, and the Conservatives were criticising the further expenditure on that, and Carwyn Jones, the ex-First Minister, who is no longer in his place, came back by saying,...
Mark Reckless: So, while we thought £52 million was quite a lot for the Welsh Government to spend on Cardiff Airport, compared to the KPMG estimate of a valuation of £25 million to £35 million, it suggests that, actually, the £52 million compares relatively well to the £40 million, when Cardiff had 1 million passengers compared to the 130,000 there, but whether that's the right valuation I don't know....
