Mark Reckless: In favour.
Mark Reckless: In favour.
Mark Reckless: The third area of these where there's—I hesitate to say significant, but it does extend them, is the 2m requirement for social distancing put into legislation, which I find absolutely extraordinary. What is the scientific evidence of Welsh Government that they have, that apparently others don't, that 2m is the key determinant? Why do they think that key determinant would be the same inside...
Mark Reckless: It's a pleasure to follow Dai Lloyd, and I thank him for his comments there. I know the John Snow story well as, 25 years ago, I lived in a flat above the John Snow pub, looking over that pump that has been preserved in now Broadwick Street. We all emphasise the public health issues, we all have concern for the other health issues, and my colleague Mandy Jones spoke very ably about those in...
Mark Reckless: For. In favour.
Mark Reckless: First Minister, last week I asked you about your Government revising the coronavirus regulations to remove the requirement that restrictions be necessary. You responded as if I'd suggested the restrictions needn't be proportionate. The record shows that I criticised you for removing the requirement that restrictions be necessary. I concluded by stating that the Westminster requirement for any...
Mark Reckless: Thank you for your statement, Minister, and it's good to see you and good to—. We're seeing you again on 27 May for the supplementary budget. Could I ask in the meantime—? You emphasised, certainly with the £500 million for the economic resilience fund, spending in Wales is over and above what the UK Government is doing for England. We know that about £100 million of that you're able to...
Mark Reckless: I know. Indeed, yes, it does—
Mark Reckless: Diolch, Llywydd. First Minister, have you read Animal Farm? Why, when you cycle through Pontcanna to your allotment, did you think it okay for people to hang out with someone from outside their household—and you didn't say on their own pavement, but in the park? Do you not understand that, while prohibiting people from driving to exercise may be fine for Pontcanna, but it's not for many who...
Mark Reckless: Thank you for your statement, Minister. There was initial focus on an advisory group, and, in the media commentary, a lot of that was about Gordon Brown and was he the person to be helping us out of the recovery. But I see from this list you've got a much broader number of people. Can I just clarify that those recovery round-tables are the same thing as the advisory group from outside Wales...
Mark Reckless: First Minister, you announced in your framework for recovery document on Friday, 24 April that, before lifting lockdown restrictions, your Government would assess whether measures had a high positive equality impact, if they provided any opportunities for widening participation and a more inclusive society, and whether they were consistent with the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act...
Mark Reckless: Against.
Mark Reckless: We supported the legislative consent motion for the UK Coronavirus Act 2020, and we might have taken a different view on these regulations if they had been considered by the Assembly around the time they were brought into force on 26 March. But, at that stage, we faced a very real prospect of our NHS being absolutely overwhelmed, and our critical and intensive care simply not being able to...
Mark Reckless: What is the point of fiddling with the legal framework that the UK Government and Parliament sets for England just to make it a bit different in Wales? Why is it important to follow rules a bit differently in Wales than in England? We saw many businesses close down who weren't legally required to, and a lot of those are working hard with customers, employees—sometimes with Government—to...
Mark Reckless: First Minister, may I thank you not just for your statement but for all the work that you and your team are doing? I trust that you are bearing up well in these quite extraordinary circumstances. In trying to scrutinise what Welsh Government is doing, it is tempting to concentrate on the areas where the approach in Wales is somewhat different, perhaps, than that taken by the UK Government....
Mark Reckless: Of course, there may be a case for doing it somewhat differently in Wales, but we have a £360 million consequential for next year just announced, and the retail but also the hospitality and leisure businesses are public-facing businesses that we may expect to be particularly affected by coronavirus and all the implications of that. And it does strike me that what the Chancellor has announced...
Mark Reckless: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Could I ask the finance Minister to explain how her strategy in terms of business rates relief in Wales differs from that being pursued by the UK Government? They announced today that the 50 per cent retail discount that they have next year is going up to 100 per cent and being extended to leisure and hospitality. Is that an approach that she is attracted to? And the...
Mark Reckless: I welcome the Minister giving that reconsideration. However, Confor also mentioned the issue of where a landscape is designated in some other way, say an upland sort of moorland, that they find there is a presumption against tree planting in those areas. And they can be much cheaper areas, say £1,000 a hectare, rather than several thousand, making the planting much more economic and likely...
Mark Reckless: Diolch, Llywydd. First Minister, if I may turn to flooding, the industry association for forestry businesses, Confor, says that Welsh Government's and NRW's interpretation of the Environment (Wales) Act 2016 resists changes to any landscape where the habitat or designation is not for woodland. Given the flood mitigation benefits of tree planting on uplands, and the opportunities for...
Mark Reckless: Postpartum psychosis, on the CYPE committee—. When we looked at this, we spoke with one lady who had come down to Cardiff when the facility was there, who would have preferred to go to Manchester. For many in north Wales, it works to go to the mother and baby unit and a hospital in Manchester, and that will be preferable to being made to come down to Cardiff, further from their families.
