Gareth Bennett: I'd like to welcome the Minister to her new role and her statement. Minister, I do have reservations about these new proposed regulations, and UKIP will be voting against them today. As you say, we do have a growing problem with fly-tipping, and we believe that the best approach is to make it as easy as possible for everyone—residents and commercial operators—to use council tips to...
Gareth Bennett: Yes, I agree with your sentiments, First Minister. I do think you need to look closely at your own party. There has been one investigation by Shami Chakrabarti—[Interrupution.] There has been one investigation by Shami Chakrabarti, which was rather undermined when she immediately joined the Labour Party. Then, within weeks of finishing the so-called inquiry, she was given a Labour...
Gareth Bennett: Okay. Thank you, First Minister, for that commitment. I'm not sure that the Labour Party is likely to be an effective vehicle from which to tackle the specific problem of anti-Semitism, though. We saw yesterday that seven Labour MPs felt moved to leave the Labour Party. One of the reasons they cited being the increasing prevalence of anti-Semitism within the Labour Party. Indeed, one of them...
Gareth Bennett: Diolch, Llywydd. Can I also add my condolences to the family of Paul Flynn? Although he was identified with Newport for many years, he was originally, by birth and upbringing, a Cardiffian, so both cities do lay some claim to him. I did contact Paul Flynn during the early stages of the referendum campaign. As he was a genuinely independently minded politician, I was interested, actually,...
Gareth Bennett: The right to vote, as far as I recall from our inquiry in Wales, was actually extended by that ECHR ruling and the application of it to—
Gareth Bennett: Ah, prisoners on remand. Okay, that is a precise issue.
Gareth Bennett: I think there is a basic—[Interruption.] There is a basic difficulty with prisoners on remand, but it's an interesting point that we need to look at. Now, if I can return to what I was saying, conversely, there are English prisoners in Welsh prisons who won't be allowed to vote in an Assembly election. So, in many prisons, you will get prisoners on the same wing, some of whom will get a...
Gareth Bennett: Yes.
Gareth Bennett: Now, prisoner voting is, I think, an important issue. I do have slight concerns about us bringing this debate today, because, as John Griffiths has just explained, there is an ongoing inquiry into this issue being carried out by the ELGC committee, of which I am a member. I think, in general, it isn't good practice to pre-empt the outcome of an inquiry, but, to be fair, we had a debate on...
Gareth Bennett: Ah. Yes, and that is the case as well, but I'm sure these confusions can be overcome. And of course—[Interruption.] Oh, there is no confusion, okay; I'll further investigate. But the point I was going to make is, if we did use 'Parliament' alternatively, that would probably create greater confusion, so I think 'Senedd' is a definite possibility. Although I think even that change of term...
Gareth Bennett: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd, and diolch, Llywydd, for today's statement. We appreciate that with the arrival of tax-raising powers there is a likely consensus that the name of this legislature will change. So, we are not opposed to change per se. Many people have spoken about the name. The proposal from the Llywydd today, following consultation, is to style the legislature as the Senedd. Now, when...
Gareth Bennett: Well, I'm sure, First Minister, you appreciate that we live in a time when we've had a whole catalogue of historic sex abuse claims made against people, some of them against perfectly innocent people. Many of these historical sex allegations have turned out to be pure delusion, but I'm sure plenty of innocent people have been caught up in them. If the state encourages children to start making...
Gareth Bennett: Well, I thank you for your clarity on the issue. Now, the results of the official consultation on the smacking ban showed that opinion was fairly split on this. Half of the respondees felt that legislation would protect children’s rights, but half felt that it would not. It seems that, at best, the smacking ban is a law that will split the Welsh electorate down the middle. Now, this is the...
Gareth Bennett: Diolch, Llywydd. First Minister, a fortnight ago, you restated the Welsh Government’s intention to legislate on removing the defence of reasonable chastisement. I won’t ask you if you’re still intending to bring in a smacking ban, since what you said last time was quite clear. You stated that you were determined that the ban would get through the Assembly during this Assembly term and...
Gareth Bennett: Thanks, Minister, for your statement today. We did have an inquiry on the problems of homelessness and rough-sleeping on the communities committee last year, and as David Melding mentioned, in many cases it is a complex picture, and you've alluded to this in your statement today. So, sometimes it needs complex and cross-cutting approaches to solve these problems, and I was heartened by your...
Gareth Bennett: I'm interested in what you say about the joint transport authority. I think that's something, and it's better than simply saying, 'It's a matter for the local council', which is the kind of response that Ministers here tend to usually hide behind. But it is interesting, is it not, that when you campaigned for the job of First Minister, one of your policies was to agree with Jeremy Corbyn...
Gareth Bennett: I'm glad that action has been taken already and I'm glad that your transport Minister is already on the case and there is going to be discussion with Cardiff Council. But problems with transport in Cardiff have been going on for some time, so I think perhaps I can give some pointers—I know he's a very able Cabinet Minister, but perhaps I can offer some pointers on this occasion. It's...
Gareth Bennett: Diolch, Llywydd. First Minister, Cardiff's bus services are in a crisis. The council-run Cardiff Bus lost nearly £2 million last year and is haemorrhaging money. Cardiff Bus has responded by cutting routes and raising fares, which affects passengers, and by downgrading pay and conditions for its own staff. It still hasn't filed its accounts for last year. What are your reflections on...
Gareth Bennett: —I'm not taking any interventions, thank you—partly caused, of course, by mass immigration, and, of course, because the Home Office no longer has much choice over who can actually come and settle in the country, many foreign criminals, particularly from eastern Europe, have taken the chance to settle here and carry on with their criminal careers in the UK. So, we have the figure that 11...
Gareth Bennett: No, I'm not taking any, Rhun. Thanks very much. Of course—
