Gareth Bennett: Of course, we can try to deport these people—
Gareth Bennett: —but we are up against court challenges, and really we won't be able to get rid of the large foreign element in our jails—
Gareth Bennett: —until we are out of the European Union and the European Court of Justice, and preferably also out of the European Court of Human Rights. Labour and Plaid are both committing themselves today to prisoner voting. This seems a bit odd, since we are having an inquiry on precisely this subject on the communities committee at the moment, but we have only just got into this inquiry, so why Labour...
Gareth Bennett: Diolch, Llywydd, and thanks to Plaid Cymru for bringing today's debate. This isn't, I would have to add, a debate that is particularly welcomed by us here on the UKIP side of the Chamber, since our view is that criminal justice is rightly a matter for the UK Government. We don't really go along with the aspirations of Plaid Cymru that criminal justice should be a devolved issue. It seems that...
Gareth Bennett: Thanks for clarifying that point, and I look forward to future announcements. Now, there's been some talk in recent years of a major conference centre being built in Cardiff. Whether there's enough demand for this when there is already one being built in Newport, I don't know. There may be a danger of oversupply and, of course, we have to be wary of white elephants sometimes being...
Gareth Bennett: Yes. I think that's sensible because you can sometimes get claims about these events leading to massive infrastructure and massive sporting participation later on. We had these hyperbolic claims about the London Olympics in 2012, and they don't always actually lead to those outcomes. So, certainly, we would be wise to look at these things carefully. To look at another possible event—if you...
Gareth Bennett: Diolch, Llywydd. I'd like to welcome the Minister to her new role, and also welcome back the Deputy Minister to his. One of the policy areas of your department is the staging of major events. I was interested to hear the answers that you gave in response to question 1 from Mandy Jones, and the supplementaries. Of course, Mandy was perfectly correct in her point that, although it's very good...
Gareth Bennett: Thanks, Minister, for your statement today. Obesity is an important issue, as all of the speakers have made clear, and it's going to become more and more of a problem, financially, unless we can get to grips with it. I think I don't disagree with anything that anyone else has said in the Chamber today, but different people are coming from different angles, and it's going to be a difficult job...
Gareth Bennett: I think, First Minister, of course, theoretically, you're right, there is a need for balance, but I'm not sure how much balance there has been in this particular case. Of course, we're not necessarily just looking at that case. But I do think there is an issue with local democracy at stake here, and I do feel that the people who live near Hendy do need more than warm words; they actually need...
Gareth Bennett: I see that you need to make things more effective in terms of your objectives as a Government. Sometimes, that may cause conflict with the need to be responsive to public opinion. So, to look at a case in point that arose recently—one of many that I could raise—we have the Hendy windfarm development proposed for an area of mid Wales near Llandrindod Wells, a windfarm of some size that was...
Gareth Bennett: Diolch, Llywydd. First Minister, planning is an issue that is often contentious. One of the things that you've done in forming your Government is that you've moved planning to the department for local government and housing. I think that move is theoretically a good thing: to have the same Minister responsible for housing, for local government and for planning. This could, hopefully, lead to...
Gareth Bennett: Thanks for you assessment of how it works with the call-in system. I'm glad you've given your thoughts on that. How about the issue of how effective the local development plans are as a measure of setting local needs, because there has been criticism of the LDP system itself in recent years?
Gareth Bennett: Thank you for clarifying some of the reasons why the planning element has been brought into the department. I think, certainly from my point of view, it's probably useful. I always thought that planning was something that straddles a couple of different possible departments. But I always thought putting it together with housing would perhaps make things easier. Of course, we do need to...
Gareth Bennett: Diolch, Llywydd. I'd like to welcome the Minister to her new post. Minister, I see that planning is now part of your portfolio, it wasn't previously included with the local government and housing department's responsibilities. I appreciate what you've said today that you've only been in office for six weeks, but do you have any initial thoughts on how well the planning process works in Wales?
Gareth Bennett: Thanks, First Minister, for the latest in a series of Brexit-related statements, which began last week. Now, we did have a semi-interesting one last week from your Brexit Minister, in which he was talking about things like your Welsh Government Brexit website, offering advice to businesses and organisations about contingency planning for leaving. And this, as I mentioned to you last week, is...
Gareth Bennett: Well, I do really question whether the will of the people who are sitting in the House of Commons overrules the people of the United Kingdom, who have already had their say on this matter. And as was made clear by David Cameron when he gave us this referendum in the first place, it was supposed to be a vote that was going to be binding on the House of Commons. Constitutionally perhaps...
Gareth Bennett: I know that there are many statements this afternoon, and I'm actually glad that there are statements coming out in a sense, because there is an element in what the Welsh Government is saying, in that you are making preparations for Brexit, which we very much welcome on this side of the Chamber. But, at the same time, you are still clinging to this idea that you've just articulated once...
Gareth Bennett: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. First Minister, Adam Price touched briefly on the issue of Brexit in his questions. As we both know, there are 66 days to go before the UK is due to depart the European Union. Theresa May has ruled out delaying the date of departure. She has also ruled out a second referendum, so the default position is that we leave the EU on 29 March. Given that, First Minister,...
Gareth Bennett: Thanks for your response to Mick Antoniw's question earlier, First Minister. I hear what you say—that you want the UK Parliament to rule out a 'no deal' Brexit. So, at least you've made your position clear. Obviously, over here, we're in a completely different position to that; we don't see a 'no deal' Brexit as being a bad solution; we actually see it as a World Trade Organization deal...
Gareth Bennett: Thanks to the Brexit Minister for his statement today. To quote from page 3 of your statement: 'we face leaving without a deal on 29 March and we must prepare for that.' I think that's a very sensible approach. I take on board what you say, that many levers, in terms of preparing for Brexit, are in the hands of the UK Government. But I think that there are a lot of contingency plans that you...
