Gareth Bennett: I think that's an excellent point, First Minister. However, we do have the evidence of 20 years of a devolved Wales in which the economic performance of the region has signally failed to improve. [Interruption.] The region, the country—call it what you will. Call it what you will. The economic performance of Wales has not signally improved over the past 20 years. The latest gross value...
Gareth Bennett: I thank you for clarifying your position on that. Now, on the issue of income tax variation, that's something that's coming up later on today—it does sound as if your long-term view may be that a variation of the income tax rate in Wales may be a lever that you can legitimately use, and which you may be enthusiastic about using in the future.
Gareth Bennett: Diolch, Llywydd. And can I also take the opportunity to add my condolences to the family of Steffan Lewis? First Minister, this is the time of year when many people have to complete their tax returns, and, therefore, the subject of taxation is in their minds. Of course, we know that governments wouldn't function if we didn't have taxation, but I would add, from my own observation, that most...
Gareth Bennett: Yes, I appreciate that there probably are difficulties over access to land. I think it's worth looking at, but I understand it is a major challenge. Empty homes are another issue, and there is a measure that local councils can bring in called 'empty dwelling management Orders', which could force the hand of developers who are leaving properties empty for long periods. So, these can be used,...
Gareth Bennett: Thanks to the Conservatives for bringing today's debate on housing. We support the Conservative motion today; we think it's quite focused and concentrates on the need to increase housing supply. It's actually fairly flexible in the suggestions it makes as to how to increase that supply. The Labour amendment follows a particular pattern that we're getting quite used to in the Assembly, in...
Gareth Bennett: Thanks to the First Minister for bringing us another statement on Brexit. You say, First Minister, that you want a Brexit that protects jobs. Jobs for whom, I wonder—jobs for British people, or jobs for the hundreds of thousands of people who have come to Britain in recent years, who together comprise—[Interruption.]—who together comprise a formidable pool of cheap labour for big...
Gareth Bennett: I think it's a sensible approach and I look forward to further statements from the Government on these issues. Thank you.
Gareth Bennett: Yes, I was aware of some of the actions that you've taken in the past regarding lobbying the UK Government, and I think it's a good idea to do that. I thank you for the initiatives in the past. I was aware also that the health Minister in the Welsh Government called publicly in 2016 for the UK Government to impose a blanket ban on junk food advertising on television prior to the 9 p.m....
Gareth Bennett: Diolch, Llywydd. I'd like to welcome you, First Minister, to your new post and wish you the best of luck with it. As we are all aware, obesity is a growing problem in Wales and a particular menace is childhood obesity. There has been a recent survey from Cancer Research UK that is linking obesity in Wales to the ready availability of cheap junk food. What steps is the Welsh Government taking...
Gareth Bennett: I'm pleased to move today's UKIP debate. As our motion states, there are around 2,000 incidents of sewer blockages in Wales each month, or around 24,000 a year. Recently, there has been coverage in the media of fatbergs, where fat, oil and grease combine with rags and other material in the sewer to clog up the network. There have been tv programmes describing fatbergs the size of a London...
Gareth Bennett: Abstain.
Gareth Bennett: Thank you for your statement, First Minister, and thank you for your kind attention to the questions I and the UKIP group have asked you over the past two and a half years. We have occasionally had our disagreements, but I feel that these were political differences of opinion, and certainly, for my part, I never felt there was any personal acrimony there. I have enjoyed our encounters. Of...
Gareth Bennett: Is that the answer? [Laughter.] That's an interesting answer, but I may have a different appraisal. Are there perhaps areas where you feel the Welsh Government's performance could have been better?
Gareth Bennett: You were featured in a BBC Wales programme last night, Being First Minister—a very interesting show—in which you said: 'What the Welsh public want to see is delivery. They're not interested in the mechanics; all the rest of it is guff. It doesn't count as far as the Welsh public are concerned.' End of quote. What advice would you give to your successor on how to reduce 'guff', as you term...
Gareth Bennett: Diolch, Llywydd. As we know, First Minister, today is your last FMQs. I think this may not be an occasion to be too controversial, and perhaps we could both be slightly more reflective today. Now, you’ve been the First Minister for nine years, you were a Minister for almost as many years before that, so you have been at the heart of the Welsh Government for almost as long as it has existed....
Gareth Bennett: Yes, indeed, you are correct in stating that. Thinking about the issue of fines as a general issue, we know—I think we can agree on this point—that local government is in a difficult place at the moment in terms of its finances. Is there a possibility that sometimes councils could be over punitive on many kinds of fines and they could be simply using the local ratepayers as cash cows?
Gareth Bennett: I appreciate the need for local democracy and for decisions to be made at the ballot box, as you indicate. But, of course, people make decisions at the ballot box based on a variety of factors, not merely whether or not they were fined for driving in a bus lane. So, as you have oversight for local government in Wales, I wonder if you are perhaps alive to the possibility that there could be a...
Gareth Bennett: Diolch, Llywydd. There were press reports recently that revealed that Cardiff is now the second highest council area in the whole of the UK for collecting bus lane fines. Some quarter of a million drivers were fined in the course of a year. Only Glasgow council, in fact, fined more drivers than Cardiff. Now, I appreciate the need to adhere to the local driving restrictions, but, sometimes,...
Gareth Bennett: Thanks to the Finance Minister for bringing today's budget debate. Of course, we agree with some aspects of the Government's draft budget. The news we had—. Mark Drakeford said today that the full amount from the consequential of the UK Government's high-street relief scheme—the full amount will be spent in Wales. That's welcome news. Although, as Darren Millar added in his...
Gareth Bennett: No, I've nearly come to the end, but thank you. They're also effectively a regressive tax, which will hit the poor hardest, so we won't be supporting the Government's motions today.
