Mark Reckless: I thank the Government for bringing this motion and for the various amendments that have been made to it. It's the intention of my group to support both the motion and all the amendments to it. However, coming to this as a non-specialist in the area, I do find it a little difficult to engage with the debate and make any assessment of the relative merits of the motion versus the amendments...
Mark Reckless: What, Llywydd, does that show about the judiciary in this country, and about law schools, when he concludes: 'You fancy doing law, she's a Plaid Cymru supporter—'?
Mark Reckless: Notwithstanding the truth or otherwise of the allegation, I withdraw it.
Mark Reckless: Of course, the line of questions of your role are out of order, are they not? I of course accept your judgment in that matter, Llywydd. Last week, First Minister, we spoke about the justice commission, and you said the justice commission report showed the way forward for the devolution of justice in Wales. Lord Thomas said that a team of just 10 civil servants could be relied upon to support...
Mark Reckless: I raised with you last week one of your Members telling one of my Members to 'eff-off'. You told me that I should refer it to the standards commissioner to be properly raised and investigated. Now, the remark he makes about 'disgraceful', about your finance Minister, is about her politicisation of the Business Committee minutes, on which she serves as a Government Minister. He also said he...
Mark Reckless: First Minister, Rebecca Evans sits on the Business Committee as a Government Minister. [Interruption.] I raised with you last week—
Mark Reckless: First Minister, is it acceptable for a Welsh Minister to lie if their objective is to smear the Brexit Party? Further, did Rebecca Evans notify you or the Counsel General, under paragraph 7.16 of the ministerial code, before making a standards complaint judged to be wholly without merit and in respect of which the outgoing standards commissioner said her actions were, and I quote, disgraceful?
Mark Reckless: One of those additional suggestions was having a new council tax band for properties worth more than £10 million. Could I suggest, before bringing that in, we check to see whether there are any such properties in Wales? I share the Minister's discomfort about imprisoning people for not paying their council tax. She said we shouldn't imprison people for getting into debt, with which, I think,...
Mark Reckless: Can I thank the First Minister for bringing this statement today, and still more if I may thank Lord Thomas and all his fellow commissioners for bringing forth this very impressive report? I'd also like to congratulate the previous First Minister for what is a very impressive report that he set up for us. I would like to actually follow what the First Minister said that this report deserves...
Mark Reckless: First Minister, you are in charge of discipline within your group, and I note you look to wash your hands of such matters. Over the coming weeks, First Minister, you, your AMs and your MPs are going to find out exactly how voters feel about the way that you have treated them. You told them that you backed the referendum. You told them that you would respect the result. Yet, since, you've...
Mark Reckless: First Minister, 10 Welsh Labour MPs refused to support having an election. One of your AMs in my region has said it is a mistake of historic proportions. Another has said that it's unsafe to have any election until the electoral system is reformed and abuse of politicians is dealt with. Since that Labour AM, notwithstanding our own policies, told a female member of my group to 'eff off' just...
Mark Reckless: May I congratulate Siân Gwenllian on getting this debate and leading it in the way she has, and on her work in her constituency? I was particularly interested in the story around the youth club there, GISDA. She did say at one point in her speech that prejudice was the root of the increase. We heard from Leanne Wood that, I think quite rightly, social attitudes have progressed a lot in...
Mark Reckless: But do our schools teach pupils very well to pass exams—or at least sufficiently—on the current results? One change we are having, which I should welcome, which the education Secretary put out this morning, is we are seeing a 2.75 per cent increase in teachers' pay and 5 per cent for the newly qualified, and, I think, £12.8 million in the current year to support that. However, would the...
Mark Reckless: First Minister, your future generations commissioner, Sophie Howe, has announced that GCSEs are not fit for purpose and should be scrapped. She claims this is necessary as the new curriculum replaces what she characterised as the 'silos' of traditional subjects with six areas of learning and experience. The co-author of her White Paper, Professor Calvin Jones, says they struggle with the idea...
Mark Reckless: Rather than simply focusing on evasion and avoidance, isn't the issue one of 'What's a second home?' versus 'What is a genuine commercial lettings business?' If we don't want to tax that on the same basis, why allow that to be one if people are only letting it for 10 weeks a year? Why do you think that's sufficient, or at least why did the Order think it sufficient in 2016?
Mark Reckless: The Telegraph article and the provision mentioned there does actually only apply to England. It is (2B) and it's incredibly loose—it just says you need to intend to let it for 140 days. In Wales, at least, we then say, 'And you have to have done so—had it available for the last year—and you then actually have to do it for the 70 days.' So, it's better than the English liberalisation,...
Mark Reckless: The Member’s put his point on the record. I need to complete the point I was trying to make to conclude my argument, which is, yes, as the motion says, if it’s a second home, you should pay council tax—that’s appropriate, and you shouldn’t have an exploitation of a loophole. However, if the tax system is designed to say, actually, if it’s not a second home and you’re really...
Mark Reckless: I will take the intervention now.
Mark Reckless: Yes, Mike, you did come up with a different solution. I accept that, but I think you did also mention the carve-out, as we'd heard earlier, before. I don't think any of us are proposing a hotel, B&B change to what subsection (2) says, and I think it's important to recognise subsection (2B) and that reference to non-self-contained self-catering accommodation provided commercially just—
Mark Reckless: No, I want to carry on, actually. It just applies to the hotels and B&Bs. The problem we have is essentially a lot of these issues go back to when council tax was introduced and there was a 50 per cent compulsory discount for second homes, and at that point, when business reliefs for small businesses were much smaller—both in Wales and England, they were the same at that time—there was...
