Gareth Bennett: Yes.
Gareth Bennett: I think it's important to state that we in UKIP do acknowledge that there are individuals who do abuse alcohol, and alcohol abuse can—[Interruption.] Alcohol abuse can have a devastating effect both on individuals and on their families. It is not that we aren't concerned by this issue. We are. We are simply questioning whether minimum unit pricing, or MUP, will work as a means of...
Gareth Bennett: Yes, I think it's correct that a lot of people can actually earn more money, potentially, by going into things like construction rather than, perhaps, going down the route of university education, because there is a limited financial advantage of having a degree today when so many people actually possess university degrees. So, given what you've just said—and I tend to agree with the...
Gareth Bennett: Thanks for that answer. I think that's a good initiative, and particularly the consultation with the tenants, so I look forward to the outcome of that. Another issue that we did touch on last week—you actually raised an example of good practice that was going on with a particular housing association, Melin Homes in Newport, and you particularly cited the use of apprenticeships. Now, there...
Gareth Bennett: Diolch, Llywydd. Good afternoon, Minister. You made a statement last week on low-cost housing in Wales—low-cost home ownership, I should say, it was specifically—and we had an interesting discussion, I felt, after that and several issues were raised. One of them was the possibility that rents in the social housing sector in Wales are in some cases going up quicker than those in the...
Gareth Bennett: Will the Cabinet Secretary provide an update on Welsh Government action in relation to the Barry biomass incinerator?
Gareth Bennett: Thanks to the Minister for today's statement. I think we all accept here that there is a big problem of plastic entering the sea, which volunteers who clean up our beaches have been aware of for some time. And now it's become a major national talking point, partly because of the tv programme that you mentioned—the Blue Planet tv series—which demonstrates that, even in today's...
Gareth Bennett: Thanks for that. We know that we are going to have a new train operator in Wales from next year. The problem is that the new operator may not be able to get new rolling stock for perhaps four years, so it could be that, in order to comply with that legislation that you stated, we may have a tactic of the new train operator having to, or believing they have to, leave toilets locked up on the...
Gareth Bennett: 1. Will the First Minister make a statement on the accessibility of trains for persons of reduced mobility? OAQ52130
Gareth Bennett: Thanks to the Minister for today's statement. I'm sure that we'd all acknowledge that there is a major problem facing today's younger generation who are seeking to get onto the housing ladder, and that is that, for many people, houses are simply not affordable. A major issue is that wage increases are not keeping pace with house price increases, which does create a challenging environment...
Gareth Bennett: I thank the Minister for today's statement. We're talking today about plans and planning and, as the Minister just outlined a moment ago, we seem to be heading towards broadly three types of plan: local development plans at the bottom, a national development framework at the top, and strategic development plans in the middle. We have had issues of public contention over LDPs in recent years,...
Gareth Bennett: What steps is the Welsh Government taking to tackle the number of empty homes in Wales?
Gareth Bennett: Thanks to the Conservatives for bringing today's debate. The proposed local government reorganisation—or rather the latest version of it—is a big issue, and it's bound to be controversial. Whatever change a Minister decides to make to the composition of a local council, somebody will complain about it. So, to be fair to the Minister, as I said at the last Minister's questions, whatever he...
Gareth Bennett: We, in UKIP, were happy to support the general principles of this Bill and, as I said in the earlier debate here, we did so because we need to protect the provision of affordable housing in Wales. This Bill will have the effect of reversing the reclassification of housing associations as public bodies, with the resulting impact that that would have on public sector borrowing. So, it's...
Gareth Bennett: Thanks to the Minister for her statement today, and thanks for the commitment that you've outlined. As David Melding and Simon Thomas have indicated, we have had a bit of a battle to get to this point, but at least there are now some commitments from the Government. Now, we've had quite a few discussions here in the Chamber on this subject during this Assembly term, and, of course, we all...
Gareth Bennett: Thanks to the Conservatives for bringing today's debate. We in the UKIP group agree that there is a problem with both recruiting and retaining teachers. To some extent, the issues relating to this problem are common to both England and Wales, but there are also some issues that are peculiar to Wales. In some ways, the Welsh Government has made life harder for itself in terms of...
Gareth Bennett: Yes, thanks for the answer. I think a transport hub is what we do need, and I think a crucial part of that will be the provision of a coach station as part of the overall plans for Central Square. Do we currently have any guarantees that a new coach station will be part of the finalised project?
Gareth Bennett: Diolch, Llywydd. [Interruption.]
Gareth Bennett: 4. Will the First Minister make a statement on the provision of a bus station in Cardiff city centre? OAQ52011
Gareth Bennett: Thanks to Simon Thomas for his work as the lead Member on this Bill and also to the people who participated in the consultation. We heard a considerable amount of evidence on the equality and local government committee on this Bill and we reached a certain degree of consensus on the committee about the need for greater powers for the public services ombudsman. In UKIP, we are generally...
