Gareth Bennett: Well, Blaenau Gwent is an interesting one, because the proposal now is to merge it with Monmouthshire and with Torfaen. Now, last time, we had the issue that there was a voluntary merger proposed by Blaenau and Torfaen—I think Lynne Neagle mentioned this yesterday—but that voluntary merger was turned down. So, I think this is an instance in the past where one of your predecessors wasn't...
Gareth Bennett: I'm glad to hear that you're open to discussion and I hope that we have a good conversation, involving many players, about where we're heading with the local government reform. I think, to be fair, whatever you do, there is going to be an element of controversy. You have to do something. You can't make an omelette without cracking an egg, so to speak. But, to return to specific...
Gareth Bennett: Diolch, Llywydd. Minister, I wanted to return to the issue of local government reform, which we were discussing yesterday. There were various issues that came out of that. Mike Hedges, your colleague, raised the subject that there will still be considerable population variations, even after your proposed reorganisation, with different councils having widely different populations. Rhondda...
Gareth Bennett: Thanks, Minister, for your statement on the environmental impact and how it will be assessed. Could I just make an additional point that hopefully you'll look into or get the NRW to look into, which is that some residents have reported that there is a lot of noise and smoke outside of the agreed 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. testing window? So, could you investigate that those testing times are being...
Gareth Bennett: Thanks to the Minister for today's statement, and also for the briefing earlier today. The Welsh Government's proposed local government reforms have been long in the making, as we've heard from other contributors, and yes, we are on the third Minister who has now worked on them. So, the current Minister has inherited a difficult issue, and I think that most of the players in local government...
Gareth Bennett: I add my thanks to Bethan's thanks to Hefin for bringing the debate today. When we did look at different Members' debates on the Business Committee I was quite keen that we had this debate, so I'm pleased we're having it. I think it is scandalous that these fairly arbitrary charges can be imposed without much in the way of consultation, transparency or the right of legal challenge. As a...
Gareth Bennett: Early inflammatory arthritis clinics are one method of improving access to treatment for rheumatoid arthritis sufferers. What steps are you taking to facilitate the greater provision of these clinics?
Gareth Bennett: What assessment has the Welsh Government made of the Children's Commissioner for Wales's report on wheelchair accessibility in schools in Wales?
Gareth Bennett: Thanks to the Chair for her statement this afternoon. I'd also like to thank the committee staff for helping to arrange the inquiry and the witnesses that have so far appeared before us. I think we're all in broad agreement that we want the Assembly to be a welcoming environment for everyone who wants to work here. That includes people of different genders, of different ethnicities and...
Gareth Bennett: Yes, thanks for the answer. I think that, with the possibility of 16 and 17-year-olds getting the vote in Wales, there may be a stronger case now for improving the provision of political education in the school system. Indeed, many young campaigners who want the vote have called for that. So, I wonder, going forward, is there likely to be any change, do you feel, to the provision of political...
Gareth Bennett: 5. Will the Cabinet Secretary provide an update on political and citizenship education in Welsh schools? OAQ51858
Gareth Bennett: We may ask for different portrayals of Wales, but an old adage is that no good art was ever created by committee. Thank you.
Gareth Bennett: Well, I suppose the point that I've raised, or I've tried to raise, is, 'Does one thing impinge on the other?', so that may be what we need to consider. Now, we do have this—. Right, Doctor Who, we could have bilingual road signs in Doctor Who, but, obviously, we're not going to go there. They go to planet Mars. It's clearly not supposed to be set in Wales. So, we have this perceived...
Gareth Bennett: Sure.
Gareth Bennett: That's an interesting intervention, Dai. I refer in the speech to what you said last time we debated these subjects, which was a debate brought by the culture committee, and I do actually return to the points you just made, so I'll expand on them a little bit later. I think, for economic reasons, we do need to get as much production as we can located in Wales, and as many jobs in film and...
Gareth Bennett: Yes, sure.
Gareth Bennett: Thanks to Plaid for bringing today's debate. We in UKIP agree with many of Plaid's points today. We lament the cuts to the budget of S4C and also the cuts to ITV Wales's broadcasting hours—both English language and Welsh language broadcasting in Wales need adequate provision—but we don't go along with Plaid in their demand for the devolution of broadcasting. We feel that there have been a...
Gareth Bennett: Yes, you raised the important point there that people need the knowledge. If you're going to give them the responsibility of voting, they need the knowledge, and I think that that is a crucial point. Now, you said in your statement that: 'Within schools, the active citizenship theme of personal and social education will provide young people with an understanding of politics and the right to...
Gareth Bennett: Yes, I'm aware of those proposals as well. If I can restrict these questions to the 16 and 17-year-olds issue for the time being, another perhaps related point is that we have in this Assembly recently passed legislation that in effect banned 16 and 17-year-olds from being able to use sunbeds or to get a tongue piercing. We in UKIP supported those pieces of Government legislation. If you're...
Gareth Bennett: Diolch, Llywydd. Good afternoon, Minister. I wanted to ask a couple of questions, if I may, relating to your recent statement on reforming local government electoral arrangements in Wales. One of your proposed reforms is to extend the vote to 16 and 17-year-olds. One of the arguments that has been used recently in support of that move is the principle of no taxation without representation,...
