Mark Reckless: Will the Member give way?
Mark Reckless: Is it not the case that, as well as the inter-governmental agreement, we have, as far as the Sewel convention is concerned, an extension to regulation-making powers and a requirement that the House of Lords must approve them too?
Mark Reckless: Of course.
Mark Reckless: The purpose of Plaid Cymru is to bring about an independent Wales, breaking up the United Kingdom. I respect, but I do not agree with, your objective. Returning to the legislative consent motion and what we are debating today, this Bill has been hugely improved by the efforts, yes, of Welsh Government, but also, I think, others, and I'd like to congratulate both Mark Isherwood and David...
Mark Reckless: Diolch, Llywydd. I'm delighted to speak today in favour of the National Assembly for Wales giving our legislative consent to the European Union withdrawal Bill. This is, of course, the UK Government's legislative mechanism for leaving the EU with maximum certainty, continuity and control, and I'm delighted to support it. Back at the first First Minister's questions after the summer, I was...
Mark Reckless: Will the Member give way?
Mark Reckless: You said at the beginning of this speech that this was akin to a tax. Isn’t the big difference with Scandinavia that, there, it is a tax, and at least the revenues can be used to support high-quality public services? Here, the money raised would just go as higher profits to the private companies who produce them and sell them.
Mark Reckless: I didn't say that. We didn't say that.
Mark Reckless: Will the Minister give way? The purchase of this site, I understand, on 28 March, and then the granting of the 999-year lease on 29 March, took place under the SDLT regime. If it had taken place three days later, Ministers would not have avoided their own regime. I have raised very serious points about what happens to local authorities, what happens to other public sector bodies, why the...
Mark Reckless: Will the Member give way?
Mark Reckless: Will the Member give way?
Mark Reckless: But is it not the case that, by stepping in and buying this site, the Welsh Government, which doesn't pay tax because of its Crown exemption, is avoiding tax that would be paid potentially by another of its partners? The guidance on the LTT says that if it's bought jointly with another public authority not so exempt, e.g. a local authority, the exemption won't apply, and then later the...
Mark Reckless: Will the Member give way?
Mark Reckless: Can he explain how he will get this taxation by raising this rate from 5 per cent to 6 per cent when the people investing have the opportunity to not pay it at all by going to Reading or Bristol or Birmingham instead?
Mark Reckless: Ah, excellent.
Mark Reckless: Well, the reason we're opposing the amendment is that it starts with 'delete all' with reference to our motion. We also have some concerns about how Welsh Government is treated compared to local authorities and potentially some other bodies, and the potential differences between LTT and SDLT and the centralising effects we think that may unhelpfully have on partnerships. I previously...
Mark Reckless: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I move the motion in the name of Paul Davies AM. I will address the amendments first. We're happy to support Plaid's amendment 2, reflecting the devolution of powers agreed between the Assembly and the Conservative-led Government at Westminster. We also support Plaid's amendment 3. With our new tax powers, we need good scrutiny over how they are used and any impact on...
Mark Reckless: Cabinet Secretary, you said earlier that all children attending secondary school were entitled to free transport, but that surely doesn't apply to children attending sixth form. And in the case of Merthyr, is it really appropriate, if sixth-form provision is only going to take place for that age group at Merthyr college, for the council to be consulting on making all children of that age...
Mark Reckless: Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the level of choice available in post-16 education?
Mark Reckless: Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the future allocation of patients between the major trauma centre in Cardiff and Grange University Hospital?
