Nick Ramsay: 3. Will the First Minister make a statement on investment in Welsh road infrastructure? OAQ(5)0546(FM)
Nick Ramsay: Diolch. I’m pleased to hear the Cabinet Secretary make those comments. This amendment was well meaning in its intention, and that was to ensure that the Welsh Revenue Authority is an efficient organisation that does seek to provide the maximum value for money to the taxpayer. That was why we were suggesting that the Welsh Government might provide guidance. However, this is a grey area, and...
Nick Ramsay: Diolch. I heard the cheer there, PO, as you announced this was the last group, so I will be very brief. The only amendment, the lead amendment, which I wish to move, 34, in this group, relates to the insertion of a new section: ‘Guidance. The Welsh Ministers may issue guidance to the WRA as to the adoption of best practice in the administration of land transaction tax.’ The basis for this...
Nick Ramsay: I’m all for creativity, but there’s a difference between creativity and destabilisation. I think that whilst the devolution of taxation does allow this Assembly and Welsh Government to do things differently here, and over time we would expect that to happen, if you’re following the maxim that in the first instance the system and the regime here should mirror as closely as possible that...
Nick Ramsay: Move.
Nick Ramsay: Thank you for taking my intervention. I think the Cabinet Secretary is being a little bit mischievous there, perhaps with some Plaid Cymru collusion that neither the Member of the lead amendment or me were aware of earlier. But, no, that is certainly not the intention. As the Cabinet Secretary has said himself, the intention is for these taxes not to come into force until April 2019. So,...
Nick Ramsay: I'm more than happy to support the lead amendment in this group, as moved by Mark Reckless. This lead amendment was the subject, as Mark said, of much discussion at Stage 2, and Welsh Conservatives are happy to support it. I believe it is sensible to get the Welsh Government's proposals for tax bands on the face of the Bill. It does happen in other places; there's no reason why we couldn't...
Nick Ramsay: Forgive me for following your advice.
Nick Ramsay: I’m not going to say any more other than I move amendment 32.
Nick Ramsay: I think I did move it, but that might have been a mistake earlier. That was following your advice, which is why I asked the initial question.
Nick Ramsay: Thank you, Presiding Officer. Do you wish me to move my amendment?
Nick Ramsay: Yes? [Interruption. ] Okay, I’ll speak to it in the group. Sorry. It’s been a while—it’s been a while since I did Stage 3, Presiding Officer.
Nick Ramsay: I’m just blinded by Mark Reckless’s explanation there for moving his amendments—happy to support that. Okay, I wish to move my amendment 32, which is pursuant to Mark Reckless’s amendments 35 and 37. As Mark Reckless explained, we believe that this amendment—his amendment—will simplify cross-border land transactions. For those of you who didn’t sit on the Finance Committee...
Nick Ramsay: Thank you, First Minister. The decision on the awarding of the new Wales and borders franchise is particularly important for public transport in south-east Wales and, indeed, for the south Wales metro—an issue I’ve raised in this Chamber with you a number of times. You mentioned at the end of your answer the importance of integration. Will you update us on the process of awarding the...
Nick Ramsay: 1. Will the First Minister make a statement on public transport provision in south-east Wales? OAQ(5)0529(FM)
Nick Ramsay: Can I also thank the Cabinet Secretary for bringing forward this debate today? I also want to thank my friend and colleague here, Dafydd Elis-Thomas, for telling me all about King Henry VIII rules, which I didn’t know much about until before this debate. I probably know marginally more about that now than I do about landfill. But it’s good to take part in this debate today, and I’m...
Nick Ramsay: Leader of the house, I am currently being inundated by complaints about the problem of littering on trunk roads and the verges of trunk roads and lay-bys in my constituency. I know that other Assembly Members are experiencing similar complaints. I know that, often, the responsibility for maintaining the cleanliness of trunk roads is delegated to, in my area, the South East Wales Transport...
Nick Ramsay: You’ve inspired me with that bit of old English there, Dai, or whatever it was.
Nick Ramsay: Norse. I will be supporting your Bill at this stage and the general principles, but I have to say I do have some sympathy for the Cabinet Secretary, because law does have to be very clear. In my constituency, the village of Trellech has 13 different local variants in pronunciations and spellings, which causes massive confusion on road signs, as you can imagine. So, you have to be very careful...
Nick Ramsay: Thank you. The OBR—and others, indeed—have identified that, in recent years, growth in income receipts has been significantly lower in Wales than across the UK, due in part to issues like the raising of the personal allowance threshold and the shifting of the burden higher up the income scale, with lower incomes forming a greater proportion of the Welsh tax base. It’s vital that...
