Gareth Bennett: This appointment is being pushed through very quickly. What has basically happened is you're—. He's thrown me under a bus, Bain, and now you're trying to get him to bring someone else—you're bringing him in to throw someone else under a bus. He's a political hatchet man and he shouldn't be appointed. That's why I'm voting against this motion today.
Gareth Bennett: Diolch, Llywydd. [Interruption.] Who are you? Diolch, Llywydd. I think I'm one of only a handful of Members who have had direct dealings with Mr Bain. Now, I—[Interruption.] Now, I wasn't intending to speak on this motion today, but I was moved to do so by a member of my staff, who is watching these proceedings from the gallery. My staff member wanted to put on record how he was made to...
Gareth Bennett: Will the First Minister make a statement on the provision of relationships and sexuality education in Welsh schools?
Gareth Bennett: Will the First Minister make a statement on executive level pay in the Welsh public sector?
Gareth Bennett: Yes, and I'm not disagreeing with that remark that you made, Jenny, and I'm not saying the difficulties are insuperable. But certainly I believe the legislation will add to the burden of prison staff, who probably have enough to do as it is, and we did hear some evidence to that effect when we had the inquiry. There is also the issue of what happens if we have a situation similar to 2017,...
Gareth Bennett: Yes, of course.
Gareth Bennett: Thanks to the committee chairman for bringing today's debate, and also thanks to all the people who took part, including the prisoners that we spoke to. Now, I'm not now a member of the committee, although I was at the outset of this inquiry. I did participate in the two prison visits and I was on the committee when we started to debate the contents of the report. I think John Griffiths is...
Gareth Bennett: Thanks to the Minister for bringing today's debate. Now, I appreciate that there is a need to protect children from being physically abused, and I am sure that everyone here agrees on that. But we do have laws that have been in place for a long time that already provide this protection, so I do wonder at the need to create new legislation to tackle a crime that can already be dealt with...
Gareth Bennett: Thanks. Thank you for the answer and, of course, there are major concerns over the amount of pollution emanating from the A470. I was listening to your answer earlier to Suzy Davies's question, which was a related one, although hers was about the M4. Now, you say there's compelling evidence; we can have a look at that, of course. The observation of many of my constituents who regularly use...
Gareth Bennett: 5. What assessment has the Welsh Government made of nitrogen dioxide levels along the A470 corridor in South Wales Central? OAQ54316
Gareth Bennett: Thank you. The area I'm interested in is pub closures. We were talking earlier about the issue of bank closures in Wales; another problem afflicting the high street is pub closures. We have had a quarter of pubs closing in Wales in the last 20 years. Now, they have taken some legislative measures relating to this in England with the Localism Act 2011. I have asked questions here before about...
Gareth Bennett: 5. Will the First Minister make a statement regarding planning consent and change of building use? OAQ54189
Gareth Bennett: Yes, thanks for that, and I look forward to progress reports from Cadw. We did have a slightly different emphasis from you when you were answering a question from Nick Ramsay recently about a particular planning issue in his area. You said at that point that you were thinking about reviewing the rules around planning appeals. The question did relate to listed buildings, so in light of that...
Gareth Bennett: 4. Will the First Minister outline the Welsh Government's plans to protect listed buildings in Wales? OAQ54139
Gareth Bennett: What assessment has the Welsh Government made of the recent increase in knife crime in South Wales Central?
Gareth Bennett: Thank you for your engagement with the question and thank you for your engagement with many of the questions that I've asked you. Now, unfortunately, I'm not here to scrutinise Chris Grayling and the UK Government; I'm here to scrutinise you and your Government. You have made this case before of the lack of investment, which—I appreciate the point that you're making. Unfortunately, it...
Gareth Bennett: First Minister, sometimes I return to subjects here in the Chamber that I have enquired about in the past, because it appears that nothing is happening. We seem to have reached this stage with Cardiff Central railway station. This is a major transport hub, of course, not just for people in Cardiff but for people throughout Wales, and users will know that there is a lack of room at the...
Gareth Bennett: Diolch, Llywydd—[Interruption.]
Gareth Bennett: Thanks, Deputy Presiding Officer, and thanks to the participants in what was an interesting debate. Thanks to Russell George, who said that the Conservative group broadly supported the aims of today's motion. And as I said in my opening remarks, I understood the logic of their amendments and we were supportive of their amendments. Now, Russell did raise some of the potential difficulties of...
Gareth Bennett: That is in essence what today's motion is about. It isn't particularly a partisan subject that needs to divide people along party lines. Today's motion is more about trying to find a consensus between the different parties here, as of course we always attempt to do in UKIP. So, I am approaching the amendments today with that in mind. The Government seem to be in broad agreement with our...
