, Standards of Conduct Committee
Inquiry into Individual Member Accountability: Evidence session 5
I think Westminster is six weeks. If you make it shorter, for example three, would you give people the option to say, 'I don't agree with this petition' as an alternative? If you're not going to be closing it after 10 per cent, there is an argument that there…
, Standards of Conduct Committee
Inquiry into Individual Member Accountability: Evidence session 5
On that point, if you're trying to open it up, rather than curtailing the time, would you make postal and proxy available?
, Standards of Conduct Committee
Inquiry into Individual Member Accountability: Evidence session 5
Assuming that we're having a two-stage process and that we're doing a petition because the circumstances have been met for that, in Westminster the trigger is 10 per cent. Is that reasonable? Is that the right figure? Should it be higher? Should it be lower…
, Standards of Conduct Committee
Inquiry into Individual Member Accountability: Evidence session 5
Thank you. We've talked in this committee about different ways of progressing or running a petition. Assuming that we have a petition system, one alternative that has come about in some of the deliberations that we've been having is similar to Westminster…
, Standards of Conduct Committee
Inquiry into Individual Member Accountability: Evidence session 5
And if somebody was elected as an independent, and therefore wasn't on a list, leave the seat vacant.
, Standards of Conduct Committee
Inquiry into Individual Member Accountability: Evidence session 5
Yes, thank you for that. I have another question around—you mentioned it earlier—the next person on the party list. I'm assuming that you mean the original party list. In Vikki’s example, where somebody changed party three times, it would be the original, to…
, Standards of Conduct Committee
Inquiry into Individual Member Accountability: Evidence session 5
No, the five stay in place, but to try and—just going back to your point that, in recall petitions, very often the incumbent party loses—allow the public to have a decision in that process.
, Standards of Conduct Committee
Inquiry into Individual Member Accountability: Evidence session 5
Diolch, Gadeirydd. Diolch, Alistair—thank you for coming in this morning. I'd like to just touch on some of the things that Natasha was talking about earlier. You mentioned first-past-the-post, you mentioned the alternative vote; could a by-election happen…
, Plenary
Motion under Standing Order 10.5 to appoint the Chair of the Wales Audit Office Board
No, thank you.
, Plenary
Motion under Standing Order 10.5 to appoint the Chair of the Wales Audit Office Board
Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd. I move this motion today on behalf of the Finance Committee, asking the Senedd to agree to appoint Dr Ian Rees as chair of the Wales Audit Office board in accordance with the Public Audit (Wales) Act 2013. Dr Ian Rees has…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
I have a longer beard. [Laughter.]
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
Thank you for that answer. I will take you up on the conversations certainly on council tax reform, because it's something that's very close to my heart. It isn't just Welsh Labour that's displaying a lack of seriousness about the major challenges during this…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
Thank you very much for that answer, and I'm going to come on to one of those points that you raised there now. Despite Mr Bell's unfortunate oversight, his point about, fundamentally, the regressive nature of the council tax system places a disproportionate…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Local Government and Planning
Diolch, Llywydd. Well, last week, Labour's general election candidate in Swansea West, Torsten Bell, criticised the Tory Government for allowing unfair council tax to rise faster and faster than inflation for year after year. Now, I appreciate that, as…
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for North Wales and Transport: D-day and Armed Forces Week
Thank you, Cabinet Secretary, for your statement today. It's good to hear about the resources being invested in improving the lives of veterans. In Wales, veterans make up 4.5 per cent of the adult population, compared to 3.8 per cent in England. It's crucial…
, Standards of Conduct Committee
Inquiry into Individual Member Accountability: Evidence session 4
Thank you, Chair. That brings me to the end of my questions.
, Standards of Conduct Committee
Inquiry into Individual Member Accountability: Evidence session 4
Just some thoughts around—. We'll be looking at paired constituencies here. Potentially, in Scotland, they're looking at potentially regional, but that's different legislation. Here it will be paired constituencies across multiple county council boundaries…
, Standards of Conduct Committee
Inquiry into Individual Member Accountability: Evidence session 4
So, closing early would be once you've reached 10 per cent.
, Standards of Conduct Committee
Inquiry into Individual Member Accountability: Evidence session 4
Based on what you're saying there as well, as you talked a little bit about how you'd get more people to potentially engage, is that by using proxy and postal, or other ways? What were your thought processes around that?
, Standards of Conduct Committee
Inquiry into Individual Member Accountability: Evidence session 4
If we were going for a recall petition, in the same way as Westminster, as in, 'We wish to recall this person', is 10 per cent sufficient, and bearing in mind that we're going to be looking at paired constituencies, going forward, something that came up…
, Standards of Conduct Committee
Inquiry into Individual Member Accountability: Evidence session 4
I'm not necessarily advocating for anything; I'm just trying to tease some ideas out, really, and see how they would work in practice.
, Standards of Conduct Committee
Inquiry into Individual Member Accountability: Evidence session 4
I mean, really, you're just putting two names on a ballot paper: the person who is subject to removal and the next person on whichever party list. The other thing, going back to what Vikki was saying earlier, if that person left that particular party and went…
, Standards of Conduct Committee
Inquiry into Individual Member Accountability: Evidence session 4
And with your removal co-option option, could that be done on one ballot paper?
, Standards of Conduct Committee
Inquiry into Individual Member Accountability: Evidence session 4
In that instance, is that the next person on the list, effectively?
, Standards of Conduct Committee
Inquiry into Individual Member Accountability: Evidence session 4
Thank you very much. Very interesting, what you've had to say already, and maybe, following that thought that you talked about there, in that we're going to have 16 paired constituencies on a PR system, list system, going forward, how does it work, in your…
