Darren Millar AM has welcomed the publication of two Assembly Committee reports on the Holiday Caravan (Wales) Bill, the Private Member Bill that he is currently piloting through the Senedd.
Mr Millar said: “Robust scrutiny is crucial if we are to ensure that new Assembly laws are fit for purpose and properly considered. So I’m very grateful to both Committees and their Members for their thorough scrutiny of my Bill.
“I was particularly pleased that the Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee has made it clear that it is generally content with the way the Bill has been prepared and drafted and that there are no issues of competence raised. They have made a number of technical recommendations to improve the way that subordinate legislation powers are dealt with on the face of the Bill.
“I am very happy to accept their recommendations and to bring forward the necessary amendments to the Bill at a later stage as they have suggested.
“I’m also pleased that the Communities, Equalities and Local Government (CELG) Committee has recognised the strong evidence in favour of modernising the out-dated legislation in this area, which dates back to 1960. I note that the Committee has called for legislation to be brought forward before the end of the Assembly on one of the key points of the Bill - mandatory holiday caravan agreements - which they acknowledge will benefit both caravan and site owners.
“I’m disappointed that the Committee (CELG) wasn’t able to support the general principles of the Bill, although I note that not all Members of the Committee agreed with this approach. The logical way to ensure current legislation is modernised, which they seem to acknowledge is needed, is to support my Bill going forward and make specific amendments to improve it during amending stages.’
“However, I am very pleased that they recognise that the decision on whether the Bill goes forward is for the Assembly as a whole to make. This is a backbench Bill on a non-party political issue and I’m sure Assembly Members will approach the next stages of the Bill in that spirit.
“The Committee has also made some detailed recommendations on how the Bill might be improved, for which I am grateful. I now intend to give very careful consideration to their suggestions. I also intend to take further soundings from the Minister for Communities and Tackling Poverty, the industry and Assembly Members about what further changes are needed so that we can move forward to the next stage of the Bill’s consideration.”
Notes
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Darren Millar was successful in a ballot of Assembly Members conducted by the Assembly’s Presiding Officer allowing him to propose a Member Bill (sometimes referred to as a Private Member’s Bill).
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The Assembly agreed on 19 June 2013 that he could bring forward the Holiday Caravan Sites (Wales) Bill, which was introduced into the Assembly on 17 March 2014.
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The purpose of the Bill is to:
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modernise the licensing regime for holiday caravan sites;
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give local authorities new duties and enforcement powers so they can ensure that holiday caravan sites are safe and well managed, and to robustly tackle breaches of licence conditions by a combination of statutory enforcement action and financial penalties to provide an effective deterrent;
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end the permanent residential use of holiday caravans by requiring caravan owners and long-term occupiers to demonstrate that their main residence is elsewhere, and by giving local authorities powers to deal with caravan occupiers who fail this test;
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give caravan owners and long-term occupiers a legal right to a written statement of the terms and conditions under which they occupy their pitch, and prescribe a number of implied terms that will apply to all holiday caravan agreements.