Julie James: Thank you, Janet. I'm not entirely certain where the questions were in that. But, just to say a couple of things, you should be very careful about statistics; they're very deceptive. You chose to look at the percentage of houses at EPC C, but, of course, we've already brought all social homes in Wales up to EPC D as part of the Welsh housing quality standard. And if you actually ever listened...
Julie James: Diolch yn fawr, Mabon. Just to say, I agree with much of what you say, in terms of the detrimental effect of poor housing on health. There's much evidence to show that housing is one of the most fundamental things that can improve quality of life and quality of health, so I absolutely agree with you there. One of the reasons we did the Welsh housing quality standard in the first place was to...
Julie James: Two years.
Julie James: A very short answer, Jenny, is because we haven’t yet got all the learning out of ORP. So, the energy advice service is there to help owner-occupiers, but we’d like that to be much more specific, and we want to be sure that, when it is specific, it’s correct. So, we’re going to trial it out on our social housing providers, which we can de-risk, before we’re able to offer it. But...
Julie James: Yes, Sam, I think we absolutely do need to look at an incentive programme for people. One of the mysteries of the world to me—you and I have discussed this when you had a previous hat on, as did I—is why house prices don't reflect various improvements. So, a huge mystery to me is why fully enabled broadband houses are not more expensive than ones that aren't, because if I was buying a...
Julie James: Thanks very much for that. As I said to a couple of other people as well, first off to say that the new programme will begin before next winter. So, we will procure it and start it before next winter, just to be really clear, and there's a clear timetable for doing that and I'm very keen, obviously, that we don't go into yet another winter without doing it. But, we do want to learn a lot of...
Julie James: Just on that last one: it's a great scheme, isn't it? So, the kind of collective action that you get when you're able to implement the sorts of collective energy efficiency schemes that you get in that instance is an example, and we're hoping to roll that model out. So, for Members who aren't familiar with it, we've got a new estate and an old estate coming together with an energy efficiency...
Julie James: Well, you sort of answered your own question a little bit there, Mark. But, as I said before, we are absolutely looking at a fabric-first, worst-first kind of approach, but it's very difficult to just target one house sometimes. So, in my statement, I alluded to the fact that we're looking at community energy programmes. We're working with local authorities to do an energy map across Wales,...
Julie James: I'd be more than happy to meet with you and the council, and the developer, indeed, Sarah. We have brought forward changes to Part L of the building regulations. They are technology neutral, so we're saying that they need a 37 per cent change in the efficiency, but not that you need to do that via solar panels or an air-source heat pump, for all the reasons I've spoken about earlier. The...
Julie James: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. As global leaders meet in Egypt for COP27, I am pleased to be able to update Members on how we will continue to lead the transition from fossil fuels to an energy system based on renewables. While messages from the UK Government have been confusing and contradictory, we have been clear and consistent. We will keep fossil fuels in the ground, and we will continue to...
Julie James: Well, Janet, as always, I really feel the need to start by reminding you that you’re a Tory, and that the Tory Government is the one that removed the investment from Wylfa. Maybe we should just buy you a little history of the last 15 years and give it to your researcher, because I feel it’s sorely needed, quite frankly. And the other thing: I have to admire your sheer brass neck. I...
Julie James: Diolch, Delyth. Well, just to address that last one first, we thought very carefully about whether I should go to COP27, or indeed, the First Minister should go, but I'm actually attending COP15 in Canada—the biodiversity COP—which is a decision-making COP. And given the carbon footprint of going all over the place, and given that this isn't a decision-making COP—it's an implementation...
Julie James: Thank you, Jenny. So, on that last one, we fund and work alongside a number of universities across Wales, and specifically down in Swansea—very specifically—to develop as low a carbon as possible infrastructure for things like concrete and steel. You can't have renewables without steel, so making sure that the steel is produced as efficiently and in as low a carbon methodology as possible...
Julie James: I'm very happy to reassure you that we are, of course, doing that. Very recently, the Minister for Economy and myself met with Valero to discuss exactly that. We are just waiting on the next interministerial group with the UK Government to discuss the next iteration. We're somewhat hamstrung by the Northern Ireland situation. So we went out to consultation on the trading scheme, as I'm sure...
Julie James: So, yes, that's very interesting. I am aware of it, and it's a very interesting development. We are very keen. The scheme referenced by our colleague, Mike Hedges, is a very similar sort of scheme, so we're very keen to understand how we might lever in finance in order to assist communities to come together to do exactly that, and then to share the energy out. So, in that scheme in particular...
Julie James: On that last one, exactly that, Mike. So, that's one of the reasons that we're looking with caution at the development of carbon capture, utilisation and storage. The technology clearly works at small scale, but as yet there's no big scale, and the storage issues that are being looked at in the HyNet project in the north will be very, very important—so, all of the issues about containment...
Julie James: I agree with that, Alun, and so we will be bringing forward the infrastructure consenting Bill in this Assembly year—so, before the end of the summer term—to make sure that we streamline the consenting for big projects and make a very distinct distinction between the planning sets for those. We've been doing a series of training rounds with all of the planning authorities in Wales about...
Julie James: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. These regulations are part of the final set of statutory instruments I am laying as we move towards implementation of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 on 1 December. The statutory instruments, including the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2022 that we are voting on today, are essential to the operation of the 2016 Act. As I have...
Julie James: Diolch, Llywydd. I commend these Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2022 to the Senedd and ask Members to support them so we can implement the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 in December. [Interruption.] Perhaps if you ever listen to anything I said, Janet, you would understand—
Julie James: Sorry, Llywydd, I beg your pardon.
