Julie James: Diolch, Sioned. My officials and I hold regular bilateral and multilateral discussions with other Governments to share our experiences, good practice and challenges. Examples include the net zero interministerial meetings of the four UK nations, the British-Irish Council and the Under2 Coalition of state, regional and provincial Governments. So, we have quite a lot of contact,...
Julie James: Yes, I was really aware of that. It's a great idea. Obviously, if you travel in Europe at all, you'll notice that car parks have canopies over them anyway, because they're shading the vehicles from the sun. We don’t entirely have that problem in Wales yet. We have the rain problem, absolutely. The old joke about, 'Did you know that you could take your cagoule off when you go to England?’...
Julie James: Yes. Thank you, Ken. On 9 February, the First Minister will reconvene a summit of key partners in tackling excessive levels of phosphates in Welsh rivers, to discuss current progress and establish next steps. I'll set out the outcomes of that discussion, together with an action plan, in a written statement, which will go out shortly after the summit.
Julie James: Yes, absolutely. So, I'll just reiterate what I said to Huw Irranca-Davies earlier on in this session. What we've asked each sector to do is to look to see what they can propose to help solve their part of the problem. So, for house building, we know that surface water drainage systems, SUDS, are part of the solution; there will be others. We have asked each sector to come back to us, and we...
Julie James: Diolch, Dirprwy Llywydd. Can I begin my contribution by thanking John Griffiths for his committee's really hard work in putting this together and then for bringing the motion forward today, and also thank all Members for their contributions to this very important debate? This is clearly a topic that people feel very passionately about. Community assets have featured in debates in this Chamber...
Julie James: Diolch, Llywydd. Over the past week, Wales has been impacted by continuous heavy rain. In some locations, we have seen over six weeks' rain in the first two weeks of the year. This fell on already saturated ground, increasing surface water run-off and resulting in very high river levels across Wales. Since Wednesday, Natural Resources Wales have issued 50 flood warnings and 95 flood alerts....
Julie James: Thank you, Janet. So, on the budget issues, I can tell you that the impact of the investments that we have made has been very considerable. So, for example, over the course of the most recent heavy rainfall, the flood defences in Rhondda Cynon Taf, which you referenced, prevented flooding to over 800 properties. The recently completed defence schemes in Park Lane, Aberdare, and Nant y Pentre...
Julie James: Diolch, Heledd. Just in terms of the review, as was part of the discussion between us, there are a number of different types of review going on. I just referenced the two by the flood and coastal erosion committee, for example. So, Professor Elwen Evans KC's review fits into a pattern of other pieces of work that are going on, so just to reassure that it's not intended to be a catch-all, and...
Julie James: Thank you, Jayne. I will be meeting the British Red Cross very shortly to discuss their report with them; we're very interested in the findings. And indeed, we're interested in working with all groups right across Wales who've got something to add to this plan of action, really, because there's no argument with any of us that we need to do this as fast as possible, and we need to employ every...
Julie James: Thank you, Delyth. That is absolutely right. I've met myself with many of the families that have been affected, and it's absolutely right that they are very severely impacted. One family told me that their three-year-old was very scared every time it rained even normally because they'd been flooded and she was worried about it. So, it's a real problem. The first thing to do is to make sure...
Julie James: Thank you, John. I agree it’s a complex picture, if you like, of who’s responsible for what. But, actually, if you’re a householder who’s experienced flooding, you should contact your local authority, and they should be perfectly capable of putting you through to anyone else, but it will be them for 98 per cent of people. It will only be people who have very specific circumstances who...
Julie James: I'm not too sure which budget you're referring to there, Carolyn, I'm afraid. So, there's a very specific flood management budget, and it's ring-fenced for flood management for NRW. Local authorities have it as part of the revenue support grant, but they are expected to put a programme in place. So, I'm happy to discuss the specifics with you there. But it's not a mix and match of...
Julie James: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I move the motion. The practice of shark finning is barbaric and hugely detrimental to shark populations across the world. It is a completely unsustainable fishing practice, where large parts of the shark carcass are discarded overboard in favour of the high-value shark fin, used predominantly within Asian communities. Shark populations globally are in decline, and it...
Julie James: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I want to thank Members for their contributions today. Just to address a couple of the very specific points—and I thank the committe, Huw, for its rapid work on this, as always—I'm afraid I do not accept the recommendation or conclusion that clause 3 of the Bill would amount to a relevant provision for the purposes of Standing Order 29. Aside from clause 3(5),...
Julie James: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I'm very glad to have the opportunity to respond to this motion today. I absolutely welcome the broad consensus that marine energy is a pillar of the economy in Wales and will become ever more so in the coming decades, and I very much associate myself with many of the comments made by Members in this debate. The Welsh Government supports the motion. The Welsh...
Julie James: Certainly.
Julie James: Because they could have had the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth if they'd been a bit faster is the easiest answer to that. [Interruption.] Your motion today makes no mention—no mention at all—of the UK Government's responsibilities. It makes no mention at all of the UK Government's responsibilities. What I would say to you is this: you believe that we should be part of a union in...
Julie James: You sat opposite me and you agreed with me that the Swansea bay lagoon should be built. Your own Conservative MP who looked at the report agreed that it should be built—Charles Hendry. Do you remember that? And the Government did what? It said 'no'. It said it wasn't to be built, even though it was absolutely called a 'no-brainer'.
Julie James: Of course.
Julie James: The difference there, of course, is that that's a hypothetical concern, and the actual concern was that the UK Government would not support it. We have recently done an end-to-end review of marine licensing in Wales, because we want to have the most effective and efficient system. Only yesterday I discussed it with NRW's marine licensing team. So, we are absolutely on that. But we need both...
