Julie James: Our Wales transport strategy, 'Llwybr Newydd', aims to reduce the cost and improve the accessibility of sustainable transport for everyone in Wales, including students. Our programme for government includes commitments to invest in buses, rail and active travel, and to explore options for extending the MyTravelPass scheme for young people.
Julie James: Our Welsh building safety fund asks that responsible persons of buildings of 11 metres and more submit an expression of interest. This is the starting point for accessing support from the Welsh Government. I encourage responsible persons to complete an expression of interest for their buildings as soon as possible.
Julie James: We are developing a new road safety strategy that will complement 'Llwybr Newydd: The Wales Transport Strategy 2021' and the 'National Transport Delivery Plan 2022 to 2027'. We are also progressing two major road safety initiatives from our programme for government: introducing a 20 mph default speed limit on restricted roads and tackling pavement parking.
Julie James: Upcoming England and Wales legislation will enhance leaseholders’ rights by addressing the Law Commission’s recommendations for reform; improving service charge transparency; reforming legal costs; and ending the taking of commission for leasehold buildings insurance. A joint approach has many benefits, including enabling reforms to be implemented more quickly in Wales.
Julie James: We have a number of initiatives that provide both practical and financial support to bring empty homes back into use. In January, I announced a £50 million national empty homes grant scheme, which is now open for applications, to further add to these measures.
Julie James: Yes. Thank you very much, Joyce Watson, for that very timely question. As I know you know, Joyce, empty homes are a complete blight and nuisance on our communities. They attract anti-social behaviour, they impose environmental health problems, they contribute to a general sense of decline in the neighbourhood, and a sense that, perhaps, nobody really cares about this particular street or this...
Julie James: Well, you know—‘sighs’, as they say at the beginning of the thing—it isn’t wholly devolved. Local housing allowance isn’t devolved.
Julie James: You started with a phrase that wasn’t accurate, because local housing allowance isn’t devolved—[Interruption.] It isn’t devolved. Whether you like it or not, it isn’t devolved. Therefore, we are hamstrung in what we can do, and that policy drives homelessness, because people cannot stay in their rented accommodation because they cannot afford it because the local housing allowance...
Julie James: Diolch, Siân Gwenllian. Llyn Padarn is Wales’s only designated inland bathing water and has consistently achieved the highest classification of 'excellent'. As a designated bathing water, Natural Resources Wales imposes tight regulatory controls on all discharges, including storm overflows, that are located nearby.
Julie James: Yes, absolutely, Siân, and I will certainly get NRW to check once more, because we are very proud of the fact that Llyn Padarn is designated in this way, and I absolutely will ask them to do that. We are aware—I can’t even say the name of it—of lagarosiphon, as I think it’s called. Curly water weed, anyway, in common parlance, is a very invasive non-native species categorised as a...
Julie James: Of course, we take them extremely seriously, and there are a number of threads running through your question, and, indeed, Siân's there, Sam Rowlands. At the risk of testing the Llywydd's patience, because that's quite a complicated answer, we're in the process of agreeing a set of criteria for the price review mechanism for the water authorities in Wales, because we need to ensure both that...
Julie James: So, Janet, we've rehearsed this a number of times, haven't we? The scale of the problem is very different in Wales, and we've approached it very differently. We identified 15 high-rise buildings with aluminium composite material cladding following Grenfell; three in the social sector and 12 in the private sector. The three social sector buildings were remediated immediately with £3 million...
Julie James: Yes. [Inaudible.]
Julie James: Right. The £375 million is the amount of money the Welsh Government has put into the building safety pot. It is not a consequential and it is not direct from the UK Government; so, just to be really clear about that. If we were relying on consequentials from the UK Government, we would have nothing like that sum of money—nothing like it. In terms of reimbursement, we are looking to...
Julie James: So, Janet, quite clearly, there's a big difference between tenants in a social building and tenants in a privately owned building. There's a clear and obvious difference, not least that the people in a social building don't have any equity. It isn't an investment; it's not a private investment for them, it's merely a home and they rent it off a social landlord. Also, the complications of who...
Julie James: Yes, so, Delyth, I'm afraid I'm going to give you an answer you've had many times before. I didn't know about the BBC programme. If that's true, it's appalling, and the BBC really needs to think about what message it's giving, if that's what it's doing.
Julie James: It's on iPlayer, is it? Good. Right.
Julie James: In answer to the substantive question, Llywydd, which is the timing of the environmental governance and biodiversity targets, we will bring those forward as soon as we can. I absolutely understand the urgency. But, just to be really clear, Delyth, we're not waiting for the legislation to be put in place and then taking action. I am absolutely signed up to the 30x30 goals. That gives us seven...
Julie James: Yes. Delyth, I share your concern there. Actually, David Attenborough's programmes have done an enormous amount over the years, haven't they, to raise awareness of the fragility of the natural world. I've only seen the first episode of the one in question, but my goodness, it's emotive in the extreme, and very beautiful as well. It does make you realise, doesn't it, as I said when I came back...
Julie James: Duty bodies, including local authorities, have responsibility for managing litter and fly-tipping in their respective areas. Welsh Government currently funds Keep Wales Tidy and Fly-tipping Action Wales to support improvements in local environmental quality across Wales. This includes partner activities, enforcement work and the promotion of behaviour change.
