Joel James: As the Deputy Minister will be aware, the Connecting Communities programme has ended earlier than planned, because the Welsh Government's invitation and selection of the project was not in accordance with requirements of European regulations. The Connecting Communities programme has been a lifeline for vulnerable people to be able to access vital services, and for them to maintain a level of...
Joel James: 9. Will the First Minister make a statement on the horse-racing industry in Wales? OQ56993
Joel James: First Minister, the week beginning 13 September was National Racehorse Week across the UK, which is designed to showcase many of the fascinating aspects of horse racing, and open the doors of many of the horse trainers to show the high standards of love, care and attention that race horses receive. In Scotland and England, specific organisations have been set up to promote horse racing and to...
Joel James: As the Minister will be well aware, blue carbon ecosystems have been identified as having enormous potential to store carbon, and exhibit carbon burial rates of up to 30 times higher than forests, which, incidentally, receive a disproportionate amount of attention for their capacity to store carbon. As we know, Wales has a very long coastline; it has more than 3 million hectares of blue...
Joel James: Firstly, I would like to start by thanking the children's commissioner for all her hard work and dedication throughout her time in office. I'd also thank her and her staff for preparing this report. Sadly, like many other sections of society, children, particularly vulnerable children whose conditions may have been made worse by the substantial changes they have faced during the COVID...
Joel James: As the Minister will be aware, despite every effort to stop and prevent illegal fishing, some people are still determined to break the law and illegally overharvest our seas for their commercial gain. This, unfortunately, has a huge knock-on effect, with fish stocks being depleted, the livelihoods of law-abiding fishermen being affected, and the placement of endangered fish species into more...
Joel James: I'd like to start by thanking the Member for raising this debate and for the way in which he's put forward his argument. Though I recognise the reasons why the Member has brought forward these proposals, I nonetheless think that the Member is off-kilter on what the potential benefits of implementing a 1980s Italian-style Marcora law in Wales would be, and I'm also concerned that the Member is...
Joel James: —and a large proportion of these do, then workers will be unable to claim welfare benefits to support themselves and their families for up to three years. I suspect that very few people here have given this any thought, preferring to focus on the perceived benefits, rather than the cold, hard reality of the matter. I doubt Members here are seriously proposing that workers will have to...
Joel James: Thank you for that intervention. The Conservative Party isn't against co-operatives. One of the fundamental things that we are against, really, with the Marcora thing that was brought in in the 1980s, was a Government-backed investment of 3:1, which was a substantial Government investment that was actually proven to break EU state-aid rules. That is one of the major issues we have here, if...
Joel James: Thank you, Chair. I'd like to start by adding my support to the comments that my colleague Jack Sargeant has made in opening this debate and also thank all those individuals and families who've campaigned tirelessly over the years to bring this issue to light and for it to get the coverage it needs. Throughout the course of bringing this petition to debate, many people have shared their own...
Joel James: Thank you, Minister, for your statement. It's great to see that the Wales and Africa programme continues to benefit some of the poorest nations in the world, and that another round of small-scale funding has been launched. This has been a crucial source of income to provide help and support for many small charities and community groups on the African continent. And I would also like to put on...
Joel James: Thank you for allowing the intervention. I wanted to intervene mainly because you mentioned in your argument—you phrased it as selfishness, the nature of it, why we're opposing that. I'm opposed to these proposals, but ultimately if they go through it's a minor inconvenience for me and it's a minor inconvenience for you. But the issue is, ultimately, for those who have disabilities, mental...
Joel James: I'd like to start by thanking my colleagues for all the valid and important points they've raised so far in this debate, and to pay tribute to my colleague Joyce for raising her own personal experience. The issue of spiking drinks in pubs and nightclubs has been an ongoing situation for some time. Whilst everyone can be affected, it is, as we have already heard, predominantly women who are...
Joel James: 2. Will the First Minister make a statement on the role of alternative protein technology in achieving net zero? OQ57224
Joel James: Thank you, First Minister. As you know, the land used globally to grow crops for Welsh consumption is equivalent to 40 per cent of the size of Wales, and one of the largest crops grown overseas for Welsh consumption is soy bean, which is used primarily by the Welsh poultry industry. As such, for Wales to change its farming practices so it doesn't contribute to deforestation overseas, we would...
Joel James: Trefnydd, as you may have seen, despite council and community opposition, developers have finally secured permission to demolish the historic Roath Park pub along City Road in Cardiff, following the trend that has seen the gradual destruction of Cardiff's historic fabric. Sadly, this is not an isolated incident, and campaigners are fighting right across the country to preserve buildings that...
Joel James: Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd, and thank you for giving me an opportunity to correct the record. It was just with regard to the business statement earlier. As you know, I’m a councillor, and I forgot to mention that when I spoke. Thank you.
Joel James: Thank you, Minister, for your statement. As a member of the Local Government and Housing Committee, one of the things that has struck me the most is the lack of any reliable and quantifiable evidence on what is actually happening in communities that appear to be affected by second home ownership, despite the fact that this Government is looking to change planning policy in this country to...
Joel James: Thank you, Llywydd. As you are aware, Minister, throughout the current pandemic, there's been ruthless targeting of vulnerable people by text scammers claiming to represent the Royal Mail. In these scams, fake text messages have been sent, supposedly from the Royal Mail, informing their intended victims that a parcel or letter is waiting to be delivered to them, however a small admin fee...
Joel James: Thank you, Deputy Minister, and thank you for taking the initiative there and meeting with the Royal Mail for that. As you will know, a recent investigation by a national newspaper has shown that Royal Mail HGV drivers have been logging fraudulent overtime claims, regularly signing up for lengthy lucrative and long distance overtime shifts on weekends and bank holidays. However, these...
