Joel James: As such, CCW, previously known as the Consumer Council for Water, is therefore calling on both the Welsh and UK Governments to implement a single water affordability scheme to cover England and Wales, to ensure that nobody struggles to pay their water bill. And I would like to take this opportunity to encourage the Welsh Government to support a universal affordability scheme right across...
Joel James: 5. What assessment has the Welsh Government made of the ability of Welsh health authorities to effectively manage staff rotas? OQ58502
Joel James: Thank you, First Minister. Unlike many other professions, those who work within the health service and have direct patient contact have to be mindful of the impact that their annual leave has on those whom they care for, often having to plan and arrange annual leave months or even years in advance. Indeed, needing to take sick leave or annual leave at short notice very often translates to...
Joel James: What discussions has the Welsh Government had with the UK Government regarding firearm licensing in Wales?
Joel James: 6. Will the Minister provide an update on the improvement works at St. Monica's Church in Wales Primary School, Cardiff? OQ58538
Joel James: Thank you, Minister. I'm grateful for your response. I bring this question before you in addition to our previous correspondence because I simply believe what is happening at St Monica's is nothing short of scandalous, and an issue that Cardiff Council is simply not resolving. [Interruption.] The situation is dire; the reception and year 1—
Joel James: Thank you, Llywydd. The situation is dire; the reception and year 1 classes are squeezed into the school hall, which not only has inadequate toilet facilities, but ultimately renders the school hall completely out of action, meaning that the entire school no longer has PE lessons if the weather is bad. The scaffolding around the school, which has been in place for four years without any work...
Joel James: Will the Minister provide an update on the roll-out of enhanced services at community pharmacies?
Joel James: As the First Minister is aware, liability-driven investments use the equity in pension funds to borrow money. This borrowed money is then used to buy gilts, which in turn deliver fixed-rate interest over a set period. The major risk, however, is that if interest rates rapidly rise on gilts, as they have now, then pension funds have to acquire larger amounts of collateral to cover the money...
Joel James: Thank you, Llywydd. This drastically impacted the finances of many pension funds and has ultimately led to the over-reliant use of LDIs by desperate pension schemes aiming to make up the shortfalls that they've continually suffered since then. In the frantic attempt to raise revenue, this financial legacy of the last UK Labour Government has seen pension funds seek riskier and riskier...
Joel James: Yes, last sentence, Llywydd—riskier borrowing strategies, some of them leveraging up to four times the collateral they hold. First Minister, in the wake of this disastrous Labour policy that still has repercussions to this day, what financial assessment has the Welsh Government made of the security of pension funds in Wales that use LDIs? Thank you.
Joel James: Thank you, Minister, but I must confess that I was a bit surprised by the lack of substance in this report. It is very heavy on the statistics of the office of the commissioner and contains some irrelevant details, such as discussions around podcasts bringing magic and laughter to the office. I, and I think many here, would have hoped that this annual report, particularly since it was the...
Joel James: Thank you. In closing, I'm conscious that with everything I've just said, I would nonetheless like to thank the previous children's commissioner and her office for the work that they have done. I know that I have highlighted several failings without mentioning many positives, but I've never doubted the commissioner's desire to only get the best for the children of Wales. Thank you.
Joel James: I want to start by saying that the Welsh Conservative group and myself heartily agree with the calls found within this petition, and the fact that so many signatures have been received highlights the strength of feeling there is within Wales of the need to do much more to help those living with metastatic breast cancer. I want to thank Tassia and all those who have signed this petition. As...
Joel James: Can I thank Altaf for giving me a minute of his time? As chair of the cross-party group on liver disease and liver cancer, I want to highlight some of the challenges facing liver cancer patients navigating treatment pathways in Wales. Liver cancer is one of the least survivable, but fastest growing forms of cancer in the UK, and outcomes are shockingly poor. Only 13 per cent of people...
Joel James: 8. What assessment has the Welsh Government made of the need for digital decarbonisation? OQ58620
Joel James: First Minister, more than 60 per cent of the digital data that firms generate is collected, processed and stored for single-use purposes only. This could include outdated spreadsheets, multiple near-identical images, or the thousands upon thousands of unread or stored e-mails that will never, ever be looked at again. This type of data is known as 'dark data' or 'unstructured data'. It...
Joel James: Minister, as you're aware and has already been brought up by several Members in this Chamber, local authorities in Wales have vast usable reserves in their coffers. At the end of the 2020-21 financial year, this totalled over £2.1 billion, an increase of £600 million on the year before, with some local authorities, such as my own of Rhondda Cynon Taf, having just under £208 million in...
Joel James: Minister, as you are no doubt aware, a new sewage pumping station has been proposed on the community green space of Hailey park in Cardiff in order to service the needs of the new Plasdŵr development. Proposals have come about because the developers of the new housing estate have failed to make adequate provision, and the proposals have met with fierce opposition from local groups, such as...
Joel James: 6. Will the First Minister provide an update on the qualifying criteria for flash and continuous glucose monitoring technology for diabetes management? OQ58672
