Julie James: Yes, I was aware that Minister Pow had visited the reservoir. And in fact, I discussed it with her beforehand, in an inter-ministerial group, but I think she probably mentioned that at the time. We're very keen to work across the border for the catchment areas that flow across the border, and indeed to share good practice where that's effective for the communities on either side of the...
Julie James: Thank you for the question, Laura. We are using every lever available to us to develop the clean, smart and flexible energy system of the future, with renewable energy generation at its heart. The UK Government's energy strategy was a missed opportunity, we feel, to set a credible path for scaling up all renewables while supporting consumers through the immediate cost-of-living crisis.
Julie James: It's really nice to see a renewed interest in Wylfa and the development there. We're very keen to work—. We have a centre of excellence nearby for nuclear, and we have some of the world experts here in Wales for that. So, I'm very pleased to see the UK Government's renewed interest in that—maybe should have been a bit faster, quite frankly, over some of the more recent issues we've had,...
Julie James: Thank you very much, Joyce—I couldn't agree more. There's a need for a planned grid; there's a need for a grid planned for a different scale of attachment to that grid as well. One of the things we're very proud of doing here in Wales, of course, is having the Homes as Power Stations initiative. This is about retrofitting homes so that they come up to the best possible standard, reduce fuel...
Julie James: Yes, we are absolutely going to do that. I'm not going to promise it in the second year, Delyth, because I'm in the hands of the legislative programme to some extent. We have a large number of competing priorities, unfortunately, and it's about what's in the best position to go forward at any point in time and how we can get it through the committee systems, and so on. It's not about whether...
Julie James: It's a real shame that it's been delayed for a variety of reasons. That really is a shame for the globe, never mind for Wales. One of the pieces of work that I want to see happening, and this is part of the deep dive process as well, to get advice on this, is how we can structure the targets so that they can be tightened but not loosened. It's easy to structure targets that can be changed,...
Julie James: Thank you very much, Carolyn Thomas. We are working very closely with local authorities to tackle the climate and nature emergencies, together with our partnership council, the local government climate change strategy group and the local nature partnership network. Our funding to the Welsh Local Government Association, and through Local Places for Nature, supports our work.
Julie James: It's a very good point, isn't it, because we all recognise the challenge of balancing the day-to-day daily grind, if you want to put it like that, with a focus on critical and strategic work that's needed to respond to the climate and nature emergencies. I think I said yesterday in one of my statements that my colleague Rebecca Evans and I will be working with the new leadership teams in...
Julie James: Yes, absolutely, Sam, and that hits the nail on the head, doesn't it, really? Because this is about the climate and nature emergencies, but it's also about changing the mindset to see that as an opportunity, an economic opportunity, a tourism opportunity and a whole series of services opportunities, as opposed to a barrier to that kind of thing. I think we've worked really hard to do that...
Julie James: Thank you for the question, Peter Fox. Housing, particularly social housing, is a key priority for this Government. This is reflected in our commitment to deliver 20,000 new low-carbon homes for social rent, and underpinned with record levels of investment. We also provide a range of support for house builders, including schemes specifically for small and medium-sized enterprises across Wales.
Julie James: Yes, thank you, Peter Fox, for that series of questions, and, absolutely, we understand entirely that the phosphate issue is a really serious issue across Wales. It's affecting the delivery of our 20,000 social homes, it's affecting the delivery of a number of market housing that should have gone ahead for local development plan purposes and so on. It's also affecting a number of other...
Julie James: Yes, thank you, Janet. As I advised in my written question response of 18 March 2022, the Welsh Government is developing a marine energy programme. As part of this work, I am considering what funding will be needed in future years to support marine energy projects.
Julie James: Well, I'm not one to be putting down any offer of a cocktail, Janet; let's start from there. [Laughter.] Quite clearly, we need a whole range of measures put in place to ensure not only that we develop a range of tidal energies: tidal range, tidal stream, tidal lagoons, all sorts—. We're very pleased to see the UK Government stepping into this space, but we need to see the action following...
Julie James: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I'd just also like to add my voice to thanking members of the committee and particularly the Chair for the review and the recent focus on the marine environment, absolutely recognising the vital role it plays in tackling both the climate and the nature emergencies. And just to say, Llyr, I think you did an amazing job of getting through what you got through in a short...
Julie James: I'm never going to avoid the opportunity to do that, Huw, so I very much hope we will be able to do that. Just to digress from my script just for a moment, I was giving evidence to the Welsh Affairs Committee this morning about the grid and the energy network for Wales, and one of the real frustrations for us is not to have all the levers that we need. So, encouraging the UK Government to...
Julie James: I'm not renowned for being afraid of that kind of thing, Huw.[Laughter.] So, I don't think I'll start any time soon. By 'taking them with us', I mean making sure that everyone fully understands the implications of what we're proposing and doesn't regard them as a negative to be fought, but actually as something to get on board with to enhance their own particular economic status and...
Julie James: I know; that's fine. I'm now gabbling, but I'll just turn to that last bit, which is, as Joyce Watson highlighted, the blue carbon piece. That's a hugely important role in our journey to net zero. We recognise the need to protect and restore sea grass, salt marsh restorations and habitats. The biodiversity deep dive specifically has a Professor from Swansea University on sea grass on it for...
Julie James: The renting homes Act will considerably strengthen tenants' rights. The short delay is in response to the unprecedented pressures facing social landlords. We have in place a raft of measures to support renters, and this will remain a priority for the Government.
Julie James: Thank you. This is, of course, part of the co-operation agreement. Wholesale reform of the type that the Renting Homes (Wales) Act is bringing about happens very rarely, and, against a backdrop of absolutely unprecedented pressures, we want to do all we can to ensure that social landlords in particular have adequate time to make the necessary preparations to comply with the requirements of...
Julie James: Thank you, Jenny. So, obviously it's a matter of some regret that we've had to take this step, but we are in unprecedented times. In particular, social landlords across Wales are helping us with the Ukrainian refugee crisis and we have a large number of presentations of homelessness across Wales, which we're having to deal with at the same time. Landlords have not had six years to implement...
