Julie James: I completely agree with Mick Antoniw that the destruction of the legal aid system has been detrimental across the board, actually to our democracy, because without access to the rule of law you really don't have a democracy. We now have a situation where a large number of people cannot access legal rights because they simply cannot afford it. That has a very detrimental effect on social...
Julie James: Thank you for that. In terms of air quality, obviously we recently consulted on the clean air zone framework for Wales, and we're currently considering the responses. That builds on a range of actions to improve air quality, including a new £20 million air quality fund and action to reduce nitrogen dioxide levels. We will be publishing our own clean air plan, which incorporates more than...
Julie James: Well, that sounds tremendous. Alun Davies is just indicating to me that he's attending, so there will be a Government presence there. I'm delighted to hear that he's also been to the Abergavenny Food Festival. Anything we can do to showcase the enormously good food and drink around Wales to colleagues across Africa and the world is very welcome indeed, so I'm very pleased to welcome him here....
Julie James: Well, thank you for bringing that to our attention. I think that that sounds absolutely appalling. No wonder your constituent is very concerned. Obviously, we're completely committed to ensuring that anyone, with any kind of diverse condition, is treated as a full and equal member of our society, and that does not sound like the sort of thing we'd like to have encouraged at all. I wonder...
Julie James: I don't think it is systematic. The health Minister is actually answering questions in the Chamber tomorrow, so you'll have the opportunity to put questions to him tomorrow. If you're not able to get to the bottom of those things tomorrow, then I suggest you write—I haven't heard of the drug that you mentioned; what did you say it was—an elephant tranquilizer? It sounds horrendous. So, if...
Julie James: Yes, well, as I responded to Russell George, the situation is still that we're in the process of sorting out the procurement, and as soon as we're in a position to report back with a statement I will certainly be doing so.
Julie James: On the first one of those, obviously the closure of a school in a Member's area is a significant issue, always, but it's not something that the Government makes an oral statement on. I would suggest that you take this up with the Cabinet Secretary for Education—the specifics around that closure—to see if there is a matter for the Welsh Government. Ordinarily, as the Member knows, it is...
Julie James: Individual planning decisions are obviously not suitable for an open oral statement on the floor of the Senedd, so I suggest the Member writes to the planning Minister, and she'll be able to tell him what's happening about that specific application.
Julie James: Yes, I will be bringing forward a statement as soon as I'm in a position to do so on where we are with the second phase, and the situation does remain as in the written answer that you got over the summer.
Julie James: Diolch, Llywydd. There are two changes to this week's business. Added to today's agenda are statements on the update to European transition and a progress report on the employability plan. And as usual, draft business for the next three weeks is set out on the business statement and announcement, which can be found amongst the meeting papers available to Members electronically.
Julie James: Llywydd, I rise today to read out a statement from Rhianon Passmore AM in her own words. So, the words that I’m about to read were written by her and not by myself. 'Llywydd, I apologise to you and all Members of the National Assembly for my absence today. I am grateful for you allowing the leader of the house to read out this personal statement to the Assembly. I referred myself to the...
Julie James: Whilst not a protected characteristic in its own right, John Griffiths is absolutely right: it cuts across all of the other intersectionalities, so anyone with any of the protected characteristics will also be impacted by social class. We know that the multiple inequalities heaped on top of each other make the barriers that people face very severe indeed. Whilst the UK Government's ongoing...
Julie James: The Welsh Government publishes an annual report on equality, which sets out the progress we have made towards advancing equality in Wales. It includes an update on the action we have taken to fulfil our eight equality objectives. The latest report is available on the Welsh Government’s website.
Julie James: Yes, it was a great scheme. It was great to be there, wasn't it, to see the enthusiasm for it? Deputy Presiding Officer, if I could recommend that to all other communities across Wales—it's a scheme that was completely underpinned by the Welsh Government voucher schemes, both Access Broadband Cymru and the ultrafast voucher schemes. The village crowdfunded a part of it so that they could...
Julie James: I'm very happy to be the conduit into Government if anybody's experiencing that difficulty. Deputy Presiding Officer, I'm always astonished when I say this, but I'll say it again here in the Chamber: my e-mail address is julie.james@gov.wales. It's astonishing to me how few people take up that opportunity. I'd very much welcome contact from anyone who thinks they can improve public services....
Julie James: Certainly. The Superfast Cymru scheme has, to date, facilitated the roll-out of superfast broadband access to over 230,000 homes and businesses across the region, delivering average speeds of over 70 Mbps and investing over £63 million.
Julie James: There are mixed skill levels amongst public sector workers, which does impact on their ability to spot digital service transformation opportunities, and also to use new services that have been delivered. So, we have a training programme across the public sector to upskill staff and we're working very hard with councils who have recently expressed a view around creating a cohesive digital...
Julie James: Certainly. Digital First sets out the steps needed to create the right environment for the delivery of effective digital public services. There are a range of improvements being made across and within all Cabinet Secretary portfolios.
Julie James: Yes, it's a great project and, of course, I am very happy to join with her in commending the young people who are part of the project. It's very much part of our strategy to ensure that young people have a voice and are able to express that voice in a meaningful way to inform our strategies and our roll-out plans, and I'm delighted that she was able to attend that programme just recently.
Julie James: We're looking forward to receiving the children's commissioner's upcoming report on the impact of transitions. We're going to be committed to working with the children's commissioner to ensure the experiences of young people improve at the time they become adults and that will include, as the Member says, better multi-agency planning, providing clear information and support, ensuring that the...
