Julie James: In terms of shared parental leave, there are some good recommendations in here, which we clearly need to discuss with the civil service in the Welsh Government and with the Commission as the two major employers in this building, which I'm very much looking forward to. In my formal response to this in the autumn, we will be coming forward with the result of some of those discussions. I've not...
Julie James: Well, absolutely, I agree that we need to have more action. I'm sorry that Bethan Sayed feels the way she does about it. I think we've addressed, in correspondence, the issues around the procurement. The whole point about this, Deputy Presiding Officer, was that we wanted a rapid review. I could have gone out to a six-month procurement and we would have got a lot longer timescale. We wanted...
Julie James: Thank you for that series of questions and comments. I entirely agree with what you said. There's a lot to digest in the report. I wanted to bring it forward to Members for them to see the report as it is. We have not yet formally responded. We'll be doing that in the autumn. I would very much welcome that cross-party group involvement in that, because I think this is an agenda, Deputy...
Julie James: Well, thank you very much for those remarks. There was much there that I completely agreed with. I think, Deputy Presiding Officer, it's worth indulging myself with a quote from a young woman who was with us standing outside with Val Feld's plaque, who said that she looked forward to a time when somebody complimenting her on her figures was talking about her attainment in maths and not the...
Julie James: Yes. A very important set of points there. In terms of why it's limited in the way that it is, it's just that for the first phase of the review, to get it under way, we asked them to do a rapid review of the Government and its policies deliberately, as a place to start—that's all. So, obviously, what we want to do is take it out from there, and the recommendations make that plain. There...
Julie James: A very excellent set of questions. I'll try and just talk about them as we go through. Apologies—the report has been published today. I'm not at all, therefore, surprised that Suzy Davies hasn't had a chance to read it in any depth. However, there is a summary report included. It's published on the Chwarae Teg website. Also, the Welsh policy annex is also very interesting in terms of...
Julie James: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. On International Women’s Day, the First Minister announced a rapid review of our gender and equality policies, and wanted to bring new impetus to that work. The initial phase of this review has been supported by the equalities charity Chwarae Teg, and the Wales Centre for Public Policy. I am very pleased today to be able to update Assembly Members on...
Julie James: Yes, that's a very good point. The Minister is indeed getting a lot of namechecks today. I'm sure he won't have any problem with that at all, and he's also nodding happily that he's looking into that issue and will bring something forward in due course.
Julie James: It's a very important point. As I said, I know there's been a big increase in cruise visits to Ynys Môn. Suzy Davies is of course right: we did hear a lot about cruise tourism in the last Assembly. I know that the Minister's been working very hard to make sure that we could get an embarkation point in Wales, which would be the holy grail of the cruise industry. When those conversations are...
Julie James: That's a very important issue. Actually, I'd like to reassure the Member that I have asked for more details myself, as the equalities Minister, to find out exactly what happened there. When I have those details, I'm happy to—I'll probably write to all AMs once we have them. I'm in the process of having that conversation at the moment. And in terms of the British Steel pensions, if the...
Julie James: The Cabinet Secretary is indicating that, obviously, she answered a question from you, and she expects that a letter from her to you should be received at any moment.
Julie James: Jack Sargeant raises two very important issues. There isn't a specific programme for schools to have access to a defibrillator as such, but all schools, of course, should have arrangements in place for dealing with emergency situations. As part of the out-of-hospital cardiac arrest plan, which we published in June 2017, work is under way with partners to map out the organisations that...
Julie James: Yes, we were very pleased to see the increase in visitor numbers, and I was particularly pleased with the cruise ship arrangements in Ynys Môn, which we hope, very much, to be able to duplicate elsewhere in Wales. The Minister's indicating to me that he'll be more than happy to bring forward a statement to that effect, so I will liaise with him about the best timing for that.
Julie James: The Member highlights a really great part of Welsh heritage, and I'm delighted to say that I recently was in Llangollen for their heritage railway event there, and it was really fun to see, and the enthusiasm of all of the crowds that came to greet the train was also great to see. I know the Minister takes it very seriously indeed, and will be considering how we can best join up those...
Julie James: It's a very important issue, and as Jane Hutt correctly said, the Cabinet Secretary has already made some remarks on that. We are advising the NHS to restrict the use of vaginal mesh in Wales, ensuring its use is continued only in those with very specific need and who fully understand the risks. That is in line with the recent recommendations of the report from the review panel, which Jane...
Julie James: Llywydd, in time-honoured fashion, going in reverse order, I'll make sure that the Cabinet Secretary is aware of the issue, and finds out for the Member where he is on the response to his constituent's concerns. In terms of water, we have not yet got to the point that some of us remember from the long, hot summer of 1976. I have to say, many of my Cabinet colleagues, of course, were not born...
Julie James: Yes, a very interesting report, and a lot of work has been done on the changing nature of city centres. The Cabinet Secretary has made a number of contributions to that debate, and we've been working very hard with partners on the city deals in order to take account of what the Member is outlining, which is the fundamental change in the way that people shop, the effect of, obviously, internet...
Julie James: Diolch, Llywydd. There's one change to today's agenda. Later this afternoon I will be making a statement on the review of gender equality, otherwise business for the next three weeks is as shown on the business statement and announcement found amongst the meeting papers available to Members electronically.
Julie James: Yes, on the first issue, on women in prisons, I couldn't agree more. Jenny Rathbone is very much part of the group that has been campaigning for such changes for a long time, and I would just commend to the Chamber the consultation that Mark Drakeford recently announced on preventing councils from imprisoning people for non-payment of council tax, which we know impacts heavily on women and...
Julie James: Yes, the Cabinet Secretary is indicating that he's very happy to write to Members and give us an update.
