Julie James: Of course, that was the whole point of the additional learning needs Bill—to give support to those who are most vulnerable in our system. But I do think that it's quite extraordinary to say that it's not money, but it's policy, because, of course, the policies for additional learning needs always involve additional support for the pupil. It's an absolute fact that the more additional...
Julie James: I think the chances of young people here in Wales are very good indeed, but we could do more and, again, as I emphasise, without the austerity policies of the UK Government, we could do a great deal better.
Julie James: I'm afraid the leader of Plaid Cymru has fundamentally misunderstood the powers in the Bill. The UK Government cannot act in place of the Welsh Government, and my colleague the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, when he took us through in great detail the Bill only very recently on the floor of the Senedd, explained the way that the freezing of the powers would work, the way that we have got...
Julie James: No. I think, again, the hyperbole that's being demonstrated by Plaid Cymru here is really not helpful at all. Just to be absolutely clear, the Welsh Government has secured significant changes to the UK Government's EU withdrawal Bill that protect the devolution settlement, which this party agrees with. Welsh Ministers have come to an agreement with the UK Government that many areas already...
Julie James: If the leader of Plaid Cymru is referring to the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill, then we would prefer to have done the very best for Wales, which we have done.
Julie James: Yes, in terms of Allied Healthcare, we are aware of the contractor's requests to go into some kind of administration, and we are working very hard to ensure that we have a good plan in place. I know the Minister has been working very hard to ensure that we have continuity of care practices in place for anybody who could be affected by that, though I hasten to say, so as not to set any hares...
Julie James: I always find it very difficult when the Conservative Party go on about spending, in view of the money—[Interruption.]
Julie James: It's very handy to be able to have a divided brain on this subject, but I am happy to be able to tell the Member that, here in Wales, public spending on personal social services for families and children has gone up by 22 per cent between 2010-11 and 2016-17, which is a considerable difference to the spending rise in England, which is only 5 per cent.
Julie James: Yes. We already have several trials in place. It's a matter of great interest to us how we can use medical technologies of all sorts to assist with both social care and, actually, medical care. We have active pilots in place looking at exactly how we can exploit those technologies.
Julie James: I'm not quite sure what you mean by that, but social care plays a critical role in helping people live independently, working in partnership with health, the independent and third sectors, to manage demand and improve outcomes for people both in north Wales and nationally. This is why 'Prosperity for All' places social care as a sector of national importance.
Julie James: Well, again, I just disagree with the take that Rhun ap Iorwerth puts on this, because, as I said earlier, there are a number of ways of looking at how many people work as GPs, as locum GPs, as retained GPs, as GP registrars, in Wales. Many of Wales's medical centres are training practices, which are responsible for training the next generation of GPs. And, as I said in response to the...
Julie James: Yes, it's true that the introduction of IR35 in the medical profession has probably led locum GPs to consider their taxation affairs. Taxation policy is not devolved to the Welsh Government, but it does affect, obviously, our GP workforce in the same way as it does across the rest of the UK. It's not absolutely clear how it's affecting individual career decisions by GPs, but there are many...
Julie James: It's true that using the same data source as previous years does give a fall of 83. However, statisticians have found quality issues with the data, which may mean it's considerably lower. And a more complete measure of GP capacity in Wales is to include all GP practitioners, locums, retainers and registrars. Using that method shows that there's a 0.3 per cent drop of about eight since...
Julie James: Yes. Independent general practitioner contractors and health boards will employ GP locums where there is a service need. GP practices must ensure that they are appropriately qualified and registered.
Julie James: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I move the motion to approve the Digital Government (Welsh Bodies) (Wales) Regulations 2018. The Digital Economy Act 2017, which received Royal Assent in April 2017, grants new powers to public authorities to share data with other public authorities to improve the delivery of public services, identify and take action on debts owed to the public sector, and...
Julie James: Yes. I think it's a matter of some shame actually that there isn't a statue of a historical named Welsh woman in Wales. When these things are pointed out to you it becomes clashingly obvious, but it is obviously completely unacceptable. I am planning to bring forward a statement on a number of issues, including statues, plaques and so on, during this term—before the summer recess—and I...
Julie James: Well, yes indeed. I'm sorry that I didn't get to the event, because I very much would have liked to have been there. Of course, we're immensely proud of our links with Africa and the Wales for Africa programme. I'm not actually aware of any specifics around Zimbabwe, but I'm more than happy to look into that for the Member. Our efforts on behalf of Africa, through the Wales for Africa...
Julie James: I also heard the reports of this on the news and I know the Cabinet Secretary is aware. The board were at great pains to say that they were of the view that they had not done anything that was untoward. I know the Cabinet Secretary is looking into it and if there is anything that requires looking into, I know he will update Members accordingly.
Julie James: Yes, I'm absolutely delighted to acknowledge that contribution, not least to my own life. Many of the hymns that I know and love are as a result of attending Baptist chapel with my grandmother, and singing my heart out, three times a day on a Sunday, when we were privileged to be spending a day with her. So, I have very fond memories of that. And, indeed, I am very happy to acknowledge the...
Julie James: The Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Transport is considering the findings and recommendations of the inspector's report, following the public local inquiry, before making a decision on this. We acknowledge there has been a delay, but there is a large volume of correspondence as part of the statutory process and it has taken much longer than expected to consider it. However, we want to...
