Julie James: Diolch, Llywydd. During Stage 2, Simon Thomas brought forward an amendment requiring the Welsh Ministers to report on the exercise of their functions under section 14(1) and section 15(1), that is, the provision of consent to the making, approving or confirming of subordinate legislation by Ministers of the Crown or others. Although I was not able to support the precise detail of that...
Julie James: Well, I think that's really interesting, because, of course, the reason we're using the emergency procedure is because of the UK's shambles in negotiating our exit from the EU, and that's what's driven us into this position. Llywydd, there are a number of other issues that have informed the Government's decision not to accept this amendment. Firstly, we recognise the importance of the...
Julie James: Well, I was going to start by thanking Members for their contributions, but I'm a little hesitant to do that. I am, though, grateful that Simon Thomas has again demonstrated the great importance the Assembly places on ensuring the environment in Wales is preserved for future generations, and I'm grateful for that, because, as a Government, we do wholeheartedly agree with the sentiments behind...
Julie James: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I thank Members very much for their contributions to this debate. No Government should legislate to provide a public authority with criminal powers unless it is necessary and proportionate. The consultation proposed that the WRA should have access to some of the powers currently exercised by HMRC when investigating tax crime in Wales. These established...
Julie James: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. The Welsh Government carried out a consultation last year about whether the Welsh Revenue Authority should have access to some of the same criminal powers as HMRC. The consultation, which closed on 2 October, focused on those powers to deter and investigate devolved tax crime—powers that are consistent with those used by HMRC in England for the taxes it...
Julie James: Yes, I'm aware of the incident at RAF Valley. My colleague has actually left the Chamber in order to ascertain more information. I have no further information as yet. I'm sure as more information becomes available, we will make it available to the Senedd. And yes, of course, I'm very happy to join with the Member in congratulating Glyndŵr University on that anniversary.
Julie James: I think that's a very specific issue, that's not suitable to be addressed as a statement. I suggest you write to the Cabinet Secretary for a specific answer to that problem.
Julie James: Yes. Joyce Watson makes an excellent point, and it's a very important point as well. I'm certainly going to be raising the issue with both Openreach and with my officials to see if we can sort out some issues with them as soon as possible. We have some issues in the pipeline that are commercially confidential around new procurements, but I'm hoping to have a resolution to them this week. So,...
Julie James: Yes. I understand that we've made excellent progress, actually, in engaging with private owners and managing agents of around 105 high-rise residential blocks across Wales, but the Minister's indicating that she's happy to update us about where we are at the moment. So, fortunately for you, she's sitting behind me indicating her agreement to that.
Julie James: I'll do those in reverse order: the Cabinet Secretary is saying that he's happy to look at any issues that the Member is aware of in that regard, so I'd suggest that you write with any particulars that you have and he can address them in that way. I thought I was going to get away with not mentioning the word 'broadband' today, but there we are; it's not to be. Actually, I had a very useful...
Julie James: Yes. In terms of the credit union's payroll deduction scheme, I'm delighted to welcome the recent work—whether it's supported by famous actors or not, in fact—to boost credit union payroll deduction schemes. There has been an ongoing campaign for several years now, actually, to encourage large employers to allow payroll deduction to support the credit unions because, obviously, they offer...
Julie James: Yes, I support the Member's comments on gambling, as I indicated in response to Simon Thomas. I'm pleased to see that the cross-party group has been convened to do that, and, as I said, the Cabinet Secretary will bring forward a statement as soon as we have the powers available to us to explore what we can do with those powers. It's a very important point. In terms of the ABMU situation that...
Julie James: On the first matter, I was very keen that as many people as possible contributed to the consultation. The result of that, of course, is that we had a lot of contributions to the consultation, so the Cabinet Secretary, as soon as that process is finished, will be reporting back shortly after the Easter recess. He's nodding happily at me, so I'm confident in saying that. In terms of the other...
Julie James: Yes, we're very much aware of the issue of grid constraints, particularly in south Wales, which are restricting the ability to deliver renewable energy projects in some areas, and it's been an ongoing issue for some time. We've raised these concerns with Western Power Distribution, who manage the distribution network in south Wales. Although it's called 'the grid', it isn't, of course, a...
Julie James: Well, that was quite a range of issues that the Member raises. In terms of gambling, the Minister is going to bring a statement forward, in fact, about how we're going to use the new powers once we have them, but I think I'm right in saying that we do not have the power to appoint somebody to the commission. We have asked for the maximum stake to be reduced to £2. There's a massive...
Julie James: I'm very much of the opinion that children should be both heard and seen, and should take an active role, as is appropriate for them, in any of the big issues of the day that affect their future. Obviously, that has to be an appropriate interaction with them, but those youngsters in our schools at the moment are the ones who will most be impacted by the decisions that we make, as obviously...
Julie James: Diolch, Llywydd. There are a few changes to make to this week's business. Statements on local government and on a consultation on the draft legislation (Wales) Bill have been added to today's agenda. Additionally, the Business Committee has decided to postpone the debate led by UKIP until after the Easter recess. Business for the next three weeks is shown on the business statement and...
Julie James: Diolch. I very much want to thank Vikki Howells for bringing this debate forward today, and for David Melding's contribution, with which I completely agree. Holding land for no reason other than to profit from rising land values is clearly unacceptable given a shortage of good land for housing and a number of other beneficial uses that Members have pointed out. The debate today has...
Julie James: Yes, indeed, and, again, I've nothing to really add to that. That's a very potent way of putting it. I think the thing I mentioned was actually a module in the Welsh baccalaureate that is called 'Challenging extremism' that we teach as part of the modules that you can select in the Welsh baccalaureate. I have had some discussions with the Cabinet Secretary for Education about the way that we...
Julie James: Yes, well, there's nothing that I—. I really feel that there's not much to add to that. I couldn't agree more with everything that you said. We are doing a large number of things here in Wales. We work very closely with the four police forces and the hate crime criminal justice board to make sure that we do have robust systems and legislation in place to investigate the hate crimes...
