Julie James: The very short answer to that is 'yes, we do'. We are collecting a range of evidence already, and of course we'll be evaluating the pilot. I understand the evidence report that he's citing, but I think the evidence of our own eyes is just there for all to see. The house price boom that we're currently experiencing right across the UK and the very, very heated market in Wales is pricing people...
Julie James: Thank you, Mike. I completely agree with you about the large-scale social house building. That's why we've got the 20,000 social homes for rent in this Senedd term. Councils have only recently, of course, been removed from the Conservative cap on the housing revenue accounts, and they've done remarkable things since then in stepping up their house building, having to reconstitute much of...
Julie James: Thank you, Mabon. In terms of whether we can roll the pilot out, we've got to get to the pilot first. One of the things that we will be doing is putting an evaluation contract in place so that we can get the data from that pilot as rapidly as is humanly possible so that we can evaluate what we're seeing from the pilot, the effect it's having, and what we will need to do to adjust it, if...
Julie James: I think I detected four questions in that rather long speech, so I'll—[Interruption.] I think there were four, I think I'm right in saying, which considering the length of the speech is quite something. But, there we are. The first one was about land for house building. Janet Finch-Saunders, because she's part of the cross-party working group, will know perfectly well that we have been...
Julie James: Diolch, Llywydd. This Government has a strong, proud record in building affordable housing. Our programme for government reflects our continuing commitment to this with our ambitious target of delivering 20,000 low-carbon social homes for rent this term. But, for some people living in some parts of Wales, an affordable home is beyond their reach because of a combination of rising house prices...
Julie James: Sorry—yes, the draft budget will be laid, I believe, on 20 December and there's a debate at the beginning of the next calendar year for the Senedd to approve it. I think that's right, Dirprwy Lywydd.
Julie James: Well, certainly, Huw, I can say, obviously, the Senedd is in charge of the budget for the Welsh Government, so we need to know what the budget looks like and have the Senedd pass the draft budget towards the end of this calendar year. In the meantime, I'm looking to see what the advice from my officials is and whether we can fund the programme faster than that. But it's very difficult for me...
Julie James: Yes, sure.
Julie James: This serious issue has been acknowledged by Ofgem in meetings with my officials. The local authority has actively explored funding remedial work with the energy suppliers who funded the original works. The Welsh Government hosted a round-table to discuss the issues between the local authority and the scheme administrator, Ofgem. Despite our best efforts, these has been unsuccessful, but we...
Julie James: Thank you very much, Huw, for raising this important issue. Today’s debate follows written questions in September, our meeting on 29 September, and our exchange in Plenary just a week ago. Your passion to pursue a conclusion to these unfortunate events is very admirable and a testament to your commitment to your constituents. Let me begin by saying that, of course, the health and well-being...
Julie James: I do absolutely agree that we need to manage our relationship with the Crown Estate, which is a very good one, in order to make sure that we do unlock the potential for renewables, as I've just said. However, the UK Government did devolve the Crown Estate to Scotland back in 2016, they have control of the Crown Estate in Scotland and, as a result, are able to do a number of things, including...
Julie James: Well, the short answer to that is because you combined it with a number of other things that we didn't like. So, turning to the Crown Estate issues, though, they have a significant impact, as he rightly said, in terms of renewables deployment, particularly in relation to sea bed leases, and they have a substantially strategic landholding for Wales. The timing of their leasing land certainly...
Julie James: Well, I'm sure he's right. I don't entirely understand what he's asking me, to be honest. I completely agree that nuclear has a role to play if we can get the right kinds of nuclear installation in Wales. He will know that we've got a cluster of scientists working on that in north-west Wales and that we're exploring the potential for Trawsfynydd. The problems of Wylfa are well known—whether...
Julie James: We recently published our all-Wales delivery plan, 'Net Zero Wales'. This sets out the actions we must all take across this Senedd term on our journey towards net zero. This includes our approach to energy efficiency, which marries investment, innovation, public engagement and supply chain stimulus.
Julie James: Devolving control over the Crown Estate would give us greater flexibility in choosing how far and fast we deploy renewables, particularly in Welsh waters. We intend for the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales to consider the Crown Estate within the context of a comprehensive assessment of the powers Wales needs.
Julie James: Thank you, Mabon. One of the things that we're currently dealing with is that the flow of people who are presenting as homeless, as a result of the pandemic and a number of other economic issues, has not diminished in any way. So, our local authorities are still dealing with in excess of 1,000 people a month presenting as homeless across Wales. We currently have just upwards of 12,000 people...
Julie James: Thank you for that question. This is a very complicated problem, because as we go as fast as we possibly can in the transition to renewable energy, one of the things we also need to do is to keep the lights on. At the moment, Wales is quite reliant on gas-fired power stations and gas-sourced energy in order to do just that. We obviously have to have a transition plan in place, and that...
Julie James: As the Member is well aware, we've been discussing this in the cross-party group, and amongst all the parties of the Senedd, attempting to find a cross-party way forward. So, it's a little disappointing to have it politicised in quite the way he's just done. We're running the pilot, as he well knows, in order to be able to ensure that we are going as fast as is humanly possible, given the...
Julie James: Yes, thank you, Paul. Over the past five years, Pembrokeshire has received support from the Welsh Government energy service to develop a series of renewable energy and energy efficiency projects, which do include a fleet review, capital grants to support their transition to ultra-low emission vehicles, a refit programme of works, street lighting and other LED upgrades for street works. And...
Julie James: Our recently launched 'Net Zero Wales' plan puts us on the path to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. We are working with local government, families, communities and businesses in Pembrokeshire on a wide range of projects to develop the green infrastructure to achieve this.
