Joel James: I wanted to start by saying that, although I recognise providing for the complexity of disabilities that exist in Wales is challenging, I'm nonetheless still surprised, given all the information that we know about the positive impact of helping those with disabilities to gain independence and to live prosperous and fulfilling lives, and how it can bring positive contributions to a wider...
Joel James: Deputy Minister, one of the major issues of the initial announcement of the cut of emergency funding was the relatively short notice of it, which meant that some bus companies, especially smaller ones, did not have the necessary financial reserves to keep unprofitable but vital services open, and also the allotted time to change their services to accommodate, resulting in much uncertainty and...
Joel James: Thank you, Minister, for your response to my colleague Jack Sargeant's question. As you know, in a few weeks' time, we will shortly be discussing the Petitions Committee's report on greyhound racing and specifically its main recommendation that the sport be banned in Wales. As highlighted in that report, I was the only voice in the committee who believes more could be done to enforce and...
Joel James: Minister, research has shown that, during the pandemic, those with disabilities spent even less time out in green spaces and accessing nature than before. Whilst the vulnerability to COVID was a key factor, it has also been found that cognitive load had a detrimental impact, not to mention confusion of social arrangements, such as how many people could meet at one time, and whether or not...
Joel James: Minister, as you are aware, flooding can seriously impact our communities, resulting in long-term environmental damage, destruction to property, disruption to our transport network and, sadly, even resulting, as my colleague Heledd said, in the loss of life. Another consequence of flooding is the risk of pollution from sewage and industrial chemicals, for example, contaminating our streams,...
Joel James: I would like to take this opportunity to raise awareness of National Apprenticeship Week, which aims to celebrate and promote apprenticeships in Wales as a valuable pathway into work and the benefits that they bring to both individuals and employers. I would particularly like to highlight the work of ColegauCymru, which co-ordinates the network of 13 further education colleges to deliver...
Joel James: I'd like to thank my colleague Rhys for raising this issue. Minister, I understand that PRP, the company instructed by the Welsh Government to complete site surveys of the 163 buildings in Wales registered as affected by cladding issues, will not release any reports until all of the surveys are completed. The timescale for completion was indicated as sometime in October, and we are now four...
Joel James: What conversations has the Minister had with the UK Government about its Environmental Improvement Plan 2023?
Joel James: I'd like to thank the representative for Cynon Valley for raising this important issue. Over the last 40 years in Wales, the number of female suicides per 100,000 of the population has dropped almost 50 per cent, from nine to five. For males, unfortunately, the number has increased, from 19 per 100,000 to 21 per 100,000, and thus men are therefore over four times more likely to commit suicide...
Joel James: What discussions has the Minister had with the UK Government on mental health checks for firearms licensees?
Joel James: Thank you, Rhun, for raising this important debate today. I fully support the proposals of this Bill, and I believe that we need to be much more forward thinking in our approach to policy that helps reduce our carbon footprint in technological areas, especially as we will be relying more heavily on digital data going forward into the future. It is only right that we put legislation into place...
Joel James: Deputy Minister, as you know, the Royal Mail strikes over the Christmas period not only had a financial impact on Royal Mail, but caused profound reputational damage as well. I think we all here agree that it is an individual's right to take industrial action, but we need to be aware that these strikes have had far-reaching consequences that are just not limited to Royal Mail. Small and...
Joel James: Thank you, First Minister. As I am sure you'll agree with me, the experience that some disabled people have in Wales when they're accessing public transport still falls woefully short of the standards that we expect and they deserve. I regularly receive communication from residents in my region complaining about the lack of thought and care for them and their needs, and a recent e-mail from a...
Joel James: 2. Will the First Minister make a statement on the accessibility of public transport for those who are visually impaired? OQ59018
Joel James: Thank you. Well, you are quite right: we do have a precautionary principle, absolutely, at the heart of our policy in relation to genetic modification and gene editing, and, obviously, I don't think you were in the Chamber yesterday, but we had a debate on the LCM on the UK Government's Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill. New genetic techniques are powerful tools, but that power...
Joel James: Thank you, Minister. Whilst I acknowledge this Government's cautionary approach to genetic engineering, I believe that it is shortsighted to ignore the fact that this technology has the potential to solve many of the problems that we are currently facing. I also believe that there is considerable potential for the genetic modification of certain plants, that will not enter the food chain, to...
Joel James: 4. What discussions has the Minister had with the Minister for Climate Change regarding the use of genetic modification of plants for carbon sequestration? OQ58948
Joel James: Thank you, First Minister. I recently met with a business within my region who are developing technologies that will have a profound impact on helping to reverse the effects of climate change and are in the process of applying for Welsh Government funding, but it seems like the whole process is taking considerable time and much longer than previous applications, which is having a detrimental...
Joel James: 2. Will the First Minister make a statement on the impact on Wales of the recent transition to the new UK subsidy control regime? OQ58972
Joel James: Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd, and it's my pleasure to open this debate today in the name of Darren Millar. There are a number of very important reasons for bringing this debate forward on what is the national awareness day for less survivable cancers, with the main one being that we need to highlight both to the Welsh Government and Members across this Chamber that, tragically, Wales has the...
