Julie James: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I move the motion. The practice of shark finning is barbaric and hugely detrimental to shark populations across the world. It is a completely unsustainable fishing practice, where large parts of the shark carcass are discarded overboard in favour of the high-value shark fin, used predominantly within Asian communities. Shark populations globally are in decline, and it...
Julie James: I'm not too sure which budget you're referring to there, Carolyn, I'm afraid. So, there's a very specific flood management budget, and it's ring-fenced for flood management for NRW. Local authorities have it as part of the revenue support grant, but they are expected to put a programme in place. So, I'm happy to discuss the specifics with you there. But it's not a mix and match of...
Julie James: Thank you, John. I agree it’s a complex picture, if you like, of who’s responsible for what. But, actually, if you’re a householder who’s experienced flooding, you should contact your local authority, and they should be perfectly capable of putting you through to anyone else, but it will be them for 98 per cent of people. It will only be people who have very specific circumstances who...
Julie James: Thank you, Delyth. That is absolutely right. I've met myself with many of the families that have been affected, and it's absolutely right that they are very severely impacted. One family told me that their three-year-old was very scared every time it rained even normally because they'd been flooded and she was worried about it. So, it's a real problem. The first thing to do is to make sure...
Julie James: Thank you, Jayne. I will be meeting the British Red Cross very shortly to discuss their report with them; we're very interested in the findings. And indeed, we're interested in working with all groups right across Wales who've got something to add to this plan of action, really, because there's no argument with any of us that we need to do this as fast as possible, and we need to employ every...
Julie James: Diolch, Heledd. Just in terms of the review, as was part of the discussion between us, there are a number of different types of review going on. I just referenced the two by the flood and coastal erosion committee, for example. So, Professor Elwen Evans KC's review fits into a pattern of other pieces of work that are going on, so just to reassure that it's not intended to be a catch-all, and...
Julie James: Thank you, Janet. So, on the budget issues, I can tell you that the impact of the investments that we have made has been very considerable. So, for example, over the course of the most recent heavy rainfall, the flood defences in Rhondda Cynon Taf, which you referenced, prevented flooding to over 800 properties. The recently completed defence schemes in Park Lane, Aberdare, and Nant y Pentre...
Julie James: Diolch, Llywydd. Over the past week, Wales has been impacted by continuous heavy rain. In some locations, we have seen over six weeks' rain in the first two weeks of the year. This fell on already saturated ground, increasing surface water run-off and resulting in very high river levels across Wales. Since Wednesday, Natural Resources Wales have issued 50 flood warnings and 95 flood alerts....
Julie James: Diolch, Dirprwy Llywydd. Can I begin my contribution by thanking John Griffiths for his committee's really hard work in putting this together and then for bringing the motion forward today, and also thank all Members for their contributions to this very important debate? This is clearly a topic that people feel very passionately about. Community assets have featured in debates in this Chamber...
Julie James: Yes, absolutely. So, I'll just reiterate what I said to Huw Irranca-Davies earlier on in this session. What we've asked each sector to do is to look to see what they can propose to help solve their part of the problem. So, for house building, we know that surface water drainage systems, SUDS, are part of the solution; there will be others. We have asked each sector to come back to us, and we...
Julie James: Yes. Thank you, Ken. On 9 February, the First Minister will reconvene a summit of key partners in tackling excessive levels of phosphates in Welsh rivers, to discuss current progress and establish next steps. I'll set out the outcomes of that discussion, together with an action plan, in a written statement, which will go out shortly after the summit.
Julie James: Yes, I was really aware of that. It's a great idea. Obviously, if you travel in Europe at all, you'll notice that car parks have canopies over them anyway, because they're shading the vehicles from the sun. We don’t entirely have that problem in Wales yet. We have the rain problem, absolutely. The old joke about, 'Did you know that you could take your cagoule off when you go to England?’...
Julie James: Diolch, Sioned. My officials and I hold regular bilateral and multilateral discussions with other Governments to share our experiences, good practice and challenges. Examples include the net zero interministerial meetings of the four UK nations, the British-Irish Council and the Under2 Coalition of state, regional and provincial Governments. So, we have quite a lot of contact,...
Julie James: Sorry, I have absolutely no idea whether I'm the Senedd next Tuesday, but, if I am, I'll happily come along. Absolutely, but we've got to do it in the right order. So, we absolutely will want to make sure that the planning arrangements are in place, but, depending on the level that we're talking about, it might be a nationally significant infrastructure development, so it might be the UK...
Julie James: Diolch, Cefin. Yes, a very important point. So, we have 897 MW of locally owned renewable electricity and heat capacity in Wales in 2021, which was 90 per cent of the way towards our 1 GW target for 2030, which is really good news. We've got a total of 2,201 new renewable projects commissioned across mid Wales and the Swansea bay city region in 2021. They represent a capacity increase of 31.5...
Julie James: Diolch, Cefin. As we move towards a more localised, renewables-based energy system, we are taking steps to ensure that the wealth from renewable energy projects remains in Wales. We are building on our support for communities and public bodies, developing additional offers for local businesses and supporting energy plans to highlight local opportunities.
Julie James: I would respond with some surprise, Mark, because all authorities have met the standard for the Welsh housing quality, which is EPC D, apart from what are called 'acceptable fails'. So, if you have details of why he's concerned that the stock isn't up to standard, I'd certainly like to see it. His own council has submitted returns to us saying that they are satisfied that they have rolled out...
Julie James: Diolch, Siân. I very much want to visit, and I hope you will invite me formally and I can do that very soon. We're very pleased with the way the decarbonisation hub is working out. You've set out the history of the factory that closed and so on there. We were very pleased to be able to give £239,000 worth of a Transforming Towns placemaking grant to enable the transition into the...
Julie James: Diolch, Siân Gwenllian. There are a number of programmes designed to help improve energy efficiency of homes across Wales, including in Arfon. These include the optimised retrofit programme and the Warm Homes programme.
Julie James: Thank you, Darren. This is an ongoing situation and, as we adapt to the changing climate, we're going to have to address it more and more. We've had a number of schemes already in Clwyd West, which I know you're aware of. There's Eldon Drive in Abergele; Llansannan; Top Llan Road in Glan Conwy; Kinmel Bay; the Colwyn Bay waterfront upgrade; Chapel Street; and the natural flood management for...
