Julie James: Absolutely, Huw, I was coming on to say exactly that. We want those targets to be meaningful and stretching. We want them to be achievable, though. There's no point in having targets and everybody goes, 'Oh well, you'll never do that'. We need them to be realistic and achievable targets, where we can protect 30 per cent of our land, freshwater and seas by 2030. That's not very far away, so we...
Julie James: So, in light of the important work that she has been undertaking, I am pleased to confirm that the Welsh Government will be extending Dr Llewelyn Jones's contract for a further year, and I'm particularly pleased that it is Dr Llewelyn Jones. We're not just extending the role, but we're extending her role in it, and I think that's a very important point to make. The committee's report made a...
Julie James: Diolch, Llywydd. I too would like to begin by thanking the committee and Chair for their work and for the recent report on the interim environmental governance arrangements. I think the committee's report is well considered and balanced, and I'm very pleased to confirm that the Government accepts all of its recommendations. I would also like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to...
Julie James: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd, and thank you very much to Jack for bringing forward the debate and giving me the opportunity to speak about water safety and drowning prevention. Dirprwy Lywydd, I'd just like to start, as you'd expect me to, by offering my deepest sympathies to Mark Allen's family and to anyone else in Wales who has been affected by drowning incidents, because they are, as Vikki...
Julie James: Diolch, Llywydd. Only simply to say again my thanks to everyone who's worked very hard on the Bill, all of the committees, all of the Members, but, most especially, to the people, businesses and young people of Wales who have worked tirelessly and hard, and have pressed me very hard to get this Bill onto the statute book, and I am delighted to have been able to do it for them and for our...
Julie James: Diolch, Llywydd. I'm absolutely delighted to move the motion before the Senedd today for Stage 4 of the Environmental Protection (Single-use Plastic Products) (Wales) Bill, which I introduced into the Senedd on 20 September 2022. Since the Bill was introduced, it has progressed successfully through Stages in the Senedd's legislation process on a fast-tracked timetable. I'm most grateful to...
Julie James: Just turning first to consider amendment 25, proposed by Janet Finch- Saunders, this would, as she said, place Welsh Ministers under a duty to provide local authorities with sufficient funding to enable them to undertake their enforcement functions under the Bill. I believe this is similar to a change proposed during Stage 2. I've listened again to the points made and, while I understand the...
Julie James: Diolch, Llywydd. Amendment 24 was tabled by Janet Finch-Saunders, and it seeks to provide a defence regarding the lack of intention to supply where a person is in possession of a prohibited single-use product. I confirm that a similar amendment was tabled and considered at Stage 2. I'd just like to reiterate at this point that possession of a single-use plastic product covered by the Bill is...
Julie James: Turning to amendment 41 first, as amendment 55 is consequential to it, it does, as Delyth has just explained, require Welsh Ministers to establish an oversight project board and an advisory panel within 12 months of the Bill’s receiving Royal Assent. It provides a brief outline of each body’s purpose and proposes potential functions for each. The explanatory memorandum, as Delyth has...
Julie James: Diolch, Llywydd. I will address amendments 18, 19 and 21 together. Firstly, just to thank Janet Finch-Saunders for agreeing to collaborate on these three amendments. Taken together, they would revise the reporting requirements in section 4 of the Bill, so Welsh Ministers would need to report not only on any considerations they make about prohibiting single-use plastic wet wipes or sauce...
Julie James: No, I'm not objecting.
Julie James: Yes.
Julie James: Move.
Julie James: Formally.
Julie James: Diolch, Llywydd. I will address amendment 34 first. Amendment 34 would remove oxo-degradable plastic products from the list of prohibited products in Schedule 1, as well as the definition of 'oxo-degradable plastic'. And Janet's quite right, I did note in earlier committee appearances and at Plenary that oxo-degradable plastic is a complex area that is still being researched. But, at this...
Julie James: Diolch, Llywydd.
Julie James: Diolch, Llywydd. The intention of the Bill is to prohibit the supply and offer to supply for sale or for free the products listed in the Bill to consumers in Wales. Amendments 31, 32 and 33 tabled by Janet Finch-Saunders propose to amend Schedule 1 to the Bill to specifically exempt the use of single-use plastic cotton buds for forensic purposes, as relevant devices used for medical purposes...
Julie James: Diolch, Llywydd. At Stage 2, I accepted an amendment tabled by Delyth Jewell to reduce the number of exemptions for plastic single-use carrier bags from the ban introduced by the Bill, specifically to remove the exemption that applies when a patient receives a plastic single-use carrier bag when dispensed with a prescribed medicine or medical device, defined as a 'listed appliance' in the...
Julie James: All amendments in this group deal with making it an offence to manufacture, as well as to supply or offer to supply, a single-use plastic product that is banned in the Schedule part of the Bill. During Stage 2, similar amendments regarding the manufacture of single-use products were put forward and rejected by the members of the Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee. This...
Julie James: Turning to amendment 15, tabled by Janet Finch-Saunders, this amendment inserts a provision in section 2 of the Bill to set out how the exemptions contained in table 1 of the Schedule relating to single-use plastic straws should apply: specifically, how a supplier can be satisfied that they reasonably believe a person needs a straw for health or disability reasons. It is very important that...
