, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Carbon Budget 1 and Net Zero Wales - scrutiny of the Minister for Climate Change
I agree with that entirely, Jenny. We are going to do it, but I'm just saying if you're hoping that it will make a big dent in fuel poverty, it will not. I mean, clearly it needs doing for all kinds of really good reasons, but it's just not going to make that…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Carbon Budget 1 and Net Zero Wales - scrutiny of the Minister for Climate Change
Yes, and, again, you've heard me say a number of times now that we've got a programme running that allows us to look at the tech that's available for each house and make sure that it's the right tech for the right house. So, it's all very well to say…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Carbon Budget 1 and Net Zero Wales - scrutiny of the Minister for Climate Change
Yes, so as I said, Jenny, we'll be publishing the policy statement very shortly on that. We'll have both a heat and a warm homes strategy, actually. Last summer's heatwave makes it very obvious that we need both a heat strategy and a cold strategy—I'm not…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Carbon Budget 1 and Net Zero Wales - scrutiny of the Minister for Climate Change
Yes. We've got eight Wales-specific recommendations in the progress report, and we've provided an update to the UK Government's response to the CCC's report in March. So, on transport, I've already talked about the substantial amounts of funding allocated to…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Carbon Budget 1 and Net Zero Wales - scrutiny of the Minister for Climate Change
Yes, thanks, Joyce. That's undoubtedly the case. As I said earlier, the statement of progress is focused on the first carbon budget and the plan's only in place for a year of that, and, as I acknowledged at the time, emissions occur in non-devolved policy…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Carbon Budget 1 and Net Zero Wales - scrutiny of the Minister for Climate Change
Well, I can give it a shot, Huw. It's a very complicated area, of course, and it's quite difficult to stretch the thread through. So, just to give the example, it will be a range of everything from you and I making a different choice when we replace our…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Carbon Budget 1 and Net Zero Wales - scrutiny of the Minister for Climate Change
And so, Lesley Griffiths obviously does that, but we absolutely work hand in hand, step by step together, so all the way through the working of the sustainable farming scheme, my officials and hers have been working together. She and I have had numerous…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Carbon Budget 1 and Net Zero Wales - scrutiny of the Minister for Climate Change
So, one of the reasons that agriculture isn't with me is because it is one of the most challenging sectors, and we thought it needed more ministerial oomph, if you like, than being included. I'm not sure if that's the correct terminology, but I think the…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Carbon Budget 1 and Net Zero Wales - scrutiny of the Minister for Climate Change
You could actually just start to put your arms around, and that's the structure that John was talking about is how we then spread the tentacles out, if you like, into the Government, and make sure that that direction is happening elsewhere.
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Carbon Budget 1 and Net Zero Wales - scrutiny of the Minister for Climate Change
I'm hardly likely to agree with that, am I, Llyr, as I accepted the job in the first place? [Laughter.] I think it's important to understand what the politicians are doing. I have a myriad of able civil servants actually doing the work. What we're doing is…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Carbon Budget 1 and Net Zero Wales - scrutiny of the Minister for Climate Change
—you know, writing to me with better detail. I'm more than happy to have a look at it, but I'm struggling to trace it from our various interactions in public, I'm afraid, so, perhaps if you could write to me with the details, I'm more than happy to have a…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Carbon Budget 1 and Net Zero Wales - scrutiny of the Minister for Climate Change
Yes, Janet, you've raised this with me a number of times, and I've had a conversation with the health service about it. I'm afraid we're having difficulty tracing quite the number of homes you talk about and the empty ones. So, perhaps you wouldn't mind…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Carbon Budget 1 and Net Zero Wales - scrutiny of the Minister for Climate Change
Yes, John Howells, if he can do it, please.
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Carbon Budget 1 and Net Zero Wales - scrutiny of the Minister for Climate Change
Yes, sure, Janet. So, as I said, the portfolio itself brings together a whole range of things that weren’t together before, and that’s driven some change. I obviously work very closely with colleagues right across the Government. We’ve got a whole series of…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Carbon Budget 1 and Net Zero Wales - scrutiny of the Minister for Climate Change
One of the biggest things that we've been doing by way of changing the way that the Government looks at this was the creation of my portfolio, of course, which brings together a whole range of levers—power, transport, housing, waste, buildings, forestry, et…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Carbon Budget 1 and Net Zero Wales - scrutiny of the Minister for Climate Change
Thank you, Joyce. I mean, gosh—many and various. I just think it's worth pointing out here that reducing carbon isn't the only problem that we face. Reducing carbon is fairly easy if you don't give a stuff about anything else. So, if you don't care about jobs…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Carbon Budget 1 and Net Zero Wales - scrutiny of the Minister for Climate Change
No. We explored all of the options in front of us, including whether we should carry it over, and we explored with the committee whether carrying forward a surplus would be sensible. We needed to test our situation against all the circumstances that might…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Carbon Budget 1 and Net Zero Wales - scrutiny of the Minister for Climate Change
Well, we haven't carried the surplus over, Janet, so—
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Carbon Budget 1 and Net Zero Wales - scrutiny of the Minister for Climate Change
Very definitely, Huw. This isn't some kind of weird technical exercise; the world is changing around us and we need to do this. Every single nation has to play its part. There's no good pointing the finger elsewhere; we all have to play our part. And we can…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Carbon Budget 1 and Net Zero Wales - scrutiny of the Minister for Climate Change
Yes, thank you, Huw. I'm familiar with Lord Deben, obviously. We have had a lot of interaction with him and with the committee. Yes, so, the final statement that we issued was focused on the first carbon budget only, and although the Environment (Wales) Act…
, Plenary
Legislative Consent Motion on the Social Housing (Regulation) Bill
Diolch, Llywydd. I completely acknowledge the disappointment of Members at the lack of time to scrutinise these LCMs. As I said in my opening remarks, we are very disappointed that the UK Government has chosen to table late amendments in this way, and indeed…
, Plenary
Legislative Consent Motion on the Social Housing (Regulation) Bill
Diolch, Llywydd. I move the motion. This is a UK Bill intended to reform the regulation of social housing providers in England. English social housing providers own or manage around 500 homes in Wales; therefore, the changes proposed by this Bill will have an…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Climate Change
Thank you, Cefin. The policy is that electricity transmission cables should be placed underground where possible, not just in designated landscapes, but where possible. Sometimes, it's not possible, even in a designated landscape. We don't anyone digging up…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Climate Change
Diolch, Cefin. We need a strategic solution to updating our grid infrastructure to achieve our net-zero commitments and give people access to clean heat and transport. National planning policy states our preferred position that new power lines should be…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Climate Change
Thank you, Delyth. I absolutely do understand the frustration of that, and it’s deeply felt in a number of communities. The difficulty is that this is—as I know you know—a quasi-judicial process. This isn’t about your best judgment; this is about following a…
