, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
General scrutiny of the Minister and Deputy Minister for Climate Change - part 2
New housing has to meet the building regulations standards, and the building regulations standards have been changed, basically, to ensure that there's a thermally efficient standard, so they will have to meet those standards. We've got a huge issue with how…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
General scrutiny of the Minister and Deputy Minister for Climate Change - part 2
It's a bit of a complicated answer to that question, Jenny. The Welsh housing quality standard draft proposals include a step change away from boilers to heat pumps and putting in place minimum fabric standards to achieve it. As I've just said in an earlier…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
General scrutiny of the Minister and Deputy Minister for Climate Change - part 2
'Before next winter', is the short answer to that, Delyth. We want to be ready for next winter and we want to make sure that we prioritise the most thermally efficient and the most carbon efficient methodologies. So, what we're working on is how to make…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
General scrutiny of the Minister and Deputy Minister for Climate Change - part 2
Yes, so, again, Delyth, what we're doing is working to see whether we can get this community-based approach in place. So, we've been working with local authorities—and one of the officials, I'm sure, will tell you the exact mechanisms for doing all of this…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
General scrutiny of the Minister and Deputy Minister for Climate Change - part 2
We haven't finalised the Welsh housing quality standard for 2023 yet. We're doing the analysis of the consultation responses and we're doing a feedback session for stakeholders on 13 December, so next week. And then we've got further sessions in January to…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
General scrutiny of the Minister and Deputy Minister for Climate Change - part 2
Chair, my cold is not improving as the morning goes on, so apologies for that. So, Delyth, we've got a series of things that we've been trying to do in order to best approach the investment that's needed in decarbonisation across all tenures, and the biggest…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
General scrutiny of the Minister and Deputy Minister for Climate Change - part 1
Thank you, Joyce. I'm going to go over to either Eifiona or Clare on this one in a moment as well, but just to say that the other models available for water companies are companies with shareholders, and they pay out enormous dividends to their shareholders…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
General scrutiny of the Minister and Deputy Minister for Climate Change - part 1
Just to say, Eifiona has just told me, Huw, and I should take this into account, that we have seen some improvements since 2017, because it was 38 per cent in 2017, so it has improved to 44 per cent at the moment. Let's hope that trend continues.
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
General scrutiny of the Minister and Deputy Minister for Climate Change - part 1
Forty-four per cent of our rivers are currently in good ecological status. It's 44 per cent not 48 per cent. I mean, clearly we want to improve on that. I'm very much hoping that because of all of the measures that we currently have in place, because of the…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
General scrutiny of the Minister and Deputy Minister for Climate Change - part 1
I'm really sorry—thank you for the invitation to generalise it, but it's just not possible to do that. Each river has a different set of issues—
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
General scrutiny of the Minister and Deputy Minister for Climate Change - part 1
Yes, absolutely, Huw. There's no way that we can do all of the monitoring that we need to do with NRW. We have a large number of engaged citizens who are very, very keen on this, and who have done an enormous amount of work. I met with a group of them down in…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
General scrutiny of the Minister and Deputy Minister for Climate Change - part 1
We have a series of things that we're doing here. I mentioned the nutrient management boards as well. Sorry, my voice is giving out here. I think I'm going to ask Eifiona to just explain the landscape of how these things are managed, if you don't mind…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
General scrutiny of the Minister and Deputy Minister for Climate Change - part 1
Well, as I say, Huw, it's very difficult to generalise about the state of the rivers overall. It's important to look at each river and consider what its particular issues are, and they're very different across Wales. As I say, some of our rivers are in a very…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
General scrutiny of the Minister and Deputy Minister for Climate Change - part 1
Thanks, Huw. I should declare my own interest in that case and say I'm the native oyster champion, so I'm very pleased to see it being reseeded in Swansea bay. Can I also apologise to the committee generally, because I have the most disgusting cold? I've been…
, Plenary
Debate: Stage 4 of The Environmental Protection (Single-use Plastic Products) (Wales) Bill
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…
, Plenary
Debate: Stage 4 of The Environmental Protection (Single-use Plastic Products) (Wales) Bill
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…
, Plenary
Group 11: Enforcement action by local authorities (Amendments 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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…
, Plenary
Group 10: Offence of supplying prohibited single-use plastic product (Amendments 24, 42)
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…
, Plenary
Group 9: Oversight Board and Advisory Panel (Amendments 41, 55)
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…
, Plenary
Group 8: Prohibited single-use plastic products: power to amend (Amendments 18, 19, 21, 23)
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…
, Plenary
Group 7: Products made of oxo-degradable and oxo-biodegradable plastic (Amendments 34, 20, 22)
No, I'm not objecting.
, Plenary
Group 7: Products made of oxo-degradable and oxo-biodegradable plastic (Amendments 34, 20, 22)
Yes.
, Plenary
Group 7: Products made of oxo-degradable and oxo-biodegradable plastic (Amendments 34, 20, 22)
Move.
, Plenary
Group 7: Products made of oxo-degradable and oxo-biodegradable plastic (Amendments 34, 20, 22)
Formally.
, Plenary
Group 7: Products made of oxo-degradable and oxo-biodegradable plastic (Amendments 34, 20, 22)
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…
