Meeting Venue:
Committee Room 1 - Senedd
Meeting date: Tuesday, 4 February 2020
Meeting time: 09.15 - 10.38
This meeting can
be viewed
on Senedd TV at:
http://senedd.tv/en/5909
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Category |
Names |
Assembly Members: |
Janet Finch-Saunders AM (Chair) Michelle Brown AM Neil McEvoy AM Jack Sargeant AM Leanne Wood AM |
Witnesses: |
|
Committee Staff: |
Graeme Francis (Clerk) Mared Llwyd (Second Clerk) Ross Davies (Deputy Clerk) Samiwel Davies (Legal Adviser) |
The Committee considered the petition for the first time and agreed, in light of the fact that the surgery has now closed and that no further information had been received from the petitioners, that it had little option but to close the petition.
The Committee considered the petition for the first time and agreed to write to the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs to:
· ask her to consider referring this issue to the Wales Animal Health and Welfare Group for advice;
· seek clarification over the potential to address this issue through the forthcoming Regulations to introduce a licensing scheme for Animal Exhibits; and
· request an update when the Welsh Government has received a response from the Showmen’s Guild regarding self-regulation of this practice, including a copy of the response.
The Committee considered the petition for the first time and agreed to:
write to Blaenau Gwent Council to seek their views on the petition and public transport provision, the challenges faced and their plans for improving services, as well as any opportunities arising from the future Buses (Wales) Bill; and
write to Transport for Wales to seek their views on the issues raised.
The Committee considered the petition for the first time and agreed to:
write back to the Deputy Minister for Economy and Transport to seek clarification on the membership of the Taskforce Group, and ask how people with lived experience and organisations who support them will be involved in this work. The Committee also agreed to share the petitioners’ suggestions with the Deputy Minister; and
write to other organisations with an interest in this issue, such as RNIB Cymru, Living Streets, Sustrans and Disability Wales to seek their views.
The Committee considered the petition for the first time and agreed to:
write back to the Minister for Health and Social Services to:
o ask for a copy of the letter from the Wales Screening Committee to the UK National Screening Committee (UKNSC) seeking clarification on the rational for ending screening at the age of 74, and the UKNSC’s response when received;
o ask whether the costs of extending screening post 74, either on a population basis or in the form of self-referral, have been assessed by the Welsh Government to date; and
o ask for further explanation of the statement in the Minister’s letter that “all screening programmes have the potential for harm”; and
write to the Older People’s Commissioner and Bowel Cancer UK to seek their views on the petition.
The Committee considered the petition for the first time and agreed to:
Request a legal brief on potential changes to the Animal Welfare Act 2006; and
await the views of the petitioners on the response provided by the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs.
The Committee considered further correspondence and agreed to:
await the publication of the high level information about asbestos management in schools, with a view to ending its consideration of the petition once this has been done; and
await the views of the petitioners on the response provided by the Minister.
The Committee considered the petition alongside P-04-606 Ensure schools exercise their statutory powers under regulation 7 of The Education (Pupil Registration) (Wales) Regulations 2010 without interference or bias and agreed to close both petitions in light of the fact that the Welsh Government is reviewing school-attendance guidance with a view to issuing a public consultation in future ,and the fact that the Government has previously written to local authorities to reiterate the importance of head teachers being able to apply discretion to requests for absences in term-time.
The Committee considered the petition alongside P-04-576 Allow Children in Wales to Have a Family Holiday During Term Time and agreed to close both petitions in light of the fact that the Welsh Government is reviewing school-attendance guidance with a view to issuing a public consultation in future, and the fact that the Government has previously written to local authorities to reiterate the importance of head teachers being able to apply discretion to requests for absences in term-time.
The Committee considered further correspondence and agreed to close the petition in light of the fact that the Welsh Government is currently reviewing school-attendance guidance with a view to issuing a public consultation in future, and the commitment given by the Minister for Education that introducing scope to record absences as being related to a chronic health condition is being considered as part of that work.
The Committee considered further correspondence and agreed to write to the Chair of the Culture, Welsh Language and Communications Committee to provide the information received to date and ask whether that Committee would consider it as part of any further work it intends to conduct in this area.
The Committee considered the petition alongside P-05-923 Are you listening to us? Home Education Rights and Respect! and agreed to:
· write to the Children’s Commissioner for Wales to seek her view on the issues raised and how, in her view, the appropriate balance can be struck between the competing interests on this matter;
· seek further written evidence from bodies which represent home schooling in Wales; and
· following this, invite the Minister for Education to provide evidence to a future committee meeting.
The Committee considered the petition alongside P-05-922 Withdraw the proposed home education guidance and agreed to:
· write to the Children’s Commissioner for Wales to seek her view on the issues raised and how, in her view, the appropriate balance can be struck between the competing interests on this matter;
· seek further written evidence from bodies which represent home schooling in Wales; and
· following this, invite the Minister for Education to provide evidence to a future Committee meeting.
The Committee considered the petition alongside P-04-505 Eating Disorder Unit in Wales and agreed to close both petitions given that a detailed independent review of eating disorder services has been carried out and the Welsh Government is scrutinising health boards’ responses to the review’s recommendations, as well as providing additional resources itself. The Committee also agreed to congratulate the petitioner on their work to achieve improvements in eating disorder services in Wales
The Committee considered the petition alongside P-04-408: Child and Adolescent Eating Disorder Service and agreed to close both petitions given that a detailed independent review of eating disorder services has been carried out and the Welsh Government is scrutinising health boards’ responses to the review’s recommendations, as well as providing additional resources itself.
The Committee considered further correspondence and agreed to:
write to the Deputy Minister for Health and Social Services to ask for the petition and the correspondence received from Play Wales and the Children’s Commissioner to be formally considered as part of the Ministerial Play Review announced by the Welsh Government; and
write again to the WLGA to seek a response to the issues raised by the petition and ask how they respond to the expectations of local authorities outlined by the Children’s Commissioner for Wales.
The Committee considered further correspondence and agreed to write back to the Minister for Health and Social Services to seek an update on discussions with other UK administrations about achieving parity of scheme benefits, and press for this issue to be resolved as a matter of urgency.
The Committee considered further correspondence and agreed to await a further update from the Minister for Health and Social Services about the progress made in implementing mpMRI scanning in Wales.
The Committee considered further correspondence and agreed to keep a watching brief on the petition with a view to referring the petition to the Committee responsible for considering petitions in the Sixth Assembly, once the full evaluation of the Lighthouse Project pilot of the Child House model is published in 202.
The Committee considered further correspondence and agreed to close the petition in view of the fact that Ward 35 closed in summer 2019 and the objectives of the petition can no longer be achieved, and the lack of contact with the petitioner.
The Committee considered further correspondence and agreed to:
write to Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board to seek their response to the issues raised and to seek further information about the current status of the changes implemented under the South Wales Programme; and
invite the Minister for Health and Social Services and Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board to attend a future Committee meeting, once the Committee begins to consider the petition on changes to A&E at Royal Glamorgan Hospital.
The Committee considered further correspondence and agreed to seek time for the petition to be debated in Plenary.
The Committee considered further information and agreed to write a detailed letter to the Minister for Housing and Local Government to outline the evidence received and ask whether the Welsh Government will give consideration to producing additional guidance or recommendations on the use of A Boards.
The Committee considered further correspondence and agreed to close the petition in light of the petitioners’ satisfaction with the measures introduced through the High Street Relief Scheme.
The Committee agreed to close the petition on the basis that it is difficult to see how it could take the issue forward without further contact and information from the petitioner.
The Committee considered the petition alongside P-05-835 Allow Free Movement of Taxi Drivers to Carry Out Private Hire Work Anywhere in Wales and agreed to close the petitions given that the Minister for Economy and Transport has now ruled out pursuing legislative change in this area during the remainder of this Assembly, and the Welsh Government is pursuing several measures and policy changes with the WLGA in the meantime.
The Committee considered the petition alongside P-05-775 Put an end to the Cross Border and Sub-contracting Taxi Licensing loophole and agreed to close the petitions given that the Minister for Economy and Transport has now ruled out pursuing legislative change in this area during the remainder of this Assembly, and the Welsh Government is pursuing several measures and policy changes with the WLGA in the meantime.
Members declared relevant interests under Standing Order 17.24A:
· Jack Sargeant has previously declared his support for the scheme.
· Michelle Brown has previously declared her opposition to the scheme.
The Committee considered further evidence and agreed to write to the Minister for Economy and Transport to raise a number of further issues in relation to the scheme.
The Committee considered further correspondence and agreed to write back to the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs to welcome the progress being made and ask her to give consideration to introducing new legislation or regulations for governing razor clam harvesting, along the lines proposed by the petitioner, following the completion of the current studies.
The Committee considered further correspondence and agreed to close the petition in light of the changes made to Natural Resources Wales’s General Licences, including the removal of red and amber listed species, and the wider Wild Bird Licensing Review being carried out in 2020.
The Committee considered further correspondence and agreed to close the petition in light of the fact that adult learners of Welsh are able to access lessons at a standard course fee, with discounts available to learners on low incomes and financial assistance in place to help reduce other barriers.
The Committee considered further correspondence and agreed to keep a watching brief on the issue and return to the petition when they begin consideration of a similar petition We call on the Welsh Government to create a common body of knowledge about Welsh history that all pupils will learn, in the coming months.
The Committee agreed to close the petition in light of the intention of the Standards Committee to carry out further work on this issue and to set out a proposal for the sixth Assembly, and the lack of recent contact with the petitioners.