Agenda and minutes
Venue: Presiding Officer’s office, 4th floor - Tŷ Hywel. View directions
Contact: Aled Elwyn Jones
No. | Item |
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Introductions, apologies and substitutions |
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Minutes of the previous meeting Minutes: The minutes for the meeting were agreed by the
Committee for publication. |
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Organisation of Business |
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This Week's Business Minutes: The Minister for Social
Services and Public Health will be making a statement on Sport Wales (45 mins) The Cabinet Secretary for
Communities and Children will be making a statement on Resilient Communities –
Next Steps (45 mins) David Rowlands expressed
the disappointment of the UKIP group at not being approached by other parties
to co-table the motion on tidal lagoons for debate on Tuesday, which had been
tabled by Labour, Plaid Cymru and the Conservatives. On Tuesday, Voting Time would
be after the final item of business. On Wednesday, Business Committee agreed
that Voting Time would take place before the Short Debate. |
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Three Week Timetable of Government Business Minutes: Jane Hutt explained that the First Minister would be
undertaking a visit to the USA on Tuesday 28 February and would not be able to
attend Plenary to answer questions that week. Jane Hutt will be answering
questions in his stead. The Llywydd asked Business Managers to agree a
consistent approach regarding which Members would question the Leader of the
House during Leaders’ Questions. Business Committee noted the 3 Week Timetable of
Government Business. |
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Three Week Timetable of Assembly Business Minutes: Business Committee
determined the organisation of Assembly business and agreed to schedule the
following items of business: Wednesday 15 March 2017 –
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Legislation |
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Abolition of the Right to Buy (Wales) Bill Minutes: Business Managers agreed in
principle to refer the Abolition of the Right to Buy (Wales) Bill to the
Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee (ELGC) for Stage 1
consideration. Business Managers agreed to
defer a decision on the Bill’s timetable until a future meeting to allow for
consultation with the ELGC Committee. |
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Standing Orders |
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Amending Standing Orders: Budget Process Minutes: Business Managers
considered a paper setting out proposals, arrived at by both Assembly and
Government officials, to reform the current budget processes in line with
recommendations made by the previous Finance Committee’s Best Practice Budget
Process inquiry. The Committee agreed in
principle with the negotiated model by Assembly Commission and Welsh Government
officials including the approach to the time available for budget scrutiny, and
the split between outline and detailed budget proposals. The Committee requested
more detail on how the debate on the draft budget would work in practice if it
were on a motion of the Finance Committee, before agreeing a preferred approach
in Standing Orders. Business Managers noted the
Best Practice Report suggestion to recognise the link between approval of tax
resolutions and approval of budget plans within Standing Orders, and agreed
that no dependency needs be written into Standing Orders at this point, prior
to the devolution of income tax. The Committee agreed for
the Secretariat to bring forward proposals for amending Standing Orders for
Business Managers to take back to their groups, and to consult with the Finance
Committee on. |
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Use of Plenary Time |
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Topical and Urgent Questions Minutes: Having agreed in principle to introduce a new
procedure for Members to ask topical questions to the First Minister and
Cabinet Secretaries in Plenary, Business Managers considered a detailed
proposal for such a procedure. The Committee agreed to discuss the matter with their
groups, and to return to the issue on 7 March. |
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Papers to note |
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Letter from the Chair of the Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee to the Llywydd Minutes: The Committee noted a letter from the Chair of the
Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee confirming that they are
intending to look at the codification of Welsh law in more detail and that the
Committee’s first step would be to take evidence from the Counsel General on
codification. |