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Petitions Committee |
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Meeting Venue: |
Committee Room 1 - Senedd |
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Meeting date: |
Tuesday, 7 October 2014 |
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Meeting time: |
09.00 - 10.17 |
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This meeting can be viewed on Senedd
TV at: |
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Concise Minutes: MeetingTitle |
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Assembly Members: |
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William Powell (Chair) Russell George Bethan Jenkins Joyce Watson |
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Witnesses: |
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Committee Staff: |
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Steve George (Clerk) Kayleigh Driscoll (Deputy Clerk) Kath Thomas (Deputy Clerk) Matthew Richards (Legal Advisor) |
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Transcript
View the meeting transcript.
1 Introduction, apologies and substitutions
The Chair welcomed everyone to the Committee. There were no apologies.
2 New petitions
2.1 P-04-600 Petition to Save General Practice
The Committee considered the petition for the first time and agreed to write to the Minister for Health and Social Services seeking his views on the petition.
2.2 P-04-601 Proposed Ban on the Use of e-cigarettes in Public Places
The Committee considered the petition for the first time and agreed to write to the Minister for Health and Social Services seeking his views on the petition.
3 Updates to previous petitions
3.1 P-04-541 Support for the Mentrau Iaith (Language Initiatives)
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed:
· to write to the First Minister as requested by the petitioners, asking him to hold an independent assessment of the resources required by Mentrau Iaith to operate to their full potential; and
· to await the First Minister’s response before considering whether to invite the petitioners to attend a Committee meeting to explain their concerns.
3.2 P-04-487 A Welsh Government deposit loan scheme for first time Welsh home buyers
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to seek further comments from the petitioner.
3.3 P-04-511 Support for children and young people participation standards
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to:
· seek the views of Children in Wales on what they intend to do to take forward work in this area under the Children and Families Delivery Grant; and
· ask the new Minister for Communities and Tackling Poverty what action has been taken in respect of the recommendations from the Participation Unit Final Report.
3.4 P-04-529 A Letting Agents Ombudsman for Wales
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to:
- ask the Minister to respond to the specific points raised by the lead petitioner; and once this is to hand
- arrange an oral evidence session with the petitioners, along with the petitioners for P-04-480 (Private Sector Student Housing Standards), to gain a better understanding of the concerns.
3.5 P-04-573 Call on the Welsh Government to Investigate the Residential Leasehold System in Wales.
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to ask the Minister to respond to the petitioners’ comments, particularly about possible effects on smaller numbers of householders and keep the Committee informed of the outcome of the LEASE report.
3.6 P-04-597 Protect the future of Funky Dragon, the Children and Young People’s Assembly for Wales
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to arrange an oral evidence session in an informal setting with Funky Dragon, the Children’s Commissioner, Children in Wales and a representative from the Assembly Commission to try to establish whether a way can be found to provide a continuing national representative platform for young people in Wales.
3.7 P-03-315 New Dyfi River Crossing Petition
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to:
· seek further comments from the petitioner; and
· seek further information from the Minister for Economy, Science and Transport on the implications of the new budget arrangements.
3.8 P-04-507 A Welsh bill of rights for women and girls: adhering to CEDAW
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to close the petition given the inability to progress the petition with a lead petitioner.
3.9 P-04-397 Living Wage
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to:
· seek further comments from the petitioner; and
· write to the Minister seeking assurances that the matter will be discussed at the December meeting of the Workforce Partnership Council.
3.10 P-04-445 Save our Welsh cats & dogs from death on the roads
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to pass the petitioner’s further comments and invitation to the Minister and her officials and ask to be kept informed of developments.
3.11 P-04-533 Environmental Planning for Small Scale Wind Turbine Sites
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to ask the new Minster for Natural Resources for his views on the petitioner’s comments.
3.12 P-04-537 Planting Trees to Reduce Flooding
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to seek further comments from the petitioner.
3.13 P-04-575 Call in All Opencast Mining Planning Applications
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to:
· seek the Minister views on the petitioners’ comments;
· write to the Chair of the Environment and Sustainability Committee highlighting the petition; and
· move to reporting to the Assembly so that the matter can be debated in plenary as requested by the petitioners.
3.14 P-04-458 Keep Further Education in the Public Sector
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to seek further comments from the petitioners.
3.15 P-04-485 Abuse of casual contracts in Further Education
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to:
· seek an update from the Minister on his view of the current position; and then
· await the outcome of the review of the position in April 2015.
3.16 P-04-518 Universal Free School Lunches
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to:
· seek further views from the Minister in the light of the petitioner’s comments; and
· move to close the petition.
3.17 P-04-408 Child and Adolescent Eating Disorder Service
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to seek further comments from the petitioners.
3.18 P-04-452 Equal Rights for Tube-fed Youngsters
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to:
- write to the leader of Caerffili Council for a response; and
- draw the petitioner’s comments to the attention of the Minister.
3.19 P-04-466 Medical Emergency - Preventing the introduction of a poorer Health Service for North Wales
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to seek further comments from the petitioners.
3.20 P-04-479 Tywyn Memorial Hospital X-ray & Minor Injuries Unit Petition
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to ask the Health Board to respond to the points made on behalf of the petitioners.
3.21 P-04-552 Child Protection
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to seek further comments from the petitioners.
3.22 P-04-564 Restoration of Inpatient Beds, Minor Injuries Cover and X-Ray Unit to the Ffestiniog Memorial Hospital
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to ask the Minister and Health Board to consider and respond to the views of the petitioners set out in their comments, particularly in relation to the proposed report by Prof Marcus Longley.
3.23 P-04-500 Call For Regulation of Animal Welfare Establishments in Wales
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to await the Minister’s further response.
3.24 P-04-535 Save our Fire Stations
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to:
· seek further comments from the petitioners; and
· seek the outstanding responses on the Committees’ correspondence.
3.25 P-04-554 An official Welsh Government policy that prohibits non transparent training organisations from working within public bodies
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to close the petition.
4 Motion under Standing Order 17.42 (ix) to resolve to exclude the public from the meeting for the remainder of the meeting
The motion was agreed.
5 Committee Procedures for Consideration of Petitions
The Committee considered procedures for the consideration of petitions.