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Petitions Committee |
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Meeting Venue: |
Committee Room 1 - Senedd |
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Meeting date: |
Tuesday, 30 June 2015 |
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Meeting time: |
09.47 - 10.28 |
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This meeting can be viewed on
Senedd TV at: |
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Concise Minutes: |
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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) |
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1 Introduction, apologies and substitutions
The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting. There were no apologies.
2 New petitions
2.1 P-04-640 Bring Down the Age of Smears to 18
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition for the first time and agreed to:
- write to the UK national screening committee asking for details on the recent public consultation that informed the Minister’s decision to put the age up;
- write to the Minister asking for statistics on how the HPV vaccination programme is expected to decrease the number of cancer patients over the next 10 years; and
- await comments from the petitioner on the Minister’s response.
2.2 P-04-643 Save Croeserw Flying Start
2.3 P-04-645 Save Glyncorrwg Flying Start
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition for the first time and agreed to write to:
- write to the Minister for:
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- a response to both Action for Children and the petitioners’ comments;
- to ask how the funding they supply to local authorities is calculated; and
- what recent assessment they have made of whether funding is sufficient to cover costs;
- Action for Children to ask how much more funding they would need to be able to continue provision at the current level; and
- Neath Port Talbot Council to ask:
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- whether replacement provision will be in place by September;
- whether the petitioners’ concerns that there may be a considerable gap in provision has foundation; and
- why alternative provision was not put in place earlier given the amount of notice given by Action for Children
Bethan Jenkins declared an interest in the petition.
2.4 P-04-644 The Future of Further Education
This item was withdrawn and will be considered at the meeting on 14 July.
3 Updates to previous petitions
3.1 P-04-552 Child Protection
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to:
- request a legal note in light of the Minister’s view that the matter is non-devolved and that he has no powers or remit; and until then
- await the petitioners’ views on the Minister’s correspondence.
3.2 P-04-589 Reduce the Number of Councillors and Executive Members in Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to close the petition.
3.3 P-04-602 Personalisation of Graves
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to close the petition.
3.4 P-04-616 Please Prevent Fireworks From Being Sold to the General Public
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to close the petition if a response from the petitioner is not forthcoming within six weeks.
3.5 P-04-494 Robotic assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy must be made available to men in Wales now
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to:
- await further comments from the petitioner; and
- write as suggested by the Minister to Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board seeking further clarity on the funding they would need to provide robotic assisted procedures within North Wales.
3.6 P-04-588 Charter for Children and Fathers
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to:
- write to the Minister to:
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- welcome his engagement with the petitioners;
- welcome the steps to implement recording of gender details of parents by CAFCASS;
- ask for his views on the petitioner’s comments. In particular:
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- why CAFCASS in England does not seem to feel that publishing the CAWAC assessment tool is problematic in the way suggested by CAFCASS in Wales; and
- whether any requirement to record gender information can be placed on local authorities in Wales.
- Ask the petitioners to expand on the reason for their concern about the use of the CAWAC tool.
3.7 P-04-577 Reinstate Funding to the Real Opportunities Project
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed given the petitioner’s concerns to:
- write directly to WEFO asking for a response to the points made; and
- copy the letter to the Minister.
3.8 P-04-511 Support for children and young people participation standards
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to write to Children in Wales asking them to respond to the petitioners’ specific concerns, particularly around location of meetings.
3.9 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 close the petition.
3.10 P-04-538 Involving lecturers to ensure a Further Education Inspection Framework that is fit for purpose
The Committee agreed to close the petition.
3.11 P-04-319 Newtown traffic petition
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to await the promised further update from the Minister.
3.12 P-04-373 School Exclusion Zones for Mobile Hot Food Vans
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to write to the:
- Minister for Health as suggested by the Minister for Economy, Science and Transport, including whether this issue could be addressed in the Public Health Bill; and
- The Welsh Local Government Association for their views.
3.13 P-04-514 A Welsh clean coal and/or renewable energy power station instead of the proposed Wylfa B nuclear plant at Anglesey
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to close the petition.
The above petition will be considered again at the meeting on 14 July. This is due to a piece of correspondence that was inadvertently not brought to the Committee’s attention prior their decision to close the petition.