Concise Minutes - Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee

Meeting Venue:

Committee Room 1 - Senedd

Meeting date: Thursday, 3 November 2016

Meeting time: 09.15 - 12.25
This meeting can be viewed
on Senedd TV at:
http://senedd.tv/en/3773

Attendance

Category	Names
Assembly Members:	Russell George AM (Chair) Hannah Blythyn AM Hefin David AM Vikki Howells AM Mark Isherwood AM Jeremy Miles AM Adam Price AM David J Rowlands AM
Witnesses:	Steve Hudson, Head of Finance, Homes and Places Julie James AM, Minister for Skills and Science Simon Jones, Welsh Government Mick McGuire, Welsh Government Huw Morris, Welsh Government James Price, Welsh Government Ken Skates AM, Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure
Committee Staff:	Gareth Price (Clerk) Mike Lewis (Deputy Clerk) Andrew Minnis (Researcher) Anne Thomas (Researcher)

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Transcript

View the meeting transcript (PDF 344KB) View as HTML (307KB)

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1 Introductions, apologies, substitutions and declarations of interest

1.1 There were no apologies or substitutions.

1.2 Adam Price AM declared he has a residual financial interest in a development company.

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2 Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure - Welsh Government Draft Budget Scrutiny 2017-18

2.1 The Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure and his officials answered questions from Committee Members.

2.2 The Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure agreed to provide:

· a note on the process followed by his department when undertaking Welsh Language impact assessments across his portfolio;

· a note on the funding being received by the Botanical Gardens for Wales for 2017-18;

· a note on how the activities his department is responsible for delivering are aligned with the programme for Government and what specific budget lines they refer to;

· a report on the Zip World investment which demonstrates how Visit Wales spend is effectively evaluated;

· a note on the separation of spending lines for different forms of media in relation to Visit Wales’ marketing campaigns;

· a note for comparison on the different procurement processes being used by the Welsh Government and the Department for Transport in relation to rail franchises;

· a note on the funding for Transport for Wales; and

· a note on the rail franchise tender specification information upon which potential bidders are basing their proposals.

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3 Minister for Skills and Science - Welsh Government Draft Budget Scrutiny 2017-18

3.1 The Minister for Skills and Science and her officials answered questions from Committee Members.

3.2 The Minister for Skills and Science agreed to provide:

· a note on outlining any implications for the Draft Budgetary provision as a result of changes to the National Occupational Standards (NOS) framework, as a result of the UK Government’s decision to no longer fund upkeep of the NOS framework; and

· a breakdown into specific adult employability programmes of the budget allocation for Employment and Skills.

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4 Paper(s) to note

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4.1 Letter to the Chair of the Petitions Committee regarding 'Petition P-04-688 TATA Steel Port Talbot Power Plant'

4.1.1 The paper was noted by the Committee.

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4.2 Written evidence from the Minister of State for Climate Change and Industry regarding the steel industry in Wales

4.1.2 The paper was noted by the Committee.

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4.3 Letter from the Chair of the Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee to the Prime Minister regarding the steel industry in Wales

4.1.3 The paper was noted by the Committee.

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4.4 Letter from the Welsh Retail Consortium regarding business rates

4.1.4 The paper was noted by the Committee.

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5 Motion under Standing Order 17.42 to resolve to exclude the public from the meeting for the following business:

5.1 The Committee agreed the motion.

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6 Welsh Government Draft Budget Scrutiny 2017-18 - Discussion on priorities

6.1 The Committee discussed their priorities following sessions on draft budget scrutiny.

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7 Diamond review - Discussion on recommendations

7.1 The Committee discussed the draft letter on the Diamond Review.

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