Meeting Venue:
Committee Room 1 - Senedd
Meeting date: Tuesday, 3 October 2017
Meeting time: 09.18 - 10.48
This meeting can
be viewed
on Senedd TV at:
http://senedd.tv/en/4365
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|
Category |
Names |
|
Assembly Members: |
David J Rowlands AM (Chair) Janet Finch-Saunders AM Mike Hedges AM |
|
Witnesses: |
Dr John Cox, Petitioner Terry Evans, Petitioner for P-04-575 Call in All Opencast Mining Planning Applications Chris Austin, United Valleys Action Group |
|
Committee Staff: |
Graeme Francis (Clerk) Kayleigh Imperato (Deputy Clerk) Kath Thomas (Deputy Clerk) Lisa Salkeld (Legal Adviser) |
View the meeting transcript (PDF 498KB) View as HTML (195KB)
The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting. There were no apologies.
The Committee considered the petition for the first time and agreed to
· Consider the petition further in the context of the budget announcement due later that afternoon; and in the meantime
· Write to the Minister for Social Services and Public Health to share the concerns of the petitioner and ask:
o whether she will publish the results of the public consultation and minutes of the stakeholder group as requested by the petitioner;
o whether an Equality Impact Assessment of the decision was carried out and can be provided to the Committee and petitioner; and
o for her views as to whether the planned transitional arrangements will ensure that the aims of the Social Services & Wellbeing (Wales) Act will have been put into practice by local authorities before the planned closure of the Welsh Independent Living Grant.
The Committee considered the petition for the first time and agreed to await the view of the petitioners on the response from the Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs before deciding on what future action to take in relation to the petition.
David Rowlands declared the following relevant interest under Standing Order 17.24A:
His daughter rides horses.
The Committee considered the petition for the first time and agreed to:
· Write to the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure to ask if he will consider whether additional support could be given to the British Horse Society’s “Dead? Or Dead Slow” campaign; and
· Write to the British Horse Society to ask for their views on the petition and the actions that they believe could be taken to increase awareness of the need to pass horses wide and slow.
The Committee considered the petition for the first time and agreed to write to the Arts Council for Wales to ask whether:
o any events or activities have been held during 2017 to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the birth of William Williams;
o if not, what consideration was given to marking this milestone during the year; and
o for their views on the proposals made by the petitioner.
The Committee considered the petition for the first time and agreed to write to the Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs to ask:
· that she provides an update to the Committee when the survey has been completed, and details of any further actions she intends to take to protect razor clam stocks; and
· whether any action has been taken to investigate the allegations that the harvesting of razor clams has continued since the fishery was closed.
The Committee considered correspondence from the Cabinet Secretary for Education and agreed to await an update from the Cabinet Secretary following her consideration of the issues raised by this petition and P-05-765 Keeping Current Guidelines for Religious Assemblies.
The Committee considered correspondence from the Cabinet Secretary for Education and agreed to await an update from the Cabinet Secretary following her consideration of the issues raised by this petition and P-05-757 Remove the Obligation on Schools to Hold Acts of Religious Worship.
The Committee considered correspondence from the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Well-being and Sport and the petitioner and agreed to:
o replicating the regional specialist eating disorder team (SPEED Team) currently operating in North Wales in other parts of the Welsh NHS; and
· Consider taking further evidence on the petition in due course depending on the response received.
The Committee considered correspondence from the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Well-being and Sport and the petitioner and agreed to await the response to the Committee’s further letter to the Cabinet Secretary in relation to P-04-408 before considering further action on the petition, including the possibility of inviting the Cabinet Secretary to a future meeting of the Committee.
The Committee considered correspondence from the Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs and agreed to await the update offered by the Cabinet Secretary by the end of the autumn term, before considering any further actions on the petition.
The Committee considered correspondence from the Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs and agreed to seek the petitioner’s views on that response and ask what more, in their view, the Committee can do to take the petition forward.
Janet Finch- Saunders declared the following relevant interest under Standing Order 17.24A:
She is the owner of a Macaw.
The Committee considered correspondence from the Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs and the petitioner and agreed to write to RSPCA Cymru to obtain their views on the issues raised and on any progress made through their meetings with the Welsh Government in relation to this subject.
The Committee considered correspondence from the Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs and agreed to write to Natural Resources Wales to seek their response to the issues raised in previous correspondence from the petitioner.
The Committee agreed to close the petition, following the Plenary debate held on 12 July and noting the positive response to the petition from the Welsh Government.
The Committee considered correspondence from Natural Resources Wales and the petitioner and agreed to write back to Natural Resources Wales to share the latest comments from the petitioners and accept their offer to update the Committee by early November, on progress towards commissioning the feasibility study into the options for Cwmcarn Forest Drive.
The Committee considered comments from the petitioner and agreed to write to the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure to ask if he can provide the petitioner and the Committee with a clear explanation for the apparent change in position since the Noise Action Plan 2013-18 and commitments given by his predecessor that a resurfacing scheme was being designed.
The Committee agreed to close the petition on the basis that the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government has given responses to the petitioners concerns, and that it is difficult to take further action in the absence of contact with the petitioner.
The Committee considered further comments from the petitioner and agreed to close the petition given the intention of the Welsh Government to legislate on this matter and congratulate the petitioners on the success of their campaign.
The Committee heard evidence from the petitioner alongside representatives of petition P-04-575 Call in All Opencast Mining Planning Applications.
The Committee heard evidence from representatives of United Valleys Action Group and the petitioner for P-04-472 Make the MTAN Law.
The Committee agreed to the motion.
The Committee considered the evidence from the previous evidence session and noted that the Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs will be attending a future meeting of the Committee to discuss the issues raised by the petitioners.