Concise Minutes - Petitions Committee

Meeting Venue:

Committee Room 1 - Senedd

Meeting date: Tuesday, 29 January 2019

Meeting time: 09.17 - 10.22
This meeting can be viewed
on Senedd TV at:
http://senedd.tv/en/5072

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Attendance

Category	Names
Assembly Members:	David J Rowlands AM (Chair) Janet Finch-Saunders AM Mike Hedges AM Neil McEvoy AM Leanne Wood AM
Witnesses:
Committee Staff:	Graeme Francis (Clerk) Kayleigh Imperato (Deputy Clerk) Ross Davies (Deputy Clerk) Samiwel Davies (Legal Adviser)

<AI1>

1 Introduction, apologies, substitutions and declarations of interest

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting. There were no apologies.

</AI1>

<AI2>

2 New petitions

</AI2>

<AI3>

2.1 P-05-855 Small Business Rates Relief Review

The Committee considered the petition for the first time and agreed to await a response from the petitioners to the correspondence received from the Welsh Government before considering whether to take further actions on the petition.

</AI3>

<AI4>

2.2 P-05-856 Ban the sale of puppies by pet shops and all commercial 3rd party dealers in Wales (Lucy’s Law)

The Committee considered the petition for the first time and agreed to:

• write to the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs to ask her to provide indicative timescales for reaching a decision on this issue following the imminent consultation, and taking forward any subsequent work such as bring forward legislation; and

· await the outcome of the consultation before considering what further action may be required on the petition, including a Plenary debate.

</AI4>

<AI5>

2.3 P-05-857 Create a national task force for children’s mental health

The Committee considered the petition for the first time and agreed to:

• write back to the Minister for Health and Social Services to provide the additional comments received from the petitioners and to ask for his response, in particular in relation to the observations and proposals made in relation to the role of the Ministerial Task and Finish Group;

· write to the Children, Young People and Education Committee to make them aware of the petition in the context of their ongoing work on this subject following the Mind over Matter report, and to ask for any reflections that the Committee has in relation to the role and scope of the Ministerial Task and Finish Group; and

· request a Research Brief on the existing requirements in relation to mental health plans for children and its effectiveness.

</AI5>

<AI6>

2.4 P-05-860 Make curriculum for life lessons compulsory

The Committee considered the petition for the first time and agreed to:

· write a combined letter in relation to this petition and P-05-861 to the Minister for Education to query whether it is possible to begin to implement improvements to the teaching of life skills to pupils in schools ahead of the full implementation of the new curriculum by 2022, and how, in the context of providing flexibility to professionals, the Government intends to ensure that pupils receive sufficient grounding in life skills during their education; and

· await a response from the petitioners to the correspondence received from the Welsh Government before considering whether to take further actions on the petition.

</AI6>

<AI7>

2.5 P-05-861 Make political education a compulsory element of the new national curriculum

The Committee considered the petition for the first time and agreed to:

· write a combined letter in relation to this petition and P-05-860 to the Minister for Education to request that the Minister consider swifter action to ensure that improvements to the political education provided with schools are implemented prior to the proposed extension of voting rights to 16 and 17 year olds for the 2021 Assembly elections.

</AI7>

<AI8>

3 Updates to previous petitions

</AI8>

<AI9>

3.1 P-05-778 Protect the Razor Clams on Llanfairfechan Beach

The Committee considered correspondence from the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs and agreed to keep a watching brief on this issue to allow the stock assessment work to be completed, before considering any further action.

</AI9>

<AI10>

3.2 P-05-815 Control Rapidly Expanding Intensive Poultry Industry in Wales

The Committee considered correspondence from Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs together with further comments from the petitioner and agreed to:

• write back to the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs to ask for:
• • further details of the work being taken forward on the cumulative impact of new development on sensitive habitats during 2019;
  • information over the stakeholders who will be engaged in this; and
  • a response to the request that the petitioners are invited to participate as part of this work.
• write to the Climate Change, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee to make it aware of the petition and the evidence received to date in light of that Committee’s current inquiry into Biodiversity;
• provide the petitioner’s analysis and the views expressed by Natural Resources Wales in their previous correspondence with committee members.

</AI10>

<AI11>

3.3 P-05-837 Green Energy for the Wellbeing of Future Generations in Wales

The Committee considered correspondence from the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs together with further comments from the petitioner and agreed to:

· write to the UK Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change to ask that consideration be given to reallocating funding that would have gone to Wylfa Newydd to support the further development of renewable energy production in Wales.

</AI11>

<AI12>

3.4 P-05-839 Adopt WHO Guidelines and Introduce a Clean Air Act for Wales

The Committee considered correspondence from the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs together with further comments from the petitioner and agreed to:

• provide the latest comments from the petitioners to the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs in the context of the offers they make to support work in this area; and
• await the publication of a draft Clean Air Plan for Wales and consider whether there is any further action that the Committee can take at that point.

</AI12>

<AI13>

3.5 P-05-783 Ensuring Equality of Curriculum for Welsh Medium Schools e.g. GCSE Psychology

The Committee considered correspondence from the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language Commission and agreed to write to Qualifications Wales and the Minister for Education to share the analysis and information provided by the Welsh Language Commission, and to seek their responses to the specific solutions proposed.

</AI13>

<AI14>

3.6 P-05-793 Hi speed broadband to Llangenny village

The Committee considered correspondence from the then Leader of the House and agreed write to the Deputy Minister for Economy and Transport, following his statement of 18 January, to ask him to provide the Committee with an update about coverage for premises in Llangenny when he is in a position to do so and, if the village will be covered by the programme, to provide an indicative timeline for its connection to high speed broadband.

</AI14>

<AI15>

3.7 P-05-824 Newtown Brimmon Oak Bypass

The Committee considered correspondence and agreed to close the petition in light of the definitive rejections of the proposal by the Welsh Government and Powys County Council.

</AI15>

<AI16>

3.8 P-05-797 Ensure access to the cystic fibrosis medicine, Orkambi, as a matter of urgency

The Committee considered correspondence from Vertex and the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, and agreed to write to the Minister for Health and Social Services to ask him to consider whether there is an appropriate method for providing interim access to patients who would benefit from Orkambi, in light of the resumption of discussions with the company over the long-term availability of the medicine on the NHS.

</AI16>

<AI17>

3.9 P-05-842 Give young people a voice when commissioning local services in Wales

The Committee considered correspondence from the Children’s Commissioner for Wales and the petitioners, and agreed to:

• write back to the Welsh Government to ask for a response to the latest evidence received, in particular the Commissioner’s call for new duties to be placed on public bodies to ensure that they are required to follow the requirements of the UNCRC when making decisions and commissioning services, and to ask whether the Minister will write to remind public bodies that they are expected to follow existing guidance; and
• request a further legal briefing in relation to whether existing legislative requirements in this area could be strengthened and extended to all public bodies.

</AI17>

<AI18>

3.10 P-05-806 We call for all premises in Wales to be awarded an Access Certificate number similar to the Food Hygiene Certificate.

The Committee considered correspondence from the then Leader of the House and the Equality and Human Rights Commission and agreed to write to the Welsh Government to welcome the consideration of actions referred to by the previous Minister, especially the implementation of a pilot scheme, and request an update on the timescales for further consideration or work in this area, now that the consultation on the revised Framework for Action on Independent Living has finished.

</AI18>

<AI19>

3.11 P-05-843 More Third party rights in planning appeals

The Committee considered correspondence from the Minister for Housing and Local Government, the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales and the petitioner and agreed to accept the petitioner’s offer to provide a further report on the reason why the law in this area needs to change, before considering what further action it could take.

</AI19>

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