Meetings

Business Committee agreed the request for Members of the Committee to be excused from Plenary at the times requested and noted reasons why the committee had been unable to find an alternative meeting slot on this occasion.

Business Managers discussed the paper, and agreed to schedule fewer other debates when 30 minute items such as Commission questions are scheduled.

The Business Committee noted the further information that had been requested, and agreed to trial hybrid plenary meetings on 8 and 15 July, to prepare the Senedd for the autumn term. 

The Llywydd asked Business Managers to encourage Members to attend training on the remote voting system this week.

The Business Committee agreed that the Senedd should be recalled twice in August under Standing Order 34.9 to consider the outcome of the three-weekly reviews of Coronavirus regulations.. The meetings will take place virtually. Business Managers agreed that the meetings will be held on Wednesdays 5 and 26 August.

Business Managers discussed the proposal of hybrid plenaries taking place on 8 and 15 July, and agreed in principle to the proposal. The Llywydd confirmed that she would attend the Siambr on Friday to test the technology and practical arrangements, and would report back to the Committee at next week’s meeting.

Business Committee agreed in principle to the Standing Order changes to provide for remote voting for Members, and to make use of remote voting as soon as the Llywydd determines the system is ready for use. A motion will be added to next week’s Plenary agenda.

Business Committee also decided that the mechanism for alerting Members to an upcoming vote should be an  oral or other alert within the virtual or hybrid meeting .

Business Managers agreed that the Llywydd should  reintroduce Oral Questions from next week. Oral Questions would:

•        consist of questions to the First Minister and to two other Ministers each week, with every session being 45 minutes long;

•        questions can be on any issue within the relevant portfolio, and need not be limited to Covid-19 issues;

•        time limits will be applied similar to those used for statements.

The Trefnydd informed Business Committee that with the return of First Minister’s Questions, the government is unlikely to continue scheduling a statement by the First Minister every week.

Business Committee agreed that neither opposition debates nor government business should be limited to Covid-19 issues in future if there are other issues that are particularly pertinent, but that the expectation is that business will remain largely focussed on Covid-19 issues.

Business Committee discussed the current limit placed on WQs during this pandemic of 10 per Member per week. The Llywydd stated that they would return to the matter next week and asked the Secretariat for further guidance on practice elsewhere.

Business Committee agreed that the Llywydd should call questions on the BSA for a reduced 15 minute slot, starting next week.. Members’ contributions will be limited to 1 minute and the expectation is that the Minister will also keep her responses brief.

The Llywydd informed Business Managers that she will be bringing proposals on recess and on hybrid Plenary to next week’s meeting and asked that Business Managers discuss this with their groups in the meantime.

Business Managers noted the letter.

Business Managers discussed the letter and agreed in principle to schedule a Finance Committee debate on the Welsh Government’s spending priorities during the last week before summer recess. 

Business Managers discussed the letter and agreed to continue the practice of only scheduling Covid-19 related business for the time being, and to inform the Committee of that. They also agreed that the Petitions committee should write again should it wish to schedule a debate on a Covid related petition. 

The Business Committee agreed to increase the number of Members able to attend plenary meetings up to the full 60 from the week after half term. The Llywydd highlighted the need for Business Managers to continue to inform officials in advance of which Members will be attending the meeting.

The Business Committee also agreed to continue to use the weighted voting system, and to split plenary meetings into morning and afternoon sessions if there is a significant increase in business. Business Managers agreed that they will decide the start time of plenary on a weekly basis.

The Business Committee agreed that it was important to lead by example and to follow social distancing guidelines until such time as those guidelines change. They agreed to return to such issues as physical or hybrid meetings only after any changes to Welsh Government guidance.

The Business Committee also agreed to schedule one additional hour of non-government business a week, starting from the week after half term, and to schedule one opposition debate a week for the next three weeks. Business Managers noted that under the schedule that was being followed before normal business was suspended, the next debate would be a Brexit Party debate, but the Committee decided to schedule the next three debates in the order of group size, and to follow the usual ratio after that. Caroline Jones objected to this decision. Business Managers agreed that the debates would have to be related to Covid-19 issues.

The Business Committee discussed the letter from the Leader of the Welsh Conservatives proposing the establishment of a dedicated Covid-19 committee. There were differing views on the desirability of the proposal, and the Committee asked the secretariat for a scoping paper on the process for establishing such a committee.

The Business Committee has agreed to only schedule debates relating to Covid-19 in the short term, and Business Managers also noted that a virtual Emergency Senedd is not currently conducive to debates and decisions on Standards matters.

Whilst sanctions are a matter for the Standards of Conduct Committee, the Business Committee also noted that some of the sanctions listed in Standing Order 22.10, such as the withdrawal of the rights of a Member to access the Senedd estate, may not be appropriate in the virtual parliamentary environment.

The majority of Business Managers were content with plenary continuing to take place on a Wednesday for the foreseeable future. They also agreed that if the amount of business increases significantly - for example Committee reports on Covid-19 related scrutiny - then it will be necessary to split the meeting over a morning and an afternoon session.

Business Managers agreed to increase the ratio of the number of Members for Labour (including Ministers), the Welsh Conservatives, Plaid Cymru and the Brexit Party to 16, 8, 7, 3 from this week, with a view to possibly increasing the number of Members to the full 60 after half term.

Business Managers considered the remaining elements of the paper and agreed to discuss with their groups and return to the matter next week, with a view to making changes after half term.

Darren Millar proposed the creation of a separate committee focussed on Covid-19, as proposed in a letter from the Leader of the Welsh Conservatives to the Llywydd. The Llywydd asked the secretariat to circulate the letter to Business Managers outside of the committee, and for groups to consider the proposal alongside the paper on Plenary.

Business Managers considered the motion and agreed that the Business Committee is the appropriate forum to evaluate the most effective ways of continuing scrutiny in the current situation. They also concluded that plenary time is best used for scrutiny on Covid-19 matters at the moment. They would therefore not schedule the motion for debate.

Business Managers considered the paper and the consultation responses from Members, alongside the latest information from the House of Commons, and agreed in principle to introduce a proxy voting scheme for parental leave on a trial basis until the end of this Assembly. The Committee asked the Secretariat to bring forward proposals for Standing Order changes and guidance to a future meeting.

Business Managers discussed the paper and agreed that, as well as consulting with their groups on the proposals, the Llywydd would write to all Members inviting comments both on parental leave in the first instance, and also about the question of wider eligibility for proxy voting. Business Managers also asked the Secretariat to contact Clerks in the House of Commons to ascertain the expected timeframes for their review, originally expected at the end of January.

Business Managers agreed to return to the matter at their meeting on 15 January, where they would consider the views of their groups alongside any other responses received from Members.

Business Managers discussed the paper, and Darren Millar asked that the Conservative group’s in principle objection to proxy voting be minuted.

However, Business Managers agreed to look at introducing proxy voting in two stages. Firstly, looking at implementing it for parental leave only, and secondly to look at the possibility of extending it to long-term illness and other caring responsibilities, after the House of Commons has reviewed their scheme.

Business Managers asked the Secretariat to bring them a paper on the options for implementing proxy voting for parental leave only in the first instance.

Business Managers considered the paper and agreed to discuss with their groups and return to it at their meeting of 12 November.

Business Managers noted the letter.

Business Managers agreed to schedule a short meeting of the Committee of the Whole Assembly on 1 October 2019, directly after the final item of plenary business on that day, in order to agree a motion to vary the order of consideration for Stage 2 proceedings of the Senedd and Elections (Wales) Bill for the following week.

Business Managers considered the request. Darren Millar and Caroline Jones were in favour, but Rhun ap Iorwerth and Rebecca Evans were against , and so the majority decision was not to schedule the debate. Rhun ap Iorwerth said the matter would be best pursued by the Public Accounts Committee, who had considered the issue before the summer, but Darren Millar said that the Chair of PAC had indicated that, following the statement by the First Minister, the committee would not be returning to the issue.

There was a frank exchange of views regarding the possible motives of different groups in supporting or opposing the scheduling of the motion.

Business Managers considered the request and agreed to consult with their groups. They also asked for further legal advice to inform their consideration next week.

Business Managers considered and agreed a revised version of the Principles and Practice for Tabling and Laying Assembly Business guidance to take into account the introduction of new procedures in recent months, including the most recent change to Emergency and Topical Questions.

Business Managers also agreed for the document to be made publicly available on the Assembly Guidance section of the website and to notify Members of the changes before Easter recess.

Business Managers were content with the proposed tabling arrangements during the summer recess period.