Meetings

The Committee agreed to close the petition.

The Committee considered the petition and agreed to revisit it in six months’ time to see what progress has been made.

The Committee considered further correspondence and agreed to keep a watching brief on the petition with a view to referring the petition to the Committee responsible for considering petitions in the Sixth Assembly, once the full evaluation of the Lighthouse Project pilot of the Child House model is published in 2021.

The Committee considered further correspondence and agreed to:

·         write to the Mayor of London to seek information about the Lighthouse Project, any findings which can be shared from the first year of its operation and for details of the evaluation of the project, including likely timescales for the completion of this; and

·         write to the Minister for Health and Social Services to ask whether the Welsh Government would consider any interim findings arising out of the Lighthouse Project pilot, in order to expediate consideration of its applicability to Wales.

The Committee considered further correspondence and agreed to write to the Deputy Minister for Health and Social Services to:

• seek an update on the rollout of the new model for Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCs), including the proposed locations of the two paediatric hubs and local centres;
• request information about waiting times for accessing existing SARCs; and
• ask whether there are existing support services in place for children to access without the need for a referral. 

The Committee considered correspondence from the Deputy Minister for Health and Social Services and agreed to:

·         note the actions currently being taken in response to concerns over SARC (Sexual Abuse Referral Centres) provision and the commitment to review the outcomes of the pilot project in London; and

·         seek the views of the petitioner on the National Action Plan on Preventing and Responding to Child Sexual Abuse, once it’s been published

The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to write back to the Deputy Minister for Health and Social Services to ask for:

·         an update on the work currently being carried out by Welsh Government and NHS Wales;

·         her reflections following the debate held on 3 April and what changes she may consider following the vote in favour of Bethan Sayed AM’s legislative proposal; and

·         to share a copy of the comments received from the Children’s Commissioner for Wales and ask for her response to the points raised, especially the concerns about Sexual Abuse Referral Centres.

The Committee considered correspondence from the Minister for Health and Social Services and the Children’s Commissioner for Wales and agreed to:

• await the views of the petitioner on the responses received; and
• request additional information about the review into refuge provision and sexual abuse services in Wales announced by the previous First Minister.

Neil McEvoy declared the following relevant interest under Standing Order 17.24A:

He is a local councillor and has been involved with individual cases.

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

• write to:

o   the Children’s Commissioner for Wales to ask for her views on the petition, further information about the relevant recommendations she made in her Annual Report 2017/18 and the Welsh Government’s response, and her view about the petitioner’s call for places where children can go to escape sexual abuse; and

o   the Minister for Health and Social Services to ask what facilities are available in Wales for the safeguarding of children who are reporting and escaping from sexual abuse;

o   seek an update on whether the review of advice services set up by the previous First Minister is still ongoing.