Agenda and decisions
Venue: Y Siambr - Y Senedd
Media
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(45 mins) |
Questions to the Minister for Health and Social Services Decision: The item started at 13.30 The first 12 questions were asked. |
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(30 mins) |
Questions to the Counsel General Decision: The item started at 14.16 All 4 questions were asked. |
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(30 mins) |
Statement by the Minister for Education and Skills: Remploy Decision: The item started at 14.27 In accordance with Standing Order 12.16(i), the Minister for Education and Skills made an oral Government statement without notice. |
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(15 mins) |
Questions to the Assembly Commission Decision: The item started at 15.02 Questions 1 – 4, 7, 9 and 10 were asked. Questions 5 and 6 were not asked and question 8 was withdrawn. |
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(60 mins) |
Debate by Individual Members under Standing Order 11.21(iv) NDM4863 Llyr Huws Gruffydd
(North Wales) Rebecca Evans (Mid
and West Wales) William Powell (Mid
and West Wales) To propose that the National Assembly for Wales: Urges the Welsh Government to ensure that the National
Transport Plan promotes funding and activity focused on enabling a wide variety
of low carbon, sustainable modes of travel in rural areas, including National
Parks. The National Transport Plan can be accessed on the following
link: http://wales.gov.uk/topics/transport/publications/ntp/?lang=en Supported by: Antoinette Sandbach (North Wales) Decision: The item started at 15.18 NDM4863 Llyr Huws Gruffydd (North Wales) Rebecca Evans (Mid
and West Wales) William Powell (Mid
and West Wales) To propose that the National Assembly for Wales: Urges the Welsh Government to ensure that the National Transport Plan promotes funding and activity focused on enabling a wide variety of low carbon, sustainable modes of travel in rural areas, including National Parks. Supported by: Antoinette Sandbach (North Wales) The motion was agreed in accordance with Standing Order 12.36. |
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(60 mins) |
Welsh Conservatives Debate NDM4930 William
Graham (South Wales East) To propose that the National Assembly for Wales: 1. Welcomes the UK Government’s decision to allocate funding to provide English local authorities with the opportunity to freeze Council tax for the second successive year, and notes that approximately 90% of Councils in England will utilise these funds to ensure households benefit from no Council tax rise next year. 2. Notes the Scottish Government’s announcement that all local authorities in Scotland will be freezing Council tax for 2012/2013, and notes that the freeze began in 2008/2009. 3. Deeply regrets the Welsh Government’s failure to pass on the £38.9 million consequential funding to Welsh councils, denying 22 local authorities the opportunity to freeze council tax. 4. Further regrets that council tax in Wales is estimated to increase by nearly 2.2% on average over the next year. 5. Expresses disappointment that a majority of Welsh households have been denied assistance with daily living costs as a consequence of the Welsh Government’s failure to pass on the £38.9 million consequential funding to local authorities. The following
amendments have been tabled: Amendment 1 - Jane
Hutt (Vale of Glamorgan) In point 1, delete "welcomes" and replace with "notes". Amendment 2 - Peter Black (South Wales West) In point 1, after ‘next year’ insert ‘and welcomes the £38.9 million of additional funding for Wales as a result’. Amendment 3 - Jane Hutt (Vale of Glamorgan) Insert as new point 3 and renumber accordingly: Notes that council tax in Wales is already 19% lower than England and it will continue to be significantly lower this year. [If amendment 4 is
agreed, amendments 5 and 6 will be deselected] Amendment 4 - Jane
Hutt (Vale of Glamorgan) Delete point 3, 4 and 5 and replace with: Notes that Welsh Government is providing 1.3% more funding for councils in Wales over the spending review period than the UK Government is providing to councils in England and that this funding could be used by councils to assist with the council tax freezes if they choose to do so. Notes that it is anticipated that once all authorities have set their budgets for 2012-13, Wales will see the lowest council tax rises ever. Expresses regret at the UK Government’s plans to abolish council tax benefit which impacts negatively on those who are most vulnerable. Amendment 5 - Peter Black (South Wales West) Delete point 3. Amendment 6 - Peter Black (South Wales West) Delete point 5. Amendment 7 - Peter Black (South Wales West) Add as new point
at end of motion: Believes that councils will benefit from additional revenue through increased economic activity in their areas, and welcomes the £38.9 million economic stimulus package, which aims to provide additional economic activity. Decision: The item started at 16.05 Voting on the
motion and amendments under this item was deferred until Voting Time. A vote was taken
on the motion without amendment: NDM4930 William
Graham (South Wales East) To propose that the National Assembly for Wales: 1. Welcomes the UK Government’s decision to allocate funding to provide English local authorities with the opportunity to freeze Council tax for the second successive year, and notes that approximately 90% of Councils in England will utilise these funds to ensure households benefit from no Council tax rise next year. 2. Notes the Scottish Government’s announcement that all local authorities in Scotland will be freezing Council tax for 2012/2013, and notes that the freeze began in 2008/2009. 3. Deeply regrets the Welsh Government’s failure to pass on the £38.9 million consequential funding to Welsh councils, denying 22 local authorities the opportunity to freeze council tax. 4. Further regrets that council tax in Wales is estimated to increase by nearly 2.2% on average over the next year. 5. Expresses disappointment that a majority of Welsh households have been denied assistance with daily living costs as a consequence of the Welsh Government’s failure to pass on the £38.9 million consequential funding to local authorities.
The motion without amendment was not agreed. The following
amendments were tabled: Amendment 1 - Jane
Hutt (Vale of Glamorgan) In point 1, delete "welcomes" and replace with "notes". A vote was taken on Amendment 1:
Amendment 1 was agreed. Amendment 2 - Peter Black (South Wales West) In point 1, after
‘next year’ insert ‘and welcomes the £38.9 million of additional funding for
Wales as a result’. A vote was taken on Amendment 2:
Amendment 2 was agreed. Amendment 3 - Jane Hutt (Vale of Glamorgan) Insert as new point 3 and renumber accordingly: Notes that council tax in Wales is already 19% lower than England and it will continue to be significantly lower this year. A vote was taken on Amendment 3:
Amendment 3 was agreed. Amendment 4 - Jane
Hutt (Vale of Glamorgan) Delete point 3, 4 and 5 and replace with: Notes that Welsh Government is providing 1.3% more funding for councils in Wales over the spending review period than the UK Government is providing to councils in England and that this funding could be used by councils to assist with the council tax freezes if they choose to do so. Notes that it is anticipated that once all authorities have set their budgets for 2012-13, Wales will see the lowest council tax rises ever. Expresses regret at the UK Government’s plans to abolish council tax benefit which impacts negatively on those who are most vulnerable. A vote was taken on Amendment 4:
Amendment 4 was agreed. As amendment 4 was agreed, amendments 5 and 6 were deselected. Amendment 7 - Peter Black (South Wales West) Add as new point
at end of motion: Believes that
councils will benefit from additional revenue through increased economic
activity in their areas, and welcomes the £38.9 million economic stimulus
package, which aims to provide additional economic activity. A vote was taken on Amendment 7:
Amendment 7 was agreed. A vote was taken on
the motion as amended: NDM4930 William
Graham (South Wales East) To propose that the National Assembly for Wales: 1. Notes the UK Government’s decision to allocate funding to provide English local authorities with the opportunity to freeze Council tax for the second successive year, and notes that approximately 90% of Councils in England will utilise these funds to ensure households benefit from no Council tax rise next year and welcomes the £38.9 million of additional funding for Wales as a result. 2. Notes the Scottish Government’s announcement that all local authorities in Scotland will be freezing Council tax for 2012/2013, and notes that the freeze began in 2008/2009. 3. Notes that council tax in Wales is already 19% lower than England and it will continue to be significantly lower this year. 4. Notes that Welsh Government is providing 1.3% more funding for councils in Wales over the spending review period than the UK Government is providing to councils in England and that this funding could be used by councils to assist with the council tax freezes if they choose to do so. 5. Notes that it is anticipated that once all authorities have set their budgets for 2012-13, Wales will see the lowest council tax rises ever. 6. Expresses regret at the UK Government’s plans to abolish council tax benefit which impacts negatively on those who are most vulnerable. 7. Believes that
councils will benefit from additional revenue through increased economic
activity in their areas, and welcomes the £38.9 million economic stimulus
package, which aims to provide additional economic activity.
The motion as amended was agreed. |
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Point of Order Ann Jones raised a point of order under Standing Order 13.9 about the use of appropriate language in the Chamber. The Deputy Presiding Officer ruled that the use of "crony" was not usually considered out of order unless aggravated by the context. He agreed to review the record and that he or the Presiding Officer would rule on the matter, if necessary. |
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(60 mins) |
Plaid Cymru Debate NDM4931 Jocelyn
Davies (South Wales East) To propose that the National Assembly for Wales: 1. Regrets the Welsh Government’s failure to bring forward a comprehensive fiscal stimulus for the economy, which includes capital investment sourced from funding streams outside the block grant; and 2. Calls on the Welsh Government to bring forward a package of capital projects and further measures to support businesses and safeguard jobs. The following
amendments have been tabled: Amendment 1 - Jane Hutt
(Vale of Glamorgan) Delete point 1 and replace with: Notes the steps taken by the Welsh Government in bringing
forward a comprehensive fiscal package to help stimulate the economy, including
the provision of capital investment, both from traditional and non-traditional
sources; and Amendment 2 - Peter
Black (South Wales West) In point 2, after 'measures' insert ', such as improved
infrastructure and higher skills levels,'. Amendment 3 - William
Graham (South Wales East) Insert at end of point 2: ‘including the abolition of business rates for companies up
to a rateable value of £12,000’. Amendment 4 - William
Graham (South Wales East) Add as new point at end of motion: Calls on the Welsh Government to work closely with the UK
Government to improve the Welsh economy. Amendment 5 - Peter
Black (South Wales West) Add as new point at end of motion: Believes that a comprehensive economic stimulus could be
provided if the Assembly had borrowing powers and greater fiscal responsibility
and welcomes the establishment of the Silk Commission which is investigating
this possibility. Decision: The item started at 17:05. Voting on the
motion and amendments under this item was deferred until Voting Time. A vote was taken on the motion without amendment: NDM4931 Jocelyn
Davies (South Wales East) To propose that the National Assembly for Wales: 1. Regrets the Welsh Government’s failure to bring forward a comprehensive fiscal stimulus for the economy, which includes capital investment sourced from funding streams outside the block grant; and 2. Calls on the Welsh Government to bring forward a package of capital projects and further measures to support businesses and safeguard jobs.
The motion without amendment was not agreed. The following
amendments were tabled: Amendment 1 - Jane Hutt
(Vale of Glamorgan) Delete point 1 and replace with: Notes the steps taken by the Welsh Government in bringing forward a comprehensive fiscal package to help stimulate the economy, including the provision of capital investment, both from traditional and non-traditional sources; and A vote was taken on Amendment 1:
Amendment 1 was agreed. Amendment 2 - Peter
Black (South Wales West) In point 2, after 'measures' insert ', such as improved infrastructure and higher skills levels,'. A vote was taken on Amendment 2:
Amendment 2 was agreed. Amendment 3 - William
Graham (South Wales East) Insert at end of point 2: ‘including the abolition of business rates for companies up to a rateable value of £12,000’. A vote was taken on Amendment 3:
Amendment 3 was not agreed. Amendment 4 - William
Graham (South Wales East) Add as new point at end of motion: Calls on the Welsh Government to work closely with the UK Government to improve the Welsh economy. A vote was taken on Amendment 4:
Amendment 4 was agreed. Amendment 5 - Peter
Black (South Wales West) Add as new point at end of motion: Believes that a comprehensive economic stimulus could be provided if the Assembly had borrowing powers and greater fiscal responsibility and welcomes the establishment of the Silk Commission which is investigating this possibility. A vote was taken on Amendment 5:
Amendment 5 was agreed. A vote was
taken on the motion as amended: NDM4931 Jocelyn
Davies (South Wales East) To propose that the National Assembly for Wales: 1. Notes the steps taken by the Welsh Government in bringing forward a comprehensive fiscal package to help stimulate the economy, including the provision of capital investment, both from traditional and non-traditional sources. 2. Calls on the Welsh Government to bring forward a package of capital projects and further measures, such as improved infrastructure and higher skills levels, to support businesses and safeguard jobs. 3. Calls on the Welsh Government to work closely with the UK
Government to improve the Welsh economy. 4. Believes that a comprehensive economic stimulus could be provided if the Assembly had borrowing powers and greater fiscal responsibility and welcomes the establishment of the Silk Commission which is investigating this possibility.
The motion as amended was agreed. |
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(30 mins) |
Short Debate NDM4929 Aled Roberts
(North Wales): “Fair Hearing” – Improving Acoustics in the Classroom This short debate seeks to highlight the difficulties that
school children with a hearing loss face when trying to follow their teacher in
a classroom with poor acoustics, and to support calls for greater regard to
acoustics in the design of new schools and classrooms. Decision: The item started at 18.09 NDM4929 Aled Roberts
(North Wales): “Fair Hearing” – Improving Acoustics in the Classroom This short debate seeks to highlight the difficulties that school children with a hearing loss face when trying to follow their teacher in a classroom with poor acoustics, and to support calls for greater regard to acoustics in the design of new schools and classrooms. |
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Voting Time Voting Time started at 18.04 |
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Votes Summary Supporting documents: |
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Record of Proceedings Supporting documents: |