Agenda and minutes

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The Chair welcomed everyone to meeting. Janet Finch-Saunders sent her apologies. Simon Thomas attended in place of Neil McEvoy.

The Committee considered the petition for the first time and, in light of the Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Children’s statement confirming that that Communities First will be phased out, agreed to write to him to ask:

·         how he intends successful Communities First schemes and projects to be supported in the future; and

·         whether the continued investment in the Flying Start and Families First programmes will support the sustainability of youth centres such as Forsythia.

The Committee also agreed to consider the contents of a forthcoming statement by the Minister for Lifelong Learning and Welsh Language on the future of youth work delivery.

The Committee considered the petition for the first time and agreed to write to the Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs to raise the specific questions asked by the petitioner, and ask that the Committee is informed of the outcome of the discussion at the Wales Animal Health and Welfare Framework Group.

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

·         close the petition as a result of the additional clarity about the reservation of powers in this area to the UK Parliament provided by the Wales Act 2017; and

·         write to the petitioner to suggest that they consider submitting a petition of the UK Parliament and writing to the UK Government Department for Communities and Local Government on the issue.

The Committee agreed to close the petition on the basis that it is not possible to further progress the issue given the difficulty in contacting the petitioner, and the fact that the petition was considered as part of the Enterprise and Business Committee’s Inquiry into Bus and Community Transport in the Fourth Assembly.

The Committee agreed to close the petition in light of the fact that X94 service has been replaced by the T3 service operated by a different provider and to thank the petitioner for raising this issue.

The Committee agreed to close the petition on the basis it is not possible to further progress the issue given the difficulty in contacting the petitioner, and the fact that the petition was considered as part of the Enterprise and Business Committee’s Inquiry into Bus and Community Transport in the Fourth Assembly.

The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to close the petition on the basis that it is not possible to identify how to take the petition forward in the absence of contact with the petitioner.

The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to close the petition and, in doing so, write to the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure to ask him to inform the Committee of the findings on the proposed review after 12 months of data has been collected from the enforcement of the Variable Speed Limit.

The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to

·         write to the Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs, to share the petitioner’s comments, and ask whether a regulatory impact assessment on the economic and social impact of the proposals has been carried out, and how the Welsh Government is considering alternative approaches; and

·         await an announcement of the Welsh Government’s chosen course of action following the consultation.

The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to:

• write to the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Well-being and Sport to ask if the petitioners can be provided with the assurances they are seeking regarding:
• whether a national decision-making forum with resources is sufficiently aware of service risks and assigns an informed priority to the situation; and
• neuromuscular services are included within the scope of the national review of neurosciences in Wales being led by WHSSC
• write to all Local Health Boards seeking their views on the issues raised by the petition.

The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to await the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Well-being and Sport’s statement on the recently published review of the Individual Patient Funding Request (IPFR) process and seek the petitioners’ views again at that point.

The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to:

• close the petition on the basis that it is not possible to identify how to take the petition forward in the absence of contact with the petitioner; and in doing so
• await the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Well-being and Sport’s statement on the recently published review of the Individual Patient Funding Request (IPFR) process, and forward it to the petitioner for information.

The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to:

• write to the Minister for Social Services and Public Health to share the information received from Meningitis Now and the Meningitis Research Foundation and ask whether further evidence from the JCVI has been considered by the Welsh Government since the previous correspondence in August 2016, in particular relating to vaccinating children up to the age of 2, and between 3 and 5; and
• seek the petitioner’s views again on all the latest correspondence received at that point.

The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to write to the Minister for Lifelong Learning and Welsh Language to seek answers to the concerns and questions raised by the petitioners.

The Committee agreed to close the petition on the basis that it is not possible to identify how to take the petition forward in the absence of contact with the petitioner.

The Committee on the petition and agreed to:

• contact the petitioner to seek their views on the latest correspondence; and
• write to Neath Port Talbot Council to ask them to address the specific comments made by the petitioner about her experiences in trying to access support services in their area.

The Committee considered correspondence and agreed to close the petition, given that the petitioners are members of the Task and Finish group which has made recommendations to the Welsh Government, and the Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs commitment to consider which actions to take forward.

The Committee agreed to close the petition due to the confirmation received from the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government of his intention to make broadcasting of Council meetings a statutory requirement.

The Committee agreed to close the petition on the basis that the petitioners currently have the opportunity to provide their views to the development of proposals on local government reform, and that there is little further value that the Petitions Committee can offer alongside that process.

The motion was agreed.

The Clerk of the Committee provided Members with an update on the implementation of potential changes to the National Assembly for Wales’s Petitions System.