Agenda and minutes

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

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

He has campaigned on the issue.

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

• NRW to ask for:
• their response to the petitioners’ proposal that the current risk of flooding should be recalculated following the completion of Phase 1 and 2 work;
• further details about the methodology of the options appraisal conducted during the design of the scheme and the results of that appraisal;
• an update on the outcomes arising from recent discussions with the local community; and
• how schemes are prioritised on an all-Wales basis, particularly taking account of the views of the local community.

• Cardiff Council to ask for their views on the suggestion that an alternative approach could be to raise and lower the height of the water level in Roath Park Lake to manage flood risk downstream.

The Committee considered correspondence from the Cabinet Secretary for Education and agreed to:

·         consider comments, received from the petitioner after the papers had been published, at a future meeting; and

·         write back to the Cabinet Secretary to express their view that the results of the school condition survey should be published.

The Committee considered a Written Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Planning and Rural Affairs together with further comments from the petitioner and, given the petitioner’s support for the Cabinet Secretary’s approach, agreed to close the petition.  In doing so they wished to thank the petitioner for bringing the petition forward and her input into their consideration of the issue.

The Committee considered an update from the Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Planning and Rural Affairs and agreed to await further comments from the petitioner before considering further action on the petition.

The Committee considered correspondence from the Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Planning and Rural Affairs together with further comments from the petitioner and agreed to write to the Cabinet Secretary to ask:

o   for further information on the expected timescales for the development method for the stock assessment methodology and whether that will be put out to separate tender;

o   her to respond to concerns from the local community about the lack of prominent and clear signage relating to the closure of the fisheries, and whether this can be addressed.

The Committee agreed to close the petition given the recent action on this issue and the lack of a recent response from the petitioner

The Committee considered correspondence from the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Transport together with further comments from the petitioner and agreed to write to the UK Government Department for Transport to ask whether they have conducted a review into the provision of seatbelts on all buses transporting children and the need for all bus drivers to be DBS checked.

The Committee considered correspondence from Hywel Dda University Health Board together with further comments from the petitioner and agreed to:

• write to the Community Health Council to seek its views on the issues raised by the petition; and
• seek further information to verify the statement made by the health board that the number of stillbirths across its area since 2015 “compare favourably with other UK Maternity units of comparable birth numbers.”

• The Committee considered comments from the petitioner and agreed to write to the Cabinet Secretary for Local Government and Public Services to ask:
• for an update following the meetings planned for February;
• for further details about the Armed Forces Expert Group; and

o   whether there will be an opportunity for the petitioner and others to contribute to discussions on this subject.

·         Vaughan Gething AM, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Services

·         Liz Davies - Senior Medical Officer

·         Ainsley Bladon - Mental Health Strategy Lead

The Committee heard evidence from the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Services, Liz Davies and Ainsley Bladon, Welsh Government.

The motion was agreed.

The Committee considered the evidence received on P-05-736 To Make Mental Health Services More Accessible and agreed to seek the reflections of the petitioner following the evidence session, before agreeing what further action to take on the petition.