Agenda and minutes

Venue: Committee Room 1 - Senedd. View directions

Contact: Graeme Francis 

Media

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Transcript: Transcript for 05/11/2019 - Petitions Committee - Fifth Senedd

Items
No. Item

1.

Introduction, apologies, substitutions and declarations of interest

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

Apologies were received from Neil McEvoy Jack Sargeant. Mike Hedges attended in place of Jack Sargeant.

2.

New petitions

2.1

P-05-904 Ban the use of animals from circuses and travelling shows in Wales

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered the petition for the first time and agreed to provide the petitioner with information about the scrutiny currently being given to the Wild Animals and Circuses (Wales) Bill, and to encourage the petitioners to engage with this and the Welsh Government’s current consultation on draft regulations on a proposed licensing scheme for animal exhibits.

 

The Committee agreed to consider the petition again in light of the outcomes of both processes.

 

 

2.2

P-05-905 Call for an Independent judicial Inquiry into the reorganisation of services within Cwm Taf Health Board

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered the petition for the first time and, whilst indicating its support in principle for the issues it raises, agreed to await the views of the petitioners on the response provided by the Minister for Health and Social Services.

2.3

P-05-906 Save Sam Davies Ward at Barry Hospital

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

Mike Hedges AM declared an interest as a member of UNISON.

 

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

·         Cardiff and Vale University Health Board to ask for further details in relation to their proposals around the Sam Davies Ward and how they intend to mitigate the impact upon patients; and

·         South Glamorgan Community Health Council to seek their views on the current proposals being advanced by the Health Board.

In light of the number of signatures that the petition received, the Committee indicated that it would consider seeking time for a debate in Plenary following receipt of those responses.

 

2.4

P-05-907 Change the speed limit in Cemaes to 30mph

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered the petition for the first time and agreed to await the views of the petitioners on the response provided by the Minister for Economy and Transport before considering further action. The Committee also agreed to write to the petitioner to provide information about how they can engage with the Welsh Government’s review of speed limits in Wales.

2.5

P-05-910 Make thrombectomy available 24-7 for Welsh patients

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered the petition for the first time and agreed to write to the Welsh Health Specialised Services Committee to ask for details about:

·         the development of a service specification for thrombectomy;

·         the timescales for running a consultation exercise on this; and

·         the anticipated next steps following the consultation.

2.6

P-05-917 No bilingual name for the Senedd

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered the petition for the first time and noted the sentiments of the petition, and the support that it has generated, but agreed to close the petition on the basis that this issue will be settled through the decisions of the Assembly as a whole during scrutiny of the Senedd and Elections (Wales) Bill, and to encourage the petitioner to engage with the legislative process through their elected Assembly Members.

3.

Updates to previous petitions

3.1

P-04-477 Support for the Control of Dogs (Wales) Bill

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered further correspondence and agreed to write back to the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs to request further information on the actions that the Welsh Government is taking, or considering, to address the issue of dangerous dogs and the previous proposals to introduce Dog Control Notices in Wales.

3.2

P-05-813 Ban the USE of LARSEN TRAPS (Multi Corvid Traps)

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered further correspondence and agreed to note NRW’s intention to consider the use of Larsen traps as part of a wider review of all wild bird licensing in 2020, and to close the petition in light of the scrutiny which will be applied to this practice through that process.

3.3

P-05-829 Ban Single Use Plastic Items in Wales

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The Committee agreed to write to the Deputy Minister for Housing and Local Government to seek further information on the commitments she made during Plenary on 16 October in relation to bringing forward a ban or restriction on certain single-use plastic items in Wales.

3.4

P-05-839 Adopt WHO Guidelines and Introduce a Clean Air Act for Wales

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The Committee agreed to write to the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs to ask for:

·         an update on the development of a Clean Air Plan;

·         an explanation as to why the production and publication of this has been delayed; and

·         information about how commitments made by the First Minister in his Welsh Labour leadership manifesto to bringing forward a Clean Air Act are being progressed.

3.5

P-05-856 Ban the sale of puppies by pet shops and all commercial 3rd party dealers in Wales

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered further correspondence and agreed to write to the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs to request a timescale in which she expects the ‘urgent and immediate’ review of the dog breeding regulations to be completed, and for decisions over how to progress to be made.

3.6

P-05-876 Protection of Red & Amber listed species in Wales

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered further correspondence and agreed to:

·         note Natural Resources Wales’s intention to conduct a review of all wild bird licensing during 2020;

·         write to Natural Resources Wales to encourage them to consider the importance of biodiversity as part of that review; and

·         highlight the petition to the Climate Change, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee and suggest that issues relating to biodiversity and balancing competing issues within Natural Resources Wales’s remit are raised in a future evidence session with the organisation

3.7

P-05-817 Specialist prosthetics for child amputees

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered further correspondence and an announcement made by the Welsh Government on 29 October 2019 that a fund to provide specialist sports prosthetics for children and young people will be introduced from April 2020. The Committee agreed to close the petition in light of this and to write to the petitioner to congratulate them on the success of the petition.

3.8

P-05-882 Transforming the response for older people experiencing domestic abuse – a call for action

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

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

·         seek a response to issues raised by the petitioners and the Older People’s Commissioner, including around training for professionals and the call for a national action plan;

·         ask how the Welsh Government intends to support the work being taken forward by the Older People’s Commissioner; and

·         ask for guidance to be issued to relevant organisations in relation to the use of inclusive imagery in materials promoting domestic abuse services.

3.9

P-05-864 Ban the use of 'Hostile Architecture'

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered further correspondence and agreed to write to the Welsh Local Government Association to seek their response to the issues raised by the petition and the evidence received to date.

 

3.10

P-05-867 Make the 'Cofiwch Dryweryn' Mural a designated Welsh landmark

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The Committee agreed to close the petition in light of indications received from Tro’r Trai that they are not yet responsible for the protection of the mural, and the previous responses received. In doing so the Committee wished to thank the petitioner and the supporters of the petition for their work to protect the mural.

3.11

P-05-872 Protect school funding or admit to the weakening of service provision

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered further correspondence and, in light of the detailed consideration very recently given to school funding by the Children, Young People and Education Committee, the Minister’s acceptance of that Committee’s recommendations, and her actions in commissioning an urgent review of school funding, agreed to close the petition on the basis that there is little it could add to this scrutiny at the current time.

3.12

P-05-877 Children's used uniform scheme

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered further correspondence and agreed to write back to the Minister for Education to ask what support and encouragement the Welsh Government is able to provide to schools and other bodies facilitating the operation of used uniform schemes, such as that operating in Denbighshire.

 

3.13

P-05-879 Add Mental Health Education to the mandatory teaching curriculum for all schools in Wales

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered further correspondence and agreed to await the views of the petitioner on the further information received.

 

3.14

P-05-891 National Reading and Numeracy Tests for children from as young as age 6 need to be discontinued with immediate effect

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered further correspondence and agreed to write back to the Minster for Education to ask for the specific justification for using personal online assessments with children from the age of six, and how it is compatible with the spirit of the foundation phase.

 

4.

Motion under Standing Order 17.42 to resolve to exclude the public from the meeting for the following business:

Item 5

Minutes:

The motion was agreed.

5.

Consideration of draft report: P-04-433 : CCTV in Slaughterhouses

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The Committee agreed a draft report on petition P-04-433 CCTV in Slaughterhouses and for it to be published in the near future.

 

26.1

P-04-399 Slaughter Practices

Minutes:

The Committee considered the status of petition P-04-399 Slaughter Practices and agreed not to include this issue in the report on P-04-433 and to close the petition on the basis that there has been a lack of recent evidence received.