Agenda and minutes

The Llywydd welcomed Members to the meeting. Russell George attended in the place of Darren Millar.

The Minutes of the previous meeting were agreed for publication.

Tuesday 

The Trefnydd informed Business Managers of the following changes:

·         Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Cabinet Office: Context for and approach to the next Spending Review period (45 mins)

·         Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care: Six Goals for Urgent and Emergency Care Two Years On (45 mins)

The Llywydd informed Business Managers that she intends to acknowledge the presence of Mme. Nathalie Roy, Présidente de l’Assemblée nationale du Québec in the public gallery at the start of Plenary.

·         There will be no Voting Time.

·         Plenary is unlikely to run past 6.30pm

Wednesday

Business Committee agreed to table motions to change Plaid Cymru members on several committees for consideration in Plenary on Wednesday:

• CYPE Committee – Cefin Campbell in place of Heledd Fychan
• LGH Committee – Sian Gwenllian in place of Luke Fletcher
• CCWLSIR Committee - Heledd Fychan in place of Llyr Gruffydd
• Wales COVID-19 Inquiry Special Purpose Committee – Mabon ap Gwynfor in place of Adam Price
• Petitions Committee – Luke Fletcher in place of Peredur Owen Griffiths.

Therefore, the following change to Wednesday’s agenda was agreed:

·         Motions to elect Members to committees (5 mins)

·         Voting Time will take place as the last item of business. 

·         Plenary is unlikely to run past 6.50pm

The Trefnydd informed Business Managers of the following change to the Three Week Timetable of Government Business:

Tuesday 25 June 2024

·         Motion to vary the order of consideration of Stage 3 amendments to the Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill (5 mins)

The following changes were agreed to the Three Week Timetable of Senedd Business:  

Wednesday 3 July 2024

·         Member Debate under Standing Order 11.21(iv) (60 mins)

·         Debate on the Climate Change, Environment and Infrastructure Committee report - Report on rail services and Transport for Wales’ performance 2023-24 (60 mins)

• Time allocated to the Welsh Conservatives (60 mins)
• Short Debate: Sioned Williams MS (South Wales West) (30 mins)

Business Committee considered the proposed motions for debate and agreed to schedule the following proposal on 19 June:  

NNDM8566

Delyth Jewell

To propose that the Senedd:

1. Regrets the normalisation of women’s physical and emotional pain in their healthcare, as well as the expectation that pain is a regrettable but unavoidable aspect of women's health.

2. Believes that by consulting with gynaecologists, midwives and women's health groups, health professionals should aim to reduce situations where pain is expected and accepted as normal in NHS healthcare.

3. Calls on the Welsh Government to:

a) strengthen the expectations for NHS services in the Quality Statement for women and girls’ health;

b) establish a legal requirement for healthcare providers to regularly collect feedback from female patients about their experiences and satisfaction with the care they receive, especially in relation to gynaecological appointments, midwifery and postnatal services, perinatal mental health and menopause; and

c) introduce statutory obligations for the development, coordination and implementation of the Women’s Health Plan developed by the Welsh NHS and consulted on with gynaecologists, midwives and women's health groups, which should include measures to address and counter the normalisation of pain in women’s healthcare.

And NNDM8600 (Sian Gwenllian) on 3 July:

To propose that the Senedd:

1. Notes the concerns that are regularly raised by Members of the Senedd about the lack of NHS dental services.

2. Notes the barriers documented and the recommendations made as to the way forward in the Health and Social Care Committee’s report on dentistry.

3. Notes the specific challenges associated with planning, training, recruiting and retaining dentists in Wales.

4. Notes the publication of the Dental Strategic Workforce Plan by Health Education and Improvement Wales and the references made, within that plan, namely:

a) Wales is a net importer of dentists;

b) Wales relies on schools of dentistry beyond Wales to produce enough dentists to recruit into the workforce; and

c) the United Kingdom has the lowest number of dentists per person compared with other large members of the G7 in Europe.

5. Notes that the number of places at the only school of dentistry in Wales is limited each year.

6. Calls on the Welsh Government to increase the number of university training places for dentists in Wales.

Business Committee considered a letter from Mark Drakeford, Adam Price, Jane Dodds and Paul Davies containing a proposal to trial a new occasional format for Plenary debates on Wednesdays, and agreed that the secretariat would bring forward a paper for further consideration. Business Managers expressed a desire to discuss this proposal and other possible alternatives with their groups prior to deciding whether any new approach should be trialled.

Business Committee considered a letter from the Chair of the Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee regarding a possible need to undertake a full procedural review of the legislative consent process and Standing Order 29.

Business Committee agreed to proceed with its current consideration of potential revisions to Standing Order 29.1 as a discrete piece of work, and to respond to the LJC Committee to propose that it may be the most appropriate body to consider broader issues relating to the legislative consent process, outside of specific Standing Order revisions, and to ask whether the Committee considers that it would have the capacity to undertake that work.

Business Committee considered and agreed a draft report containing proposals to amend Standing Orders relating to the Llywydd's Committee chairing arrangements, and to table a motion proposing that the Senedd agree the proposed Standing Order changes.

Business Committee considered a paper inviting it to confirm its preferred approach to work on job-sharing for committee chairs and agreed to return to the matter at the following meeting to enable Business Managers to discuss the options with their groups.