Agenda and minutes

The Deputy Presiding Officer welcomed Members to the meeting and chaired items 1-3. Following the conclusion of item 3, the Llywydd joined the meeting and took over as chair.

The Minutes of the previous meeting were agreed for publication.

Business Committee agreed to table motions to change Labour members on a number of committees for consideration in Plenary on Tuesday. Therefore, the following change to Tuesday’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 6.35pm

Wednesday

·         Voting Time will take place after the short debate.  

·         Plenary is unlikely to run past 6.30pm

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

Tuesday 1 October 2024

·         Statement by the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs: Flooding – preparing for winter (45 mins)

·         Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Education: Welsh language immersion Welsh-medium education through late immersion (45 mins)

Three Week Timetable of Senedd Business

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

Wednesday 16 October 2024 –

·      Debate on a Member's Legislative Proposal (30 mins)

·      Debate on the Children, Young People and Education Committee Report: Implementation of Education Reforms - Interim Report (60 mins)

·      Time allocated to the Welsh Conservatives (60 mins)

• Short Debate: Buffy Williams (Rhondda) (30 mins)

Business Committee agreed in principle that, should the Motion under Standing Order 26.79 to withdraw the Senedd Cymru (Electoral Candidate Lists) Bill be agreed at this afternoon’s Plenary meeting, the meeting of the Committee of the Whole Senedd scheduled for Tuesday 1 October would be cancelled.

Business Committee considered the proposed motions for debate and agreed to schedule:

2 October

Delyth Jewell

NNDM8566 

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. 

23 October

Julie Morgan

NNDM8656 

To propose that the Senedd: 

1. Notes that responsibility for legislating to allow assisted dying is not devolved to Wales as it is currently a matter governed by criminal law. 

2. Notes that if assisted dying were to be legalised, and given its responsibility for health and social care, the Welsh Government would require an in-depth understanding of any proposals. 

3. Believes that adults of sound mind who are intolerably suffering from an incurable, physical condition and have a clear and settled wish to die should have the option of an assisted death, subject to robust safeguards. 

4. Notes that a recent inquiry by the Westminster Health and Social Care Committee found that the introduction of assisted dying has been linked with an improvement in palliative care in several jurisdictions. 

5. Notes that the Office of Health Economics found that even if they received the best possible palliative medicine, in England and Wales at least 5,000 per year would die without any effective pain relief in their final month. 

6. Notes that public attitudes towards assisted dying have changed, with up to 88% of the public favouring a change in the law. 

7. More than one suffering person a week from the UK now chooses to end their life at one of the Swiss end-of-life centres, yet many others who would choose the same cannot afford the high costs involved, often well over £10,000. 

8. Calls on the Welsh Government to: 

a) support the principles of assisted dying; and 

b) support Westminster parliament to introduce a compassionate assisted dying law in England and Wales. 

The Business Committee agreed to refer the Legislation (Procedure, Publication and Repeals) (Wales) Bill to the Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee for consideration of the general principles, and to consult with that Committee on the proposed timetable for scrutiny and return to the matter at a future meeting.

Business Committee noted the proposal within the timetable for a shorter than standard period for Stage 1 scrutiny, and that it will consider the request in accordance with the previously agreed Expedited Bill timetable decision-making criteria when it returns to further consideration of the timetable.

Business Committee received an update on LCMs and agreed to:

• refer the LCM on the Water (Special Measures) Bill to the Climate Change, Environment and Infrastructure Committee and the Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee for scrutiny, with a reporting deadline of 22 November; and
• refer the LCM on the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill to the Economy, Trade and Rural Affairs Committee and the Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee for scrutiny, with a reporting deadline of 22 November.

Business Committee returned to further consideration of the request from the Co-chairs of the COVID-19 Inquiry Special Purpose Committee for it to be provided with a permanent meeting slot within the committee timetable.

Having considered the options for accommodating a permanent meeting slot whilst avoiding membership clashes with other committees, the Business Committee agreed to provide the COVID-19 Inquiry Special Purpose Committee with a Monday meeting slot. Business Committee also agreed to provide the Committee with the ability to agree its own start times for meetings in order to enable it to take evidence from ministers and other stakeholders.

Business Committee considered and agreed the request to schedule a joint debate on reports concerning proposals for a Sustainable Farming Scheme and Farming Connect produced by both committees, noting that the Llywydd will consider the order and timings of speakers in advance of the debate.

Business Committee agreed to schedule debates on petitions P-06-1474 Stop Natural Resources Wales closing Bwlch Nant yr Arian, Coed y Brenin & Ynyslas visitor centres and P-06-1400 Fair and Adequate Resourcing of General Practice in Wales and for the secretariat to discuss the scheduling of those debates with the Petitions Committee.

Business Committee agreed to give permission for committee members to be excused from Plenary business on Wednesday 20 November, noting that the Members will also be absent from committee proceedings on Thursday 21 November.