Agenda and minutes

1.1 The Chair welcomed Members to the meeting of the Children, Young People and Education Committee.

1.2 The Chair thanked Gareth Davies MS and Tom Giffard MS for their time and contributions to the committee’s work, and welcomed Natasha Asghar and Joel James to the Committee.

Jeremy Miles MS, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care

Dawn Bowden MS, Minister for Children and Social Care

Sarah Murphy MS, Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing

Sioned Rees, Temporary Public Health Protection Director, Welsh Government

Albert Heaney, Chief Social Care Officer for Wales, Welsh Government

Alex Slade, Director of Primary Care, Mental Health & Early Years, Welsh Government

Hywel Jones, Director of Finance, Welsh Government

2.1 The Committee scrutinised the Cabinet Secretary and Ministers on the draft budget.

2.2 The Cabinet Secretary and Ministers agreed to provide a note on the following:

- The time frame for publication of the Welsh Government’s ‘quality statement for children's health’.

- The role of the newly appointed Clinical Lead with responsibility for children’s health, what plans they will be responsible for delivering, and the impact that the Welsh Government expects the role to have in terms of helping to address long-term developmental delays for children.

- Updates on the work being carried out by Public Health Wales under the direction of the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care to address the inequality of vaccination uptake rates across Wales.

- The outcomes of the review of the paediatric workforce being undertaken by Health Education and Improvement Wales.

- Ongoing work being undertaken by the Welsh Government in relation to energy drinks for under-16s.

3.1 The motion was agreed.

4.1 The Committee considered the evidence it had heard in the previous session.

Gillian Baranski, Chief Inspector, Care Inspectorate Wales

Margaret Rooney, Deputy Chief Inspector, Care Inspectorate Wales

5.1 The Committee scrutinised Care Inspectorate Wales.

5.2 The Committee agreed to write to Care Inspectorate Wales to clarify the figures recorded about Childcare providers and Childcare places.

5.3 Care inspectorate Wales agreed to provide a link to the good practise work published on its website in relation to childcare and play. 

6.1 The papers were noted.

Welsh Government response to the Children’s Commissioner Annual Report 2023 - 24

Letter to the Chair of the Children, Young People and Education Committee from NSPCC Cymru, the Maternal Mental Health Alliance and Home Start Cymru

7.1 The Committee considered the evidence it had heard in the previous session.

8.1 The Committee agreed the Order of Consideration ahead of Stage 2.