Agenda and minutes

Rhianon Passmore MS was elected as temporary Chair.

Temporary Chair Rhianon Passmore MS welcomed everyone to the meeting.

There were no apologies.

The Committee considered the petition and agreed to write back to the Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales to ask for:

• details of the update provided by Transport for Wales in July;
• the petitioners’ proposals to be given full consideration by officials from Transport for Wales and Cyngor Gwynedd; and

a rationale to be provided for the decision made following that consideration.

The Committee considered the petition and noted that the issues have been debated in a previous petition, and raised regularly in the Senedd by local Members. Given the Minister’s response, it is unclear how the Committee could make any further progress on the petition therefore Members agreed to close the petition and thank the petitioner.

In addition to closing the petition Members agreed to forward the concerns of the campaigners to the Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales and local Senedd Members.

The Committee considered the petition and agreed to write to Powys Teaching Health Board to ask;

• for confirmation that there is no land available for a hub at this time, and if so when they will next review that situation, and
• to establish what mechanism is best for community groups such as the petitioners to engage with the board and/or its officials.

Members also agreed to write to the relevant Cabinet Secretaries - for Housing and Local Government, and Health and Social Care - to note the need for there to be clearer avenues for local people to pursue, both on issues of community asset transfers and engagement with their Local Health Board.

The Committee considered the petition alongside petition P-06-1438 Start a public enquiry into to the reasons, justification and evidence for 20mph and noted that the Welsh Government has taken steps to listen to complaints, and through the new guidance, enable local authorities to make changes in their areas. In light of this Members agreed to close the petition and thank the petitioner.

The Committee considered the petition alongside petition P-06-1432 Hold a Wales-wide Public Poll to establish the true level of public support for the 20mph limit

and noted the Cabinet Secretary has set out the aims of the project, (save lives and improve safety), and notes that early evidence shows a reduction in collisions and casualties.

In light of the Welsh Government already taking steps to listen to complaints, and through the new guidance, enable local authorities to make changes in their areas Members agreed to close the petition and thank the petitioner.

The Committee considered the petition and agreed to:

• write to the Corporate Joint Committee for South West Wales raising the specific issues in the petitioner’s correspondence, and ask for them to be considered alongside responses to public consultation on the Regional Transport Plan which closed on 26 August;
• write back to the Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales highlighting the wider issues raised by the petitioner; and

highlight the petition to the Chair of the Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee.

The Committee considered the correspondence and noted the protections already in place for such trees under the planning system. In light of this Members agreed to close the petition and thank the petitioners for highlighting the importance of ancient trees. The Committee would write back to the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs, noting that Welsh Government is currently considering its approach to further strengthening the protections for ancient woodlands as part of the Programme for Government, and asking to be kept updated on any changes to strengthening protections for such trees in the future.

The consideration of the petition was deferred to a future  meeting at the petitioner’s request.

The Committee considered the petition alongside petition P-06-1451 Keep the name 'Wales' and not waste any more taxpayers money on pointless exercises and agreed to write to the Llywydd to ask what consideration had been given to using the mono-lingual name ‘Senedd’ for the Welsh Parliament.

Members agreed to await a response from the Llywydd before deciding whether to request a debate on the subject.

The Committee considered the petition alongside petition P-06-1446 Abolish the name 'Wales' and make 'CYMRU' the only name for our country and agreed to write to the Llywydd to ask what consideration had been given to using the mono-lingual name ‘Senedd’ for the Welsh Parliament.

Members agreed to await a response from the Llywydd before deciding whether to request a debate on the subject.

The Committee considered the petition and agreed to ask Natural Resources Wales to make contact with the petitioners to discuss the proposals in greater detail, as offered in the correspondence from the Welsh Government. The Committee agreed to close the petition and thank the petitioners.

The Committee considered the petition and agreed to write Pencoed Town Council to ask about their local strategy to keep toilets in public buildings open, with a view to highlighting this as one example of good practice.

Once a response from Pencoed Town Council is received, Members agreed to share it with the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care and highlight the specific issues raised by the petitioners, including patchy provision across Wales, and the importance of sharing best practice.

Rhys ab Owen MS declared the following relevant interest under Standing Order 17.24A:

He is a friend of the petitioner’s father.

The Committee considered the petition and agreed to write to the new Cabinet Secretary for Education seeking a response to the questions raised by the petitioner, specifically about which Local Authorities are already offering meat-free days, and the timetable for the review of guidance.

The Committee considered the petition and agreed to write to the new Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing asking for an update once the “best practice guide” arising from the ‘Fathers Matter Too’ event has been published. Member also agreed to ask for an update on any progress with developing the strategies on draft mental health and wellbeing and suicide and self-harm prevention.

The Committee considered the petition alongside an update from Natural Resources Wales on petition P-05-1447 Stop Natural Resources Wales closing the visitor centre at Ynyslas National Nature Reserve.

Members agreed to write an urgent letter to Natural Resources Wales (NRW) to highlight the petition and the correspondence received from the Welsh mountain bike sector ahead of any final decisions being made. Members also agreed to ask for an update on the position, and to copy in the Chair of the Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee for information.

In addition to writing to NRW, Members agreed to write to the Business Committee to request a debate on the petition as soon as possible.

The Committee considered an update from Natural Resources Wales alongside petition P-06-1474 Stop Natural Resources Wales closing Bwlch Nant yr Arian, Coed y Brenin & Ynyslas visitor centres.

Members agreed to write an urgent letter to Natural Resources Wales (NRW) to highlight the petition and the correspondence received from the Welsh mountain bike sector ahead of any final decisions being made. Members also agreed to ask for an update on the position and to copy in the Chair of the Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee for information.

In addition to writing to NRW, Members agreed to write to the Business Committee to request a debate on the petition as soon as possible.

The Committee considered the petition and noted that the Welsh Government’s position on its policy is very clear, and the issue is now a matter for local Members to be made aware of and take forward. In light of this Members agreed to close the petition and thank the petitioner.

In addition to closing the petition Members agreed to write to the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs to highlight the importance of encouraging the use of public buildings for solar PV arrays and avoiding use of productive agricultural land.

The Committee considered the petition and agreed to keep it open until the final scheme is published in 2025.

The Committee considered the petition and agreed to write to the Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales asking for a further update on what priority will now be given to this issue, and the likely timescales, as well as what further engagement is planned with the petitioners.

The Committee considered the petition and agreed to write to the Business Committee to seek an early debate on the petition, to inform and highlight the more detailed work planned to be undertaken by the Health and Social Care Committee.

The Committee considered the petition and noted that whilst the impact on postgraduates is of great concern, it is difficult to see what more can be done by the Committee.

In light of this Members agreed to close the petition and thank the petitioner, but in doing so write to the Senedd Committees for Finance; Children Young People and Education; and Economy, Trade and Rural Affairs, to highlight concerns about postgraduate funding cuts in advance of scrutiny of the Welsh Government’s Draft Budget for 2025-26.

The Committee considered the petition agreed to:

• write back to the Minister for Children and Social Care to highlight the petitioner’s response and ask whether Welsh Government has any plans for a Commissioner for Disabled People; and
• forward the latest correspondence to the Health and Social Care Committee for consideration as part of its scrutiny of the Health and Social Care (Wales) Bill.

In writing back to the Welsh Government and the Health and Social Care Committee Members noted that the issues raised by the petitioner are very important, and the Welsh Government appears to be taking many of the issues raised in the petition  forward via legislation and work with the Disability Rights Taskforce. In light of this Members agreed to close the petition at this stage and thank the petitioner.