Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed everyone to the in-person meeting.

There were no apologies.

Vaughan Gething MS declared a relevant interest under Item 4.1 as an honorary member of the British Veterinary Association, and his father was a veterinary surgeon, working on a mixed practice of small household animals and large farm animals.

The Committee welcomed the responses received to the Committee’s inquiry report, and was grateful to the petitioner for providing a legacy statement, along with rebuttal responses to those official responses. The petitioner was congratulated for his work highlighting the issue.

Members welcomed the fact that the Welsh Government had only rejected one of the 11 report recommendations and provided a detailed rationale for doing so, and had supported the recommendations to Wrexham County Borough Council on improving communication and engagement with the local community. The inquiry had been an important exercise in ensuring accountability of all parties.

The Committee noted the additional actions requested by the lead petitioner, and agreed to forward his submission to the current Cabinet Secretary. Members also agreed to write to Enovert to ask if the petitioners could have access to the raw data, in the interests of transparency and further independent assessment, and to also ask whether Enovert could consider giving the data to an independent third party.

The matter had been scrutinised in great detail, but it would be for a new Cabinet Secretary and new scrutiny committee to take it forward in the Seventh Senedd. It was also noted that there were two other petitions in the pipeline relating to landfill management. In light of that, the Committee decided to close the petition.

The Committee considered the petition. Members noted the earlier closed petition on Hafod landfill, and another landfill petition currently collecting signatures. However there was a lot still to be done on this particular petition, and it was therefore agreed to keep it open and refer it to the Seventh Senedd. This was with a view to the successor committee for petitions highlighting it with the relevant policy committee, to pursue with the Minister(s) with responsibility for regulation of landfill operations; a PFAS plan (for “forever chemicals”); and water quality.

Vaughan Gething MS declared a relevant interest as an honorary member of the British Veterinary Association, and his father was a veterinary surgeon, working on a mixed practice of small household animals and large farm animals.

Members noted the Committee had considered the petition on seven previous occasions and it had been kept open in light of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) market study into veterinary services, due to publish its final report in May. The petition called for an inquiry and that was ongoing. There was confidence that the matter would be looked at by the Seventh Senedd, but the current committee could not pre-empt further decisions that might be taken, and it would be for the next Senedd to decide how to follow up. Noting her role as Chair of the Senedd Cross-Party Group on Animal Welfare, the Committee Chair congratulated the petitioner on bringing forward the petition, and highlighting issues within the veterinary services industry that it was hoped would come out in the CMA’s final report. On that basis it was agreed to close the petition.  

Members considered the paper and agreed the proposals in Annex A - petitions for referral to the Seventh Senedd, and Annex B – petitions for closing, with the exception of Petitions P-06-1510 and P-06-1291 which were already closed earlier in the meeting.

Additionally Members noted there were currently 20 petitions over the threshold for consideration by the Seventh Senedd, including three that had reached the threshold for a successor committee to consider whether to request a debate.

Members noted the paper.

Members noted the paper.

Members noted the paper.

Members noted the paper.

Members noted the paper.

Members noted the paper.

Members noted the paper.

Members noted the paper.

Members noted the paper.

Before moving the procedural motion, the Chair made some closing remarks as it was the final meeting of the Sixth Senedd.

The procedural motion was agreed.

The final draft of the legacy report was agreed for publication prior to dissolution, subject to some minor amendments. It was hoped that Members of the next Senedd would take on board the points made in the report about ways of working.