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Petitions Committee |
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Meeting Venue: |
Committee Room 1 - Senedd |
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Meeting date: |
Tuesday, 9 December 2014 |
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Meeting time: |
09.06 - 10.36 |
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This meeting can be viewed on
Senedd TV at: |
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Concise Minutes: MeetingTitle |
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Assembly Members: |
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William Powell (Chair) Russell George Joyce Watson |
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Witnesses: |
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Jayne Dulson, National Deaf Children's Society (NDCS) Elin Wyn, Elin Wyn Danyiaal Munir, Cardiff & Vale College Peter Rogers, Sustainable Acoustics Ltd |
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Committee Staff: |
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Steve George (Clerk) Kayleigh Driscoll (Deputy Clerk) Kath Thomas (Deputy Clerk) Helen Roberts (Legal Adviser) |
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1 Introduction, apologies and substitutions
The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting. Apologies were received from Bethan Jenkins AM. There were no substitutes.
2 New petitions
2.1 P-04-606 Ensure schools exercise their statutory powers under regulation 7 of The Education (Pupil Registration) (Wales) Regulations 2010 without interference or bias.
The Committee considered the petition for the first time alongside correspondence from the Minister for Education and Skills and further comments from the petitioner and agreed to:
- await responses in respect of P-04-576 ‘Allow Children in Wales to Have a Family Holiday During Term Time’; and
- Consider both petitions together in future.
2.2 P-04-607 Call for the welsh government to purchase Garth Celyn
The Committee considered the petition for the first time alongside correspondence from the Deputy Minister for Culture and Sport and further comments from the petitioner and others. The Committee agreed to seek the Deputy Minister’s views on the further comments from the petitioner and others.
2.3 P-04-608 Inquiry into the Welsh NHS
The Committee considered the petition for the first time alongside correspondence from the Minister for Health and Social Services and further comments from the petitioner and agreed to seek the Minister’s views on the petitioner’s further comments.
2.4 P-04-610 Reverse the Cuts to Hardship Funds in Universities
The Committee considered the petition for the first time alongside correspondence from the Minister for Education and Skills and agreed to:
- ask the petitioner whether they are satisfied with the announcement made by the Minister to re-establish the Financial Contingency Fund for the current financial year; and
- move to close the petition.
3 Updates to previous petitions
3.1 P-04-541 Support for the Mentrau Iaith (Language Initiatives)
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to close the petition in light of the Petitioners thanking the Committee for its involvement in this matter and that they are taking forward future discussions direct with the First Minister.
3.2 P-04-549 Make ’Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau’ the Official Welsh National Anthem
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to close the petition.
3.3 P-03-315 New Dyfi River Crossing Petition
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to close the petition in light of the funding being agreed to build a new bridge at the earliest opportunity, which essentially meets the objective of the original petition.
3.4 P-04-574 Bus Services in Burryport
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to:
· close the petition as it is now clear that this matter is an operational decision of the local authority concerned; and
· while taking no further specific action on this petition, bear it in mind when considering other petitions on ‘sub regional’ bus services that the Committee is currently doing work on.
3.5 P-04-590 Funding for the Cardi Bach Coastal Bus Service
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed:
- in order to facilitate further work on the proposals set out in the petitioners’ letter, write to the Minister asking for clarification as to who the petitioners should now work with to develop their proposals; and
- to ask the Minister if her officials could contact the petitioners to provide support and guidance.
3.6 P-04-547 Ban Polystyrene(EPS) Fast Food and Drinks Packaging
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed:
- to carry out a piece of work on the petition;
- that it was content with the approach to this work outlined in a paper from the Research Service;
- make the Assembly’s Environment and Sustainability Committee aware of the petition and the work it had agreed to do.
3.7 P-04-445 Save our Welsh cats & dogs from death on the roads
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to:
- pass the petitioner’s further comments to the Minister for information; and
- keep a watching brief on the petition until the review of the regulations has concluded.
3.8 P-04-533 Environmental Planning for Small Scale Wind Turbine Sites
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to close the petition in light of the Minister making his position on the planning issues clear. The Committee also noted that a number of other issues raised by the petitioners are the responsibility of the UK Government.
3.9 P-04-544 Ban the Shooting of Greenland White-fronted Geese
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to ask Professor Fox, via the petitioner, if he is able to supply evidence of shootings since 2009, as requested by Welsh Government officials.
3.10 P-04-555 Stop the unethical and draconian proposed compulsory microchipping of dogs
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to close the petition.
3.11 P-04-575 Call in All Opencast Mining Planning Applications
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to await the outcome of the Environment and Sustainability Committee’s consideration of its Forward Work Programme on 10 December.
3.12 P-04-584 Wales Planning Bill to Protect Town and Village Greens in Wales
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to:
· close the petition as the Planning (Wales) Bill was introduced into the Assembly on 6 October and is currently receiving Stage 1 scrutiny from the Environment and Sustainability Committee; and
· In closing the petition, ask the E&S Committee to take the petition into account in reporting to the Assembly on the general principles of the Bill.
3.13 P-04-466 Medical Emergency - Preventing the introduction of a poorer Health Service for North Wales
See agreed action under 3.14.
3.14 P-04-479 Tywyn Memorial Hospital X-ray & Minor Injuries Unit Petition
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to draw the petitioners’ further comments to the attention of the UHB and ask them to inform the Committee of progress in 3 months time on progress on service development and delivery following publication of the report of the Mid Wales Healthcare Study.
3.15 P-04-560 Provision of IBD Services in Wales
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to
- Await further comments from the petitioner; and
- Seek the Minister’s response to the fact that all of the LHBs that have responded so far appear to support an all Wales Gastroenterology plan, which the Minister does not appear to support.
3.16 P-04-564 Restoration of Inpatient Beds, Minor Injuries Cover and X-Ray Unit to the Ffestiniog Memorial Hospital
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to:
· seek further comments from the petitioner; and
· Consider the petition in future alongside P-04-466 (NW Health Services) P-04-479 (Tywyn Memorial Hospital), which raise many of the same issues.
3.17 P-04-568 Public Inquiry into ABMU Health Board
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to write to the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee to ask that the petition is taken into account in the work the PAC is undertaking on health board governance in NHS Wales.
3.18 P-04-580 Restrictions on Donating Blood
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to:
· seek further comments from the petitioner; and
· forward the correspondence received from the Welsh Blood Service to the Minister asking that he responds to the Committee’s original letter.
3.19 P-04-588 Charter for Children and Fathers
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to:
· seek further comments from the Ministers on the petitioners comments, in particular whether the Welsh Government will consider collecting data around male engagement and provide further information about why the Children and Adolescent Welfare Assessment Checklist (CAWAC) cannot be shared more widely; and
· move to close to the petition.
3.20 P-04-511 Support for children and young people participation standards
The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to seek further comments from the petitioner.
4 Evidence Session - P-04-481 Close the Gap for deaf pupils in Wales
The following witnesses answered questions from the Committee:
- Jayne Dulson, Director NDCS;
- Elin Wyn, Policy Advisor NDCS;
- Danyiaal Munir, Student Cardiff and Vale College; and
- Peter Rogers, Director Sustainable Acoustics Ltd