Concise Minutes - Petitions Committee

Meeting Venue:

Committee Room 1 - Senedd

Meeting date: Tuesday, 23 May 2017

Meeting time: 09.03 - 10.45
This meeting can be viewed
on Senedd TV at:
http://senedd.tv/en/4138

Attendance

Category	Names
Assembly Members:	Mike Hedges AM (Chair) Gareth Bennett AM Janet Finch-Saunders AM Neil McEvoy AM
Witnesses:	Luke Collins- Hayes, Deffo Zoe Pallenson, Deffo Cathie Robins-Talbot, Deffo Helen Robins-Talbot, Deffo
Committee Staff:	Graeme Francis (Clerk) Kayleigh Driscoll (Deputy Clerk) Kath Thomas (Deputy Clerk) Sam Mason (Legal Adviser)

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Transcript

View the meeting transcript (PDF 513KB) View as HTML (204KB)

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1 Introduction, apologies, substitutions and declarations of interest

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting. There were no apologies.

Neil McEvoy AM raised concerns relating to a post on social media by Carl Sargeant AM (Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Children) following the Committee’s meeting on the 9 May 2017. The Chair advised that the Committee could return to this when the petition concerned (P-05-751 Recognition of Parental Alienation) was next considered.

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2 New petitions

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2.1 P-05-749 Reinstate Corwen's Mobile Dental Service

The Committee considered the petition for the first time and agreed to await the views of the petitioners on the information received before deciding whether to take any further action.

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2.2 P-05-753 Strengthening the Legislative and Regulatory Framework Surrounding Waste Wood Processing Facilities

The Committee considered the petition for the first time and agreed to write to the Cabinet Secretary for Environment & Rural Affairs to share the comments made by the petitioner and ask for a further response to these.

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2.3 P-05-755 Call on Welsh Government to make the A48 safe for all road users and pedestrians at Laleston, Broadlands and Merthyr Mawr

The Committee considered the petition for the first time and agreed to:

· write to Bridgend County Borough Council to inform them of the petition and the response from the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure; and

· await the views of the petitioner before deciding on the appropriate course of action.

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2.4 P-05-756 Live Music Protection in Wales

The Committee considered the petition for the first time and agreed to:

· invite the petitioner to provide oral evidence session to the Committee at a future meeting; and

· write to the Business Committee to request time for a debate on the petition prior to the summer recess.

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3 Updates to previous petitions

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3.1 P-04-408 Child and Adolescent Eating Disorder Service

The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to write to the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Well-being and Sport to share the comments made by the petitioner and ask for an update on how the additional funding for eating disorder services in 2017-18 will be used.

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3.2 P-04-532 Improving specialised neuromuscular services in Wales

The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to await the views of the petitioners on the information received before deciding on any appropriate further action.

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3.3 P-05-718 NHS Wales Pay

The Committee agreed to close the petition on the basis that it is not possible to identify how to take the petition forward in the absence of contact with the petitioner.

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3.4 P-05-736 To Make Mental Health Services More Accessible

The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to write to the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Well-being and Sport to highlight the concerns and proposals for improvement made by the petitioner and Hafal, and seek further information about plans to improve the responsiveness of services.

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3.5 P-04-485 Abuse of casual contracts in Further Education

The Committee agreed to close the petition on the basis that it is not possible to identify how to take the petition forward in the absence of contact with the petitioner.

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3.6 P-04-522 Asbestos in Schools

The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and, given the time that has passed since evidence was taken by the previous Petitions Committee, agreed to write to the Cabinet Secretary for Education to seek the Government’s current position on the issues raised by the petitioner.

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3.7 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 agreed to consider the petition alongside the related petition - P-04-576 Allow Children in Wales to Have a Family Holiday During Term Time – in future.

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3.8 P-04-539 Save Cardiff Coal Exchange

The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to close the petition on the basis that the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure has confirmed that the Welsh Government will not call a public inquiry into the process behind the re-development of the Coal Exchange.

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3.9 P-05-690 Resurfacing of the A40 Raglan-Abergavenny Road

The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to write to the Cabinet Secretary for Economy & Infrastructure to share the comments made by the petitioners and Nick Ramsay AM, and ask why previous commitments made to resurfacing the A40 have not yet been delivered and the timescale for improvements.

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3.10P-05-737 Save Our Bus

The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to await the views of the petitioner on the correspondence received to date, and write to Stagecoach to request information about the results of the survey carried out on the service earlier in 2017.

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3.11P-04-683 Trees in Towns

The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to:

· write to the Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs to ask what increase in tree cover in urban areas has been achieved in last five years and whether other plant species are also used for a similar purpose; and

· seek views from the petitioners on the response received.

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3.12P-04-687 Review of Scalloping in Cardigan Bay

The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and:

· noted the broad satisfaction of the petitioner and agreed to close the petition and to share the petitioner’s additional comment with the Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs.

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3.13P-05-733 No Further Actions on Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZ) In Wales At All

The Committee considered correspondence on the petition from the Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs and agreed to await an announcement of the Welsh Government’s chosen course of action following the consultation, as previously agreed.

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3.14P-05-711 Ensure Disabled People’s Housing Adaption Needs Are Adequately Met

The Committee considered correspondence on the petition and agreed to write to the petitioners to seek their views on the information provided by the Welsh Government and the WLGA, before deciding whether to take further action on the petition.

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4 Evidence session - P-04-628 To improve access to Education and services in British Sign Language

Cathie Robins-Talbot, Helen Robins-Talbot, Luke Collins-Hayes and Zoe Pallenson from Deffo! answered questions from the Committee.

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5 Paper to note - Correspondence from the Chair of the External Affairs and Additional Legislation Committee

The Committee noted the paper and agreed to make the External Affairs and Additional Legislation Committee aware of any future petitions relevant to their work in relation to the Great Repeal Bill White Paper.

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6 Motion under Standing Order 17.42(ix) to resolve to exclude the public from the meeting for the remainder of the meeting

The motion was agreed.

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7 Discussion of Evidence: P-05-710 Ensure Disabled People can Access Public Transport As and When They Need it

The Committee considered the next steps to take in relation to the petition and agreed to prepare a report to the Assembly on the evidence received.

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