Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee Draft Report

CLA382 The Emergency Ambulance Services committee (Wales) Regulations 2014

Procedure:  Negative

In accordance with the Emergency Ambulance Services Committee (Wales) Directions 2014 (“the 2014 Directions”), Local Health Boards are to establish, by way of a joint committee, an Emergency Ambulance Services Committee (“the Joint Committee”).

These Regulations make provision for composition, membership and proceedings of the Joint Committee which will be responsible for commissioning emergency ambulance services for Local Health Boards in Wales.

The Minister for Health and Social Services has also made the Welsh Health Specialised Services Committee (Wales) (Amendment) Directions 2014.  The combined effect of these directions and the 2014 Directions is to remove the functions of planning and securing the provision of emergency ambulance services from the Welsh Health Specialised Services Committee and to place it with the Joint Committee.

Technical Scrutiny

Pursuant to Standing Order 21.2.(v) (form or meaning requires further explanation) and (vii) (inconsistencies between the meaning of the its English and Welsh texts) the Assembly is invited to pay attention to these Regulations.

• Schedule 2 to the Regulations makes provision as to the eligibility of a person to be appointed as Chair of the Joint committee.

• Paragraph 1(5) makes reference to instances where a person’s ineligibility no longer applies.  This paragraph makes reference to appointment  as “chair or officer member”.

• Clarification is sought as to whether the references to “officer member” are correct given that regulation 5(1) which introduces Schedule 2 refers only to eligibility for appointment as chair.

• Schedule 2 paragraph 1(5)(b) states:-

“if the person is discharged from bankruptcy, that person becomes eligible for appointment as a chair or officer member on the date of the discharge”;

·The Welsh text of paragraph 1(5)(b) refers to a person’s eligibility to be appointed as a member on the date of discharge.

Merits Scrutiny

No points are identified for reporting under Standing Order 21.3 in respect of this instrument at the present time.

Legal Advisers

Constitutional and Legislative Affairs committee

17 March 2014