Agenda and decisions

 

View Questions

The item started at 13.30

Questions 1 - 6 and 9 - 13 were asked. Questions 2 and 3 were answered by the Deputy Minister for Skills and Technology.  Questions 4 and 9 were grouped together for answer.  Questions 7 and 8 were withdrawn.

 

 

 

View Questions

The item started at 14.15

Questions 1, 3 – 7 and 9 - 15 were asked.  Question 2 was transferred for written answer.  Question 8 was withdrawn.

 

NDM5309 Rosemary Butler (Newport West)

 

To propose that the National Assembly, in accordance with Standing Order 33.2:

 

1. Considers the Report of the Business Committee ‘Amending Standing Orders: Standing Order 22 – Standards of Conduct’ laid in the Table Office on 25 September 2013; and

 

2. Approves the proposal to revise Standing Orders 2 and 22, as set out in Annex B of the Report of the Business Committee.

 

Supporting documents:

Business Committee Report

The item started at 14.54

NDM5309 Rosemary Butler (Newport West)

To propose that the National Assembly, in accordance with Standing Order 33.2:

1. Considers the Report of the Business Committee ‘Amending Standing Orders: Standing Order 22 – Standards of Conduct’ laid in the Table Office on 25 September 2013; and

2. Approves the proposal to revise Standing Orders 2 and 22, as set out in Annex B of the Report of the Business Committee.

The motion was agreed in accordance with Standing Order 12.36.

 

NDM5310 Rosemary Butler (Newport West)

 

To propose that the National Assembly, in accordance with Standing Order 33.2:

 

1. Considers the Report of the Business Committee ‘Amending Standing Orders: Legislative Consent to Statutory Instruments made by UK Ministers and Private Bills’ laid in the Table Office on 25 September 2013; and

 

2. Approves the proposal to revise Standing Orders 21, 29 and introduce a new Standing Order 30A, as set out in Annexes B and D of the Business Committee’s report.

 

Supporting documents:

Business Committee Report

The item started at 14.55

NDM5310 Rosemary Butler (Newport West)

To propose that the National Assembly, in accordance with Standing Order 33.2:

1. Considers the Report of the Business Committee ‘Amending Standing Orders: Legislative Consent to Statutory Instruments made by UK Ministers and Private Bills’ laid in the Table Office on 25 September 2013; and

2. Approves the proposal to revise Standing Orders 21, 29 and introduce a new Standing Order 30A, as set out in Annexes B and D of the Business Committee’s report.

The motion was agreed in accordance with Standing Order 12.36.

 

NDM5312 William Graham (South Wales East)

 

To propose that the National Assembly for Wales:

 

Believes the pursuit of excellence must be central to any Welsh education strategy.

 

The following amendments have been tabled:

 

Amendment 1 - Elin Jones (Ceredigion)

 

After ‘Believes’ insert ‘that breaking the link between poverty and attainment and’

 

Amendment 2 - Elin Jones (Ceredigion)

 

After ‘excellence’ insert ‘for all’

The item started at 14.55

Voting on the motion and amendments under this item was deferred until Voting Time.

A vote was taken on the motion without amendment:

NDM5312 William Graham (South Wales East)

To propose that the National Assembly for Wales:

Believes the pursuit of excellence must be central to any Welsh education strategy.

For	Abstain	Against	Total
37	0	13	50

The motion without amendment was agreed.

 

NDM5311 Elin Jones (Ceredigion)

 

To propose that the National Assembly for Wales:

 

1. Recognises the need to integrate health and adult social care services in order to provide an efficient and effective service to people in need; and

 

2. Calls on the Welsh Government to use the opportunity of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Bill to implement this integration.

 

The following amendments have been tabled:

 

Amendment 1 - William Graham (South Wales East)

 

Insert a new point 1, and re-number accordingly:

 

Acknowledges the obligation to support people in need;

 

Amendment 2 - Aled Roberts (North Wales)

 

Delete point 2 and replace with:

 

Calls on the Welsh Government to bring forward separate legislation to fully integrate health and social care, as recommended by the Health and Social Care Committee in its Stage 1 Report.

 

The Stage 1 Committee Report on the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Bill was laid before the Assembly on 18 July 2013.

 

Amendment 3 - William Graham (South Wales East)

 

Add as new point 3 and renumber accordingly:

 

Welcomes the opportunities offered during consideration of this Bill to explore the integration of health and adult social service through:

 

a) strengthening the provision of advocacy services;

 

b) ensuring local authorities promote service options for direct payment; and

 

c) streamlining the provision of information to patients, their family members and service users.

The item started at 15.51

Voting on the motion and amendments under this item was deferred until Voting Time.

A vote was taken on the motion without amendment:

NDM5311 Elin Jones (Ceredigion)

To propose that the National Assembly for Wales:

1. Recognises the need to integrate health and adult social care services in order to provide an efficient and effective service to people in need; and

2. Calls on the Welsh Government to use the opportunity of the Social Services Bill to implement this integration.

For	Abstain	Against	Total
34	0	15	49

The motion without amendment was agreed.

 

NDM5313 Aled Roberts (North Wales)

 

To propose that the National Assembly for Wales:

 

1. Notes with concern that:

 

a) Wales has the largest proportion of premises in potential not-spots, and the lowest availability of superfast broadband services in the UK;

 

b) the recent rationalisation and decommissioning of mobile masts has resulted in many customers facing a frustrating loss or degradation of mobile signal.

 

2. Believes that broadband and mobile services play an integral and ever expanding role in the lives of Welsh consumers and citizens and that a lack of access to digital infrastructure is a hindrance to social, economic and cultural development, noting in particular that:

 

a) according to a recent Estyn report ‘The impact of ICT on pupils’ learning in primary schools’, around half the schools surveyed say that the poor quality of the internet connection hinders their ICT work;

 

b) the Welsh Affairs Committee report ‘Broadband services in Wales’ expresses concern that the existence of broadband not-spots and slowspots, particularly in rural areas, has hindered local businesses at a cost to the local economy;

 

c) the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee report ‘Rural Communities’ notes that households in rural areas are less likely to take up schemes that may reduce fuel costs, such as cheaper tariffs or energy efficiency schemes, due to a lack of broadband access; and

 

d) the Chairman of the Commission for Rural Communities has said that poor web coverage is a factor in pushing young people out of rural areas.

 

3. Regrets the problems experienced by the Welsh Government’s Regional Innovative Broadband Support Scheme and calls on the Welsh Government to:

 

a) ensure that the Access Broadband Cymru scheme is widely advertised and does not experience the same issues;

 

b) examine the planning system to ensure that planning rules support the development of digital infrastructure;

 

c) examine what support can be offered to businesses to improve their ability to compete worldwide through better access to digital services; and

 

d) investigate recent problems with mobile signal and work with network providers to ensure these issues are addressed and coverage is maximised across Wales.

 

The Estyn report is available here:

http://www.estyn.gov.uk/english/docViewer/285585.3/the-impact-of-ict-on-pupils-learning-in-primary-schools-july-2013/?navmap=30,163,

 

The Welsh Affairs Committee report is available here:

 

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmselect/cmwelaf/580/58002.htm

 

The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee report is available here:

 

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmselect/cmenvfru/602/602.pdf

 

The following amendments have been tabled:

 

Amendment 1 - William Graham (South Wales East)

 

Insert as new point 2c and renumber accordingly:

 

the rise of online shopping has contributed to the challenges faced by the high street, however recognises the potential of the internet as a source for high street regeneration;

 

Amendment 2 - William Graham (South Wales East)

 

Add as new sub-point at the end of point 2:

 

the increasing digitalisation of farm administration and the impact this has on farmers who suffer from poor broadband coverage.

 

Amendment 3 - William Graham (South Wales East)

 

Insert as new point 3a and renumber accordingly:

 

guarantee that during the rollout of the Superfast Cymru scheme BT ensures that premises which do not qualify for connection will be notified accordingly in a timely manner;

The item started at 16.50

Voting on the motion and amendments under this item was deferred until Voting Time.

A vote was taken on the motion without amendment:

NDM5313 Aled Roberts (North Wales)

To propose that the National Assembly for Wales:

1. Notes with concern that:

a) Wales has the largest proportion of premises in potential not-spots, and the lowest availability of superfast broadband services in the UK;

b) the recent rationalisation and decommissioning of mobile masts has resulted in many customers facing a frustrating loss or degradation of mobile signal.

2. Believes that broadband and mobile services play an integral and ever expanding role in the lives of Welsh consumers and citizens and that a lack of access to digital infrastructure is a hindrance to social, economic and cultural development, noting in particular that:

a) according to a recent Estyn report ‘The impact of ICT on pupils’ learning in primary schools’, around half the schools surveyed say that the poor quality of the internet connection hinders their ICT work;

b) the Welsh Affairs Committee report ‘Broadband services in Wales’ expresses concern that the existence of broadband not-spots and slowspots, particularly in rural areas, has hindered local businesses at a cost to the local economy;

c) the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee report ‘Rural Communities’ notes that households in rural areas are less likely to take up schemes that may reduce fuel costs, such as cheaper tariffs or energy efficiency schemes, due to a lack of broadband access; and

d) the Chairman of the Commission for Rural Communities has said that poor web coverage is a factor in pushing young people out of rural areas.

3. Regrets the problems experienced by the Welsh Government’s Regional Innovative Broadband Support Scheme and calls on the Welsh Government to:

a) ensure that the Access Broadband Cymru scheme is widely advertised and does not experience the same issues;

b) examine the planning system to ensure that planning rules support the development of digital infrastructure;

c) examine what support can be offered to businesses to improve their ability to compete worldwide through better access to digital services; and

d) investigate recent problems with mobile signal and work with network providers to ensure these issues are addressed and coverage is maximised across Wales.

For	Abstain	Against	Total
13	0	37	50

The motion without amendment was not agreed.

The following amendments were tabled:

Amendment 1 - William Graham (South Wales East)

Insert as new point 2c and renumber accordingly:

the rise of online shopping has contributed to the challenges faced by the high street, however recognises the potential of the internet as a source for high street regeneration;

A vote was taken on Amendment 1:

For	Abstain	Against	Total
50	0	0	50

Amendment 1 was agreed.

Amendment 2 - William Graham (South Wales East)

Add as new sub-point at the end of point 2:

the increasing digitalisation of farm administration and the impact this has on farmers who suffer from poor broadband coverage.

A vote was taken on Amendment 2:

For	Abstain	Against	Total
49	0	0	49

Amendment 2 was agreed.

Amendment 3 - William Graham (South Wales East)

Insert as new point 3a and renumber accordingly:

guarantee that during the rollout of the Superfast Cymru scheme BT ensures that premises which do not qualify for connection will be notified accordingly in a timely manner;

A vote was taken on Amendment 3:

For	Abstain	Against	Total
24	0	26	50

Amendment 3 was not agreed.

A vote was taken on the motion as amended:

NDM5313 Aled Roberts (North Wales)

To propose that the National Assembly for Wales:

1. Notes with concern that:

a) Wales has the largest proportion of premises in potential not-spots, and the lowest availability of superfast broadband services in the UK;

b) the recent rationalisation and decommissioning of mobile masts has resulted in many customers facing a frustrating loss or degradation of mobile signal.

2. Believes that broadband and mobile services play an integral and ever expanding role in the lives of Welsh consumers and citizens and that a lack of access to digital infrastructure is a hindrance to social, economic and cultural development, noting in particular that:

a) according to a recent Estyn report ‘The impact of ICT on pupils’ learning in primary schools’, around half the schools surveyed say that the poor quality of the internet connection hinders their ICT work;

b) the Welsh Affairs Committee report ‘Broadband services in Wales’ expresses concern that the existence of broadband not-spots and slowspots, particularly in rural areas, has hindered local businesses at a cost to the local economy;

c) the rise of online shopping has contributed to the challenges faced by the high street, however recognises the potential of the internet as a source for high street regeneration;

d) the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee report ‘Rural Communities’ notes that households in rural areas are less likely to take up schemes that may reduce fuel costs, such as cheaper tariffs or energy efficiency schemes, due to a lack of broadband access; and

e) the Chairman of the Commission for Rural Communities has said that poor web coverage is a factor in pushing young people out of rural areas.

f) the increasing digitalisation of farm administration and the impact this has on farmers who suffer from poor broadband coverage.

3. Regrets the problems experienced by the Welsh Government’s Regional Innovative Broadband Support Scheme and calls on the Welsh Government to:

a) ensure that the Access Broadband Cymru scheme is widely advertised and does not experience the same issues;

b) examine the planning system to ensure that planning rules support the development of digital infrastructure;

c) examine what support can be offered to businesses to improve their ability to compete worldwide through better access to digital services; and

d) investigate recent problems with mobile signal and work with network providers to ensure these issues are addressed and coverage is maximised across Wales.

For	Abstain	Against	Total
24	0	26	50

The motion as amended was not agreed.

 

The item started at 17.48