Agenda and minutes

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

The Committee considered the petition for the first time and agreed to the Welsh Health Specialised Services Committee (WHSSC) to seek further detail about the current policy for providing prosthetic services and ask:

·         why there appears to be a distinction made between upper and lower limbs;

·         the volume of applications received for recreational lower limb prosthetics under the IPFR process, and an indication of the proportion which are approved;

·         for details on the average additional cost associated with providing a recreational lower limb prosthetic to a child or young person; and

·         what use is currently made, or could be made in the future, of 3D-printing for the production of prosthetics.

The Committee considered the petition for the first time and agreed to await further views from the petitioner in response to the letter from the Minister for Culture, Tourism and Sport before considering whether to take further action on the petition.

Neil McEvoy declared the following relevant interest under Standing Order 17.24A:

 The petitioner works for him.

The Committee considered the petition for the first time and agreed to write back to the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Transport to ask:

• for further confirmation that the Welsh Government would not support any proposal that would remove Neath station from the south Wales mainline;
• for confirmation that, should such a proposal be raised, they would actively work against it; and
• for details of whether any dicussions on this issue have taken place with the UK Government or Network Rail. 

The Committee considered correspondence from Openreach and the Leader of the House and agreed to await an announcement in relation to the successor scheme to Superfast Cymru, and to seek details at that point as to whether Llangenny can expect to be connected to superfast broadband through that programme.

The Committee considered a recent statement by the Minister for Housing and Regeneration and agreed to write to the petitioners to seek their views on the decision taken by the Minister for Housing & Regeneration, and in doing so, explain that the Committee considers there is little further than it can achieve in light of the detailed consideration that has been given to the issue by the Welsh Government.

The Committee considered this petition together with P-05-765 Keeping Current Guidelines for Religious Assemblies and agreed to await an update from the Cabinet Secretary for Education following the completion of the review by her officials into this subject.

The Committee considered this petition together with P-05-757 Remove the Obligation on Schools to Hold Acts of Religious Worship and agreed to await an update from the Cabinet Secretary for Education following the completion of the review by her officials into this subject.

The Committee considered correspondence from the Cabinet Secretary for Education and agreed to await a further update from the Cabinet Secretary, and views from the petitioner, before considering whether any further action on the petition is required.

The Committee considered correspondence from the Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Planning and Rural Affairs and Natural Resources Wales, along with further comments from the petitioner, and agreed to close the petition in light of:

• the information provided by NRW in respect of their current approach to regulation;
• the actions that have been taken to strengthen NRW’s enforcement options; and
• the changes to Environmental Permitting Regulations planned for the future.

The Committee considered correspondence from the Chair of the Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee and agreed to close the petition in light of the fact that the Committee has now established that there are no plans to review the regulatory requirements in this area within the Assembly or Welsh Government at this time.

The Committee considered correspondence from the petitioner and agreed to write to the Cabinet Secretary for Local Government and Public Services to ask whether there is a way to facilitate a meeting between the petitioner and the Armed Forces Expert Group.

The Committee agreed to close the petition on the basis that it is not possible to take the petition forward, or to prioritise further consideration of it, in the absence of contact with the petitioner.

The Committee noted the paper.

The Committee agreed the motion.

The Committee agreed the draft report and its intention to publish it before the summer recess, with a view to holding a debate in plenary in the autumn term.

Huw Irranca-Davies, Minister for Children, Older People and Social Care

Gareth Griffiths, Head of Paying for Care, Welsh Government

The Committee heard evidence from Minister for Children, Older People and Social Care and Gareth Griffiths.

Members discussed the evidence session and agreed to seek additional evidence from a range of stakeholders in relation to the subject of the petition.