Meeting Venue:
Presiding Officer’s office, 4th floor - Tŷ Hywel
Meeting date: 30 January 2018
Meeting time: 08.30 - 08.47
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Category |
Names |
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Committee Members: |
Elin Jones AM Llywydd (Chair) Julie James AM Paul Davies AM Rhun ap Iorwerth AM Gareth Bennett AM |
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Committee Staff: |
Aled Elwyn Jones (Clerk) |
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Others in attendance |
Ann Jones AM, Deputy Presiding Officer Manon Antoniazzi, Chief Executive & Clerk of the Assembly Christopher Warner, Head of Policy and Legislation Committee Service Siân Wilkins, Head of Chamber and Committee Service Rhuanedd Richards, Policy Adviser to the Llywydd Gwion Evans, Head of the Llywydd's Private Office Helen Carey, Welsh Government |
The minutes for the meeting were agreed by the Committee for publication.
Tuesday
· The Government added a statement to Tuesday’s Plenary agenda: Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Education: Securing the Right to a Suitable Education for all Children (45 mins)
· Voting Time will take place after the last item of business.
Wednesday
· Voting Time will take place before the Short Debate.
Business Committee noted the 3 Week Timetable of Government Business.
Rhun ap Iorwerth raised the fact that a Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Services on Winter Pressures (45 mins) had been added to the Plenary agenda for Tuesday 13 February. He felt that the topic should be the subject of a debate instead of a statement, so that opposition parties could table amendments. The Leader of the House stated that she would feed back to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Services, but noted that during last week’s questions on the Business Statement and Announcement she had promised a statement on the matter.
Business Committee determined the organisation of Assembly business and agreed to schedule the following items of business:
Wednesday 28 February 2018 –
· Questions to the Assembly Commission (30 mins)
· Time allocated to the Welsh Conservatives (60 mins)
· Time allocated to Plaid Cymru (60 mins)
· Time allocated to Plaid Cymru (60 mins)
Business Managers agreed to a request for a debate on the petition ‘Calling on the Welsh Government to ban the use of Wild Animals in Circuses in Wales’ which has reached 6,398 signatures.
Business Managers agreed to discuss the proposed areas of reform with their groups.
Regarding the proposal for a broader review of Standing Orders, the Llywydd asked Business Managers to continue to discuss outside of committee.
Business Managers noted the paper.
Business Managers agreed to return to the issues of d’Hondt for committee membership as well as statements/debates on the Welsh Government’s Legislative Programme in two weeks’ time as Standing Order issues which require resolving in the short term.
The Leader of the House raised with Business Managers that following the latest reshuffle there were some overlaps or discrepancies between Ministerial portfolios and Committee remits, as evidenced during budget scrutiny. The Llywydd asked that the secretariat explore any obvious areas that could be easily aligned, in advance of a potential discussion at the Chairs’ Forum on 7 February.