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Cofnod y Trafodion
The Record of Proceedings

Y Pwyllgor Deisebau

The Petitions Committee

15/11/2016

 

 

Agenda’r Cyfarfod
Meeting Agenda

Trawsgrifiadau’r Pwyllgor
Committee Transcripts


Cynnwys
Contents

 

3....... Cyflwyniad, Ymddiheuriadau, Dirprwyon a Datganiadau o Fuddiant
Introduction, Apologies, Substitutions and Declarations of Interest

 

4....... Deisebau Newydd
New Petitions

 

5....... Y Wybodaeth Ddiweddaraf am Ddeisebau Blaenorol
Updates to Previous Petitions

 

16..... Cynnig o dan Reol Sefydlog 17.42 i Benderfynu Gwahardd y Cyhoedd o’r Cyfarfod
Motion under Standing Order 17.42 to Resolve to Exclude the Public from the Meeting

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cofnodir y trafodion yn yr iaith y llefarwyd hwy ynddi yn y pwyllgor. Yn ogystal, cynhwysir trawsgrifiad o’r cyfieithu ar y pryd. Lle y mae cyfranwyr wedi darparu cywiriadau i’w tystiolaeth, nodir y rheini yn y trawsgrifiad.

 

The proceedings are reported in the language in which they were spoken in the committee. In addition, a transcription of the simultaneous interpretation is included. Where contributors have supplied corrections to their evidence, these are noted in the transcript.

Aelodau’r pwyllgor yn bresennol
Committee members in attendance

 

Gareth Bennett
Bywgraffiad|Biography

UKIP Cymru
UKIP Wales

 

Janet Finch-Saunders
Bywgraffiad|Biography

Ceidwadwyr Cymreig
Welsh Conservatives

 

Mike Hedges
Bywgraffiad|Biography

Llafur
Labour

 

Neil McEvoy
Bywgraffiad|Biography

Plaid Cymru
The Party of Wales

 

Swyddogion Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru yn bresennol
National Assembly for Wales officials in attendance

 

Kayleigh Driscoll

Dirprwy Glerc
Deputy Clerk

 

Graeme Francis

Clerc
Clerk

 

Lisa Salkeld

Cynghorydd Cyfreithiol
Legal Adviser

 

Kath Thomas

 

Dirprwy Glerc
Deputy Clerk

 

Dechreuodd y cyfarfod am 09:03.
The meeting began at 09:03.

Cyflwyniad, Ymddiheuriadau, Dirprwyon a Datganiadau o Fuddiant
Introduction, Apologies, Substitutions and Declarations of Interest

 

[1]          Mike Hedges: Can I welcome everybody to the meeting and remind Members that you’re welcome to speak in either English or Welsh? Headsets are available for translation of Welsh to English. There’s no need to turn off mobile phones or other electronic devices but please ensure that any devices are in silent mode. We’ve had no apologies this morning, so we’re expecting Gareth Bennett at some time. The clerk tells me we’re still expecting him.

 

Deisebau Newydd
New Petitions

 

[2]          Mike Hedges: This takes us on to new petitions and one which I received last week, ‘Establish Statutory Public Rights of Access to Land and Water for Recreational and Other Purposes’. It’s a petition from Waters of Wales, with 3,000 signatures. This is an issue on which, like a lot of them, there are two sides and I’ve had fairly substantial correspondence from fishermen and fisherwomen who are massively opposed to this. There are, dare I say, two points of view, which are mutually exclusive. We’ve got a number of different options. We’ve had a letter from the Cabinet Secretary stating that the Welsh Government has latterly followed recommendations by the Sustainability Committee in 2010. The Cabinet Secretary states that, following a review and public consultation, with over 5,000 responses, on access to the outdoors, the Government intends to set out the scope and timetable for the development of reform proposals early next year. The petitioner’s acknowledged this intention but states that the current approach seeking voluntary agreements has proved ineffective and argues that

 

[3]          ‘wide-ranging benefits will only be truly released and built upon if a Land Reform (Wales) bill is produced.’

 

[4]          The petitioner notes that a similar approach has proven successful in Scotland. In light of the work already planned by the Welsh Government on this issue, the committee could share the petitioner’s recent comments with the Cabinet Secretary and ask to be kept informed when proposals for reform are finalised next year. Are we happy with that? If the Government is in the process of doing something, it seems pointless for us to do something in parallel with it until we have a chance to scrutinise what the Government do in another place. Are you happy with that? Yes.

 

[5]          Next, no. 2, ‘Hirwaun and Penderyn Community Council Petition for the Installation of Fibre Optic Broadband’. It was submitted with 166 paper signatures. It was sent to the Cabinet Secretary on 10 October. A response was received on 17 October. We’ve all had a research briefing. The petitioner’s not responded. Basically, what they want to do is speed up the installation of fibre-optic broadband in Penderyn. The Minister’s response states that some properties in Penderyn are scheduled to be enabled in spring 2017, but the specific roll-out dates are dependent on the amount of work required per property, which is difficult to schedule. Can I suggest we wait for the response of the petitioner? Yes.

 

09:06

 

Y Wybodaeth Ddiweddaraf am Ddeisebau Blaenorol
Updates to Previous Petitions

 

[6]          Mike Hedges: That takes us on to updates to previous petitions. ‘Government Expenditure and Revenue Wales’ submitted by Stuart Evans and first considered on 15 January 2013, having collected 27 signatures: it was last considered by the old committee on 8 March this year, and agreed to ask the petitioner for his comments on the response received from the then Minister for Finance and Government Business. The petitioner has now submitted further comments and both of the above documents we’ve all received. The response from the petitioner refers to the fact that the Wales Governance Centre began to publish a Government Expenditure and Revenue Wales report earlier in 2016. The petitioner has indicated that he considers that a positive result for the petitioner, and suggests that the committee may now decide to close the petition. So, shall we close it and consider it a success? Even though it happened before our time.

 

[7]          The next one is ‘Improving specialised neuromuscular services in Wales’, submitted by the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign in February 2014. It was last considered, again, on the 8 March this year and agreed to ask the incoming health committee to consider the issues raised, and, depending on the health committee’s decision, to advise the incoming Petitions Committee to undertake a short piece of work on the matter. We’ve had a response from the Chair of the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, and the petitioner has also provided further comments, which are in the pack for the meeting. What do we want to do? The Health, Social Care and Sport Committee letter notes that

 

[8]          ‘the Neurological Conditions Delivery Plan is due for renewal in 2017.’

 

[9]          The health committee has written to the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Well-being and Sport to seek an update on this work. The petitioner has welcomed the steps taken by the health committee and restated the improvements they believe are required. The committee could ask to receive a copy of the Cabinet Secretary’s response to the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee and then seek further views from the petitioner at that point, before deciding on further action. Are we happy with that? Yes.

 

[10]      The next one is ‘Pay Student Nurses Their Full Travel Costs’.

 

[11]      Janet Finch-Saunders: Chairman, on this one I note that it says on the background—. Clearly, whenever a petition comes in, the Minister comes back, and it says the clerking team e-mailed the petitioner on 13 October and 2 November asking for his comments on the correspondence received. The petitioner was informed again via e-mail that the petition would be considered by the committee but had not responded when papers—. I think, when we’re looking at new ways of working, I think you need—. If we’re leaving petitions open because people aren’t responding when we’ve done our side of the things, I think that needs to be looked at again. I think there needs to be a cut-off point.

 

[12]      Mike Hedges: I follow the American system: three strikes and you’re out. You give people three opportunities to respond—

 

[13]      Janet Finch-Saunders: Three’s a lot.

 

[14]      Mike Hedges: Well, people can be on holiday, people can be unwell, and I think it’s bending over backwards if you give them three opportunities to respond. You give people three opportunities to respond. If they don’t respond after the third opportunity to respond, then you could take from that that they’re either happy with what’s happened or they’ve lost interest in the petition.

 

[15]      Janet Finch-Saunders: So, we’re closing this one, then, are we?

 

[16]      Mike Hedges: Yes.

 

[17]      Mr Francis: There are—. Just for information, there are five petitions in this meeting pack today where we’re in similar situations, essentially, where they were last considered earlier this year and we haven’t heard from the petitioner since. In some cases, we haven’t heard from the petitioner since the original submission of the petition. So, I think—. We are going through a process of looking back at the older petitions and bringing them back to you periodically, and, as I say, there are five in this meeting that are in a similar situation. So, I think it’s for you as a committee to decide whether in some cases you want to take issues forward without the engagement of the petitioner or whether—

 

[18]      Janet Finch-Saunders: I think you definitely need the engagement of the petitioner, or else we could end up taking lots of things forward and then that doesn’t allow the time for people who are really, you know, engaged and really taking action to see their petition go through. So, we close this one, do we?

 

[19]      Mike Hedges: If that’s what committee wishes, yes.

 

[20]      Janet Finch-Saunders: I propose that.

 

[21]      Mike Hedges: Yes, proposed. Agreed? Yes.

 

[22]      The next one is ‘Routine Screening for Type I Diabetes in Children and Young People’. This was first considered on 8 March this year, having collected over 2,500 signatures, and an associated petition to the UK Government collected 3,670 signatures. It was considered for the first time in March this year. We’ve written to the Minister for Health and Social Services to seek clarification on points in his previous letter. During dissolution, the previous committee was not able to consider the content—I’ve lost my bit of paper. [Laughter.] The content of the letter. In September, the committee wrote to the Chair of the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee to ask if they would consider including this issue in their forward work programme. A response has been received and is available in the papers for this meeting. The petitioner submitted further comments and information, which are included in the papers to the meeting, and they are attending the meeting today.

 

[23]      The health committee has written to the Children and Young People’s Wales Diabetes Network to ask about action to improve outcomes for the children and young people with type I diabetes. They intend this response to inform a future letter to the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Well-being and Sport. The health committee has also agreed to undertake a short inquiry to review the outcomes of a study into screening for type I diabetes that is currently under way in Germany.

 

[24]      The petition title asks for routine screening for type I diabetes. The previous Minister’s letter to the committee argued that routine screening of all children would not be effective. However, the latest correspondence from the petitioner indicated that their primary objective is the mandatory use of the finger-prick blood test in primary care for all children who present with an illness that could be masking type I diabetes. On this point, the Minister states that the Government is implementing new National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance on diabetes in children and young people and wants clinicians to ‘hold a high index of suspicion’ when patients present with the common symptoms of type 1 diabetes. The Government appears to intend this to lead to greater use of diagnostic testing.

 

[25]      Possible actions: on general screening, it would be appropriate for the committee to await the outcome of the health committee’s inquiry planned for next year. In the meantime, on the basis that the petitioners have been clear that their intention is for mandatory testing for type 1 diabetes when children present with common symptoms, we could write to Diabetes UK Cymru and ask them their view. We did that, if you remember, with the cancer, when we had the Minister’s view and we had the petitioner’s view, then we went out to the two major cancer charities and asked them their view. We need to await the response from the health committee to see what they come up with before taking it on to the next stage, and, when we get those, we come back to it and we write a further letter to the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Well-being and Sport.

 

[26]      There does seem to be some progress, with the Minister implementing the new NICE guidance on diabetes in children and young people, and wanting clinicians to hold a high index of suspicion. I think the position is quite straightforward, and we need that to be something that is sent out by the chief medical officer to health boards and then forwarded on to GPs, because I think that, sometimes, what is decided here gets lost in translation on its way to people on the front line.

 

[27]      Janet Finch-Saunders: Yes. I think we should really stay on this now, and even that this could be one that we move forward to debate in the Chamber. Diabetes is on the increase. Terribly tragic circumstances. Prevention, intervention; for me, this fits, really, quite into—. I think that the sooner, especially with children, things can be put in place there—.

 

09:15

 

[28]      Mike Hedges: I agree. Neil.

 

[29]      Neil McEvoy: I agree with what has just been said. I think there’s an awareness-raising exercise as well we could maybe help with as a committee, in terms of press release, talking about this in the public domain and trying to bring as much attention to it as possible, really.

 

[30]      Mike Hedges: Yes. This is one, I think, we do need to hold until we’ve had the response from the health committee, and then decide how we take it forward from there. think it is a really important issue and one that gets masked by the number of type 2 diabetes that is around, which is much easier to spot—people show a tendency for it by just looking at them—whereas type 1 diabetes can hit anybody, at any time. And I know people who’ve had type I diabetes, one who died from it, and another one who could have died if he hadn’t pressurised his GP, who just thought he was just a worried well, to send him to have tests. Okay. So, are we happy to—?

 

[31]      Mr Francis: So, do you want to write to Diabetes UK Cymru to get their extra evidence, and await further response that the health committee receives and then consider it at that point, as to whether you want to pull that together and use it as the basis for a debate, perhaps?

 

[32]      Mike Hedges: Yes.

 

[33]      Neil McEvoy: Just one further thing here, maybe we could put in a letter, just asking the Minister to meet with the family. I think really, receiving a petition like that, you would have thought they may have already done so, to be honest, but, if they haven’t, then they should.

 

[34]      Mike Hedges: Yes. And the other thing I was going to add is, to also write to the Minister—they made that commitment that the Government is implementing NICE guidelines on diabetes in young people, and wants clinicians to hold a high index of suspicion—asking them how they’re going about ensuring that happens. Because, sometimes, as I said earlier, Governments have really good policies, but, by the time it gets down to the person who’s dealing with it, on the medical floor, then sometimes it gets a bit lost. Okay. Are we happy with that? Yes.

 

[35]      Now we go on to one that is a success, ‘No to junction 41 closure’. Well, that’s something that has been going around for some time. It’s been announced that the Welsh Government has decided not to proceed with the permanent closure of junction 41. So, I assume that we treat that as a success. Yes.

 

[36]      ‘Roundabout for the A477/A4075 junction’, submitted by Pembroke Town Council, considered in January 2016, last considered on 13 September, considered correspondence from the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure, and agreed to write to him, expressing disappointment in the delay in progressing the stage 4 road safety audit and asking for a firmer timetable. A response was received on 21 October and is available. The petitioner was informed the petition would be on the agenda, but has not submitted any comments when the papers were finalised. The Cabinet Secretary, in response, states that a consultant has been commissioned to undertake the stage 4 road safety audit, and the petitioner’s comments will be taken into account as part of that. The results are due at the end of November, and the Cabinet Secretary has undertaken to update the committee shortly afterwards. So, I think we should wait for the results. But it has moved forward.

 

[37]      ‘Owain Glyndwr Motion Picture’, 2 February, with 94 signatures. The committee considered it on 21 February, and we agreed to await the petitioner’s view on the response received from the Minister. The clerking team e-mailed the petitioner on 13 October and 2 November, asking for his comments on the correspondence received. The petitioner was informed again by e-mail that the petition would be considered by the committee, but had not responded when papers for the committee were being finalised. The previous Minister noted that the Government had not received an approach from anyone planning to make a film but that they would be happy to discuss options. The petitioner has not responded to a number of requests for their views over the past six months, which may indicate that this issue is no longer a priority for them.

 

[38]      Gareth Bennett: Maybe he’s writing the script of the film.

 

[39]      Neil McEvoy: I think I’d like to maybe debate this at some time. I’ll declare an interest in that it’s our policy in Cardiff Plaid to try and get a film made. In terms of tourism, if you look at—. We were talking earlier about Braveheart and what that’s done for Scotland in terms of international recognition. It’s a no-brainer really. It’s another thing we’ve not yet done in Wales. So, I’m keen to keep it on the agenda, really.

 

[40]      Mike Hedges: But we need a film maker to want to make the film. The Welsh Government does many things but I don’t think anybody would like to see it branching out into film making.

 

[41]      Neil McEvoy: But it could be facilitated by getting creative people in a room together and seeing what they come up with. That’s what the Minister should be doing.

 

[42]      Gareth Bennett: The thing with films is they’re commercial enterprises. They can start off with a script that they receive or they can start off with producers in a room deciding to commission a script. If you want to get it off the ground, you need a scriptwriter to write a script about Owain Glyndŵr. That would be the way to—. I don’t see what the Welsh Government could do about it.

 

[43]      Neil McEvoy: Facilitate, isn’t it?

 

[44]      Gareth Bennett: We haven’t got a film production arm here, though, have we?

 

[45]      Neil McEvoy: We’ve got loads of Welsh Hollywood stars—get in touch with them and get them to the Senedd.

 

[46]      Mike Hedges: He has had three opportunities to respond. To get back to what we said earlier, after three no responses, should we close it?

 

[47]      Janet Finch-Saunders: Close it. Sorry, Neil.

 

[48]      Neil McEvoy: All right, it’s okay.

 

[49]      Mike Hedges: I can understand Neil’s view. Most of us would like to see the film made, but we really perhaps need to enthuse film makers.

 

[50]      Neil McEvoy: If he’s not responded, then fair enough.

 

[51]      Mike Hedges: ‘TATA Steel Port Talbot Power Plant’, first considered on 13 September, having 531 signatures. Last considered on 13 September, when we agreed to ask the new Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee whether it planned to do further work on the steel industry in Wales. The Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee held a meeting on the future of the steel industry in Wales on 19 October. Following this, the Chair of the Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee replied to the Petitions Committee to state that the petition had been raised with the First Minister. This letter is available in the papers for this meeting. The petitioner was informed that the petition would be considered by the committee but had not responded. I hope we’d agree that it just has to fit into the whole of the debate over the future of the steel industry, which has been undertaken by the Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee. I think that, much as I would like to see a new power plant in Port Talbot, I’m not sure that—. The petition itself, though we’re pleased to receive the petition, really should help inform the Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee.

 

[52]      Janet Finch-Saunders: I’d close this one.

 

[53]      Mike Hedges: I think perhaps we need to—. I’m all for closure, but not quite yet. I think we need to see what happens. We’ve had a response from the First Minister. Let’s see what happens—as long as it’s moving forward somewhere else. If it stalls, perhaps we need to look at it again and we may well want to do something on it or we may want to close it at that stage, but I think we need to keep it open until somebody else has resolved it.

 

[54]      Janet Finch-Saunders: Okay.

 

[55]      Mike Hedges: On ‘The Circuit of Wales’, to remind people, we had the petition on 11 October, with 3,279 signatures. The committee considered it on 11 October and we’ve written to the auditor general and the Public Accounts Committee because the auditor general is doing work on it and the Public Accounts Committee are likely to receive a report on it. We’ve had a response from the auditor general. We’ve also had a further response from the petitioner. The petitioner’s response expresses frustration with the delays in the development of the Circuit of Wales project. The petitioner has requested that the committee should pass the petition to the Welsh Assembly as quickly as possible. The previous response received from the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure indicated that officials were working with the developers on producing a bid that is acceptable to all parties. Recent reports have indicated that progress has been made on the potential funding of the Circuit of Wales. In light of this, the committee could write again to the Cabinet Secretary to make him aware of the petitioner’s recent comments and seek a further update. Are we happy to seek a further update?

 

[56]      Gareth Bennett: Yes.

 

[57]      Mike Hedges: ‘Unconventional Oil and Gas Planning Applications’, submitted by Councillor Arfon Jones and first considered on 22 September 2015, with 1,254 online and 293 paper signatures. The committee last considered the petition on 27 September and agreed to await the petitioner’s views on the correspondence received from the Cabinet Secretary. The petitioner has now submitted a response to the Minister’s letter, which we’ve all received. The Cabinet Secretary’s letter restates the policy direction that Ministers must be notified of planning applications related to underground coal gasification, but not exploratory boreholes, which are not considered to have adverse environmental impacts. The petitioner’s response indicates that this notification should be extended to cover all exploratory drilling for unconventional gas. The petitioner also suggests that the Wales Bill may provide a route for a more definitive ban on unconventional gas if greater powers over energy are devolved. We can either await progress on the Wales Bill or we can close the petition. I’m very tempted to wait to see what happens with the Wales Bill. Yes? Are you happy with that?

 

[58]      Gareth Bennett: Yes.

 

[59]      Mike Hedges: The next one is ‘Encourage Planning Committees to Ensure that Planning Decisions Take Due Regard of the Impact on, or Closure of Local Community Groups and Voluntary Organisations’. This goes back to 27 September this year, having collected 77 signatures. The committee considered the petition on 27 September. We’ve written to the Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs to seek clarification on how the requirement for local planning authorities to take into account the substance of local views, including any representations made by local community groups, works in practice and the weight that it carries. The Cabinet Secretary responded on 1 November, and we’ve had the response. The petitioner was informed that the petition would be considered by the committee but had not responded when papers for the committee were being finalised. The Cabinet Secretary’s letter indicates that the general merits of community use of facilities should be given consideration when change of usage is being considered, but not the individual circumstances of groups currently using them. Shall we wait for the views of the petitioner, given that we’ve only given them one chance? Yes?

 

[60]      Gareth Bennett: There was also an option of writing to the Wales Council for Voluntary Action.

 

[61]      Mike Hedges: Yes.

 

[62]      Gareth Bennett: Is it worth—[Inaudible.]

 

[63]      Mike Hedges: Yes, write to them as well. Shall we write to the Wales Council for Voluntary Action as well? As people can feel, I like asking the view of third parties when you have two groups in disagreement.

 

[64]      ‘Call for all Welsh Political Parties to Offer Everything Bilingually’, submitted on 23 February 2016, having collected 48 signatures. It was considered for the first time on 23 February this year and we agreed to await the petitioner’s views on the response received from the then Minister for public services. The clerking team e-mailed the petitioner on 13 October and 2 November asking for his comments on this correspondence. The petitioner was informed again by e-mail that the petition would be considered by the committee but had not responded when papers for the committee were being finalised. Neil?

 

[65]      Neil McEvoy: Just see what he says, really. Give him time to respond, I suppose.

 

[66]      Mike Hedges: We’ve given him three chances, on 13 October and 2 November. I haven’t got a date for the third one, but I assume that it’s very recently.

 

[67]      Mr Francis: Yes, well, actually, the first one would have been back in February, following the last meeting of the committee. So, it’s a period of eight months.

 

[68]      Neil McEvoy: I’m not sure how you enforce it, anyway.

 

[69]      Mike Hedges: Pardon.

 

[70]      Neil McEvoy: I’m not sure how you enforce it anyway.

 

[71]      Mike Hedges: Shall we close it, then? I think one of the problems we’ve got is the petitions that have lasted such a long time. I think that’s one thing that we need the committee to give some serious consideration to—we need to be resolving things relatively quickly. When things have lasted such a long time—nine months in this case and some for years—I think the petitioners lose heart. I certainly would.

 

[72]      ‘Remove the Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification’, submitted and first considered on 23 February 2016, with 378 signatures. It was considered on 23 February and we agreed to await the petitioner’s views on the response received from the then Minister for education and training. Again, the clerking team e-mailed the petitioner on 13 October and 2 November asking for his comments on the correspondence. He has, again, been informed via e-mail that the petition would be considered by the committee and has not responded.

 

[73]      Gareth Bennett: The Welsh bacc; it does seem to be a controversial issue. I know the Government stated their position, but I’m just wondering whether that is—. As it does seem to be such a contentious issue, I wonder whether it’s worth us pursuing that as an issue, as a committee.

 

[74]      Neil McEvoy: When did we first write to him?

 

[75]      Mr Francis: Another one that’s similar to the last petition. It was considered by the last committee in February, so, since then essentially.

 

[76]      Mike Hedges: He says February, October and November.

 

[77]      Neil McEvoy: It seems like a young person who’s dissatisfied with the course that he’s done. I’d be interested in maybe giving him a final chance. As a former teacher, I can appreciate the number of qualifications that are undertaken just to earn colleges money. I remember—well, no, sorry. [Laughter.] We should make progress.

 

[78]      Mike Hedges: Okay.

 

[79]      Mr Francis: Just to make you aware, we have a petition that’s just in the process of being submitted now, which hasn’t been accepted and started gathering signatures yet, which is also on the Welsh bacc. So, there’ll be a chance in future to consider that issue.

 

[80]      Mike Hedges: We can pull this back at the same time then. Next is a petition to ‘Cover the Cost of the Bedroom Tax in Wales’. This was submitted by Jamie Insole. I declare an interest: I actually know Jamie. It collected 193 signatures. The committee considered the petition on 23 February, and agreed to await the petitioner’s views to the response received from the then Minister for Communities and Tackling Poverty. The clerking team emailed the petitioner on 30 October and 2 November, asking for his comments on the correspondence, and the petitioner has been informed again, via e-mail. So, again, it hits the three strikes. So, shall we close it?

 

[81]      Janet Finch-Saunders: Yes.

 

[82]      Gareth Bennett: I’m surprised he hasn’t responded because he’s a bit of a professional activist, Jamie Insole.

 

[83]      Mike Hedges: I’m surprised he hasn’t as well.

 

09:32

 

Cynnig o dan Reol Sefydlog 17.42 i Benderfynu Gwahardd y Cyhoedd o’r Cyfarfod
Motion under Standing Order 17.42 to Resolve to Exclude the Public from the Meeting

 

Cynnig:

 

Motion:

 

bod y pwyllgor yn penderfynu gwahardd y cyhoedd o weddill y cyfarfod yn unol â Rheol Sefydlog 17.42(vi).

 

that the committee resolves to exclude the public from the remainder of the meeting in accordance with Standing Order 17.42(vi).

 

Cynigiwyd y cynnig.
Motion moved.

 

[84]      Mike Hedges: Can I now move that the committee agree to resolve to exclude the public from the meeting under Standing Order 17.42? Is that agreed? Yes.

 

Derbyniwyd y cynnig.
Motion agreed.

 

Daeth rhan gyhoeddus y cyfarfod i ben am 09:32.
The public part of the meeting ended at 09:32.