Agenda and minutes
Venue: Committee Room 3 - Senedd. View directions
Contact: Aled Elwyn Jones (Clerk)
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Transcript View the
meeting transcript
(PDF, 45KB). View as HTML
(40KB). |
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Introductions, apologies and substitutions Minutes: The Chair welcomed everyone to the first Business
Committee meeting of the Fifth Assembly.
There were no apologies. |
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Motion under Standing Order 17.42(ix) to resolve to exclude the public from the remainder of this meeting and any future meetings where matters relating to the internal business of the committee, or of the Assembly will be discussed Minutes: The motion was agreed. |
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Assembly Business Minutes: |
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Business Committee Minutes: The Committee agreed to
meet at 8.30am on Tuesday mornings during sitting weeks for the remainder of
the term, but to look at meeting at an alternative time in the new term so as
to have regard for the family responsibilities of Members. Business Managers
agreed to return to the matter at a future meeting as part of the discussion on
the committee timetable as a whole. Business Managers agreed to
meet in private for any future meetings where matters relating to the internal
business of the committee, or of the Assembly will be discussed, and noted that
the resolution agreed at the start of the meeting provided for it to do so.
However, there was consensus across the Committee that the committee should aim
to meet in public more frequently in future. Business Managers agreed that the minutes of
private meetings would be published in English and Welsh within 1 week of their
being agreed by the Committee. |
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Organisation of Business Minutes: Review of the Assembly Timetable Business Managers agreed to
conduct a review of the Assembly timetable, including the scheduling of Plenary
meetings, with a view to increasing the overall capacity for formal Assembly business.
The Committee requested that the Secretariat bring forward a paper with various
options for Business Managers to consider at a future meeting. Plenary The Committee agreed to
publish a provisional timetable for the remainder of this term, with Plenary
meetings at 13.30 on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons, in line with Standing
Orders:
Committees All Members were in favour
in principle of using Monday afternoons as a formal slot of the Assembly
Timetable, as recommended by the predecessor committee, but that any decision
would need to be informed by the wider review of committee structures. Business Managers agreed to
discuss the matter with their groups and return to the issue at a future
meeting. Other Times Business Managers agreed to
continue with the previous arrangement of party groups meeting at 11am on
Tuesdays. Business Managers also
agreed recess dates up until Autumn half term and agreed to return to the
matter at a future meeting to decide on provisional recess dates for Christmas
2016 and Spring 2017, following discussions with Party Groups. EU Referendum Simon Thomas raised the
issue of timetabling business in the run up to the EU referendum and the effect
this may have on Members’ contributions during this period. The Director of Assembly
Business advised that the Political Parties Election and Referendums Act 2000
(PPERA) places restrictions on the Assembly Commission in relation to
publishing material related to the referendum in the 28 days leading up to 23
June. Publication of the record
of the formal business of the Assembly would be captured by these restrictions.
Breach of the Act would not be a criminal offence, so the risk would be a
reputational one. However, the Assembly Commission is required by law to
publish records of our proceedings. Business Managers agreed in
principle to schedule business as usual during the referendum period. However,
Mark Reckless asked for further legal advice on the matter, and asked officials
to look into the possibility of the Assembly asking for a pre-emptive court
declaration to enable Members to debate issues relating to the EU referendum.
The Committee agreed for the Secretariat to provide a note to the next meeting
to clarify the Commission’s legal and statutory obligations before making a
decision. Use of Assembly Time Business Managers agreed to
look at ways of introducing more variety to the use of Assembly time in Plenary,
and asked the Secretariat to bring a paper to a future meeting. Business Managers agreed to
continue with the practice adopted in the Fourth Assembly for scheduling
Individual Member Debates on a regular basis and agreed to schedule one every
other week until the summer recess. The Committee also decided to lower the
threshold for support of a motion from three Members from three different
political groups to three Members from two groups. The Committee also agreed
to schedule up to three hours of opposition debates a week, depending on other
demands on Assembly time. Business Managers considered the most appropriate
division of Assembly time amongst opposition parties and agreed to return to
the issue at the meeting on 8 June. The Committee agreed to hold a Short Debate on a
Wednesday each week and for it to be allocated 30 minutes, however Simon Thomas
expressed the view that Short Debates should be reviewed as part of the review
of Assembly time. |
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Committees Minutes: Business Managers
considered papers setting out the decisions the Committee would need to take in
establishing a committee system and procedures for electing committee chairs. Simon Thomas questioned
whether Kirsty Williams AM would be permitted to have a seat on a committee
while also being a member of the government. The Head of Policy and Legislation
Committee Service advised that although, by convention, Members of the
Government have not sat on an Assembly committee, Standing Orders do not
prevent them doing so. The Liberal Democrat Member’s entitlement to a committee
seat therefore remained, though it would be a matter for her as to whether she
wanted to take it up or not. There was a general
consensus that committee size should be reduced compared to the Fourth
Assembly. Business Managers agreed to discuss options with their groups. The committee also
considered the previous Business Committee’s recommendation that the core structure
of joint policy and legislation committees should be maintained in the Fifth
Assembly. Jane Hutt and Mark Reckless were in favour of maintaining this
structure, stating that it allowed Members who had developed an expertise in
policy areas to also scrutinise legislation on those subjects. Simon Thomas and
Paul Davies however suggested that having at least some separate legislation
committees would reduce the workload pressures of some committees, which was an
issue during the last Assembly. Paul Davies raised
committee remits and that they should mirror the portfolios of Cabinet
Secretaries, which was not the case in the Fourth Assembly. Simon Thomas also
suggested a separate committee to scrutinise EU legislation and referenced the
Communities, Equality and Local Government Committee’s remit in the Fourth
Assembly as being particularly broad resulting in a disproportionate workload. Business Managers noted a
recommendation in the paper on committees that should more time be needed to
come to a definitive view on these matters, certain arrangements should be put
in place for certain committees to consider urgent matters such as subordinate
legislation, finance, the Wales Bill and the outcome of the EU referendum. The Committee requested a
further detailed paper outlining options for possible committee structures
including suggested models for committee remits and procedures for electing
committee chairs, based on the discussions of the Committee, to be considered
at the next meeting after 8 June. In the meantime, the Presiding Officer asked
Business Managers to discuss options with their Groups. |
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Other Business Minutes: Assembly Commission Business Managers agreed to
table a motion to appoint the Assembly Commissioners, in accordance with
Standing Order 7.1, for the Plenary meeting of 8 June. The Committee noted that
in order to do so, Standing Orders would need to be suspended to allow the
motion to take place on 8 June as this would exceed requirement to appoint
Commissioners no more than 10 days following the appointment of the Business
Committee The Committee asked that it
be minuted that Members considered it unfortunate that Standing Orders had to
be breached in this way, and agreed to review the 10 day requirement in
Standing Orders as it was not clear what purpose it served. Principles and Practice for
Tabling and Laying Assembly Business Business Managers noted a
paper on the Principles and Practice for Tabling and Laying Assembly Business. |
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Next meeting Minutes: Business Managers agreed to
meet at 9am on 8 June to agree the three week timetable of Assembly Business
and to meet again following Plenary on 8 June or on Thursday morning 9 June to
consider the matters that had been referred for discussion with groups. |
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Any Other Business The Presiding Officer urged
Business Managers to ask their Members not to take photos in the Chamber during
proceedings and reminded them that no food and drink are allowed in the
Chamber, except for the glasses of water provided for Members in the Cwrt. |