Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed Members to the meeting.

Luke Fletcher MS sent his apologies.

The Committee considered the petition and agreed to write to:

• the Deputy Minister to ask about the specific timescales for the development of Magor station, and whether it could be expedited sooner as a ‘quick win’ as part of the plan by the Delivery Unit; and

the train companies, First Great Western and Transport for Wales, asking when they will be ready to run trains to and from Magor, and what specific barriers, if any, exist on site to prevent them doing it sooner.

The Committee considered the petition and noted the Minister’s commitment to take any necessary action that the Roads Review recommends to improve safety at this junction. In light of the Minister’s commitment Members agreed to close the petition and thank the petitioner.

The Committee considered the petition and noted that allegations have been investigated by the University, the Police force are aware of the issue and the Minister is not able to intervene. In light of this Members agreed that they cannot progress this petition, closed the petition and thanked the petitioner.

The Committee considered the petition and noted that the Deputy Minister has been clear about the reasoning for the Real Living Wage to be paid to those social care workers required to register with Social Care Wales. In light of this, Members agreed that it is difficult to see what else the Committee could do at this time and closed the petition and thanked petitioner.

The Committee considered the petition noted the extensive work recently undertaken by the Senedd’s Equality and Social Justice Committee, which was published and debated earlier this year.

Members agreed to write back to the Deputy Minister sharing the petitioner’s correspondence and asking her to address:

• how will the Welsh Government ensure sufficiency of provision across the whole of Wales;
• how will the Welsh Government ensure provision is available earlier in the morning and later in the evening and for those who work different hours; and

what plans are there to provide universal support for parents who require childcare provision.

The Committee considered the petition and agreed to revisit it in six months’ time to see what progress has been made.

The Committee considered the petition and agreed to write back to the Minister asking her to address some unanswered questions arising from the plenary debate. 

The Committee reconsidered the petition in light of further correspondence received and agreed to write back to the Minister to ask what arrangements are in place to support self-catering businesses who will be unable to meet the occupancy level due to lack of demand, in particular during the next year or two and if statistics show a sharp decline in self-catering properties, whether the Welsh Government revisit the occupancy rates and consider reviewing them.

The motion was agreed.