Y Pwyllgor Deisebau - Y Bumed Senedd

Petitions Committee - Fifth Senedd

17/11/2020

Aelodau'r Pwyllgor a oedd yn bresennol

Committee Members in Attendance

Jack Sargeant
Janet Finch-Saunders Cadeirydd y Pwyllgor
Committee Chair
Leanne Wood
Neil McEvoy

Swyddogion y Senedd a oedd yn bresennol

Senedd Officials in Attendance

Graeme Francis Clerc
Clerk
Mared Llwyd Ail Glerc
Second Clerk
Samiwel Davies Cynghorydd Cyfreithiol
Legal Adviser
Steffan Lewis Dirprwy Glerc
Deputy Clerk

Cofnodir y trafodion yn yr iaith y llefarwyd hwy ynddi yn y pwyllgor. Yn ogystal, cynhwysir trawsgrifiad o’r cyfieithu ar y pryd. Lle 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.

Cyfarfu'r pwyllgor drwy gynhadledd fideo.

Dechreuodd y cyfarfod am 09:01.

The committee met by video-conference.

The meeting began at 09:01. 

1. Cyflwyniad, ymddiheuriadau, dirprwyon a datganiadau o fuddiant
1. Introduction, apologies, substitutions and declarations of interest

Good morning, bore da. I welcome everyone to this virtual meeting of the Petitions Committee. In accordance with Standing Order 34.19, I have determined that the public are excluded from attending this committee meeting in order to protect public health. The meeting is, however, broadcast live on Senedd.tv and all participants will be joining by video-conference. The meeting is bilingual and translation is available. A Record of Proceedings will also be published. Aside from the procedural adaptations relating to conducting business remotely, all other Standing Order requirements remain in place.

So, we have apologies and substitutions. We have had apologies from Michelle Brown. 

2. Deisebau newydd
2. New petitions

Item 2, new petitions—these are on COVID-19. Item 2.1 is P-05-1038, 'Adapt Local Lockdown message to "Stay Local" instead of by county borders'. This is page 46 in your pack. This petition was submitted by Jayne Abigail Evans, having collected 193 signatures. The petition refers to local lockdown rules and travel restrictions that were in place at the time the petition was submitted but which no longer apply. A response was received from the First Minister on 29 October. The petitioner was offered the opportunity to provide further information in advance of the meeting but has not done so. So, I invite Members to discuss this petition and any actions you wish the committee to take. Neil.

Thanks, Chair. The petition makes sense to me, but I think things have moved on now and we're in a different place. So, I think we can note the petition, thank the petitioner and close it on that basis.

Are all Members in agreement? Okay. 

Moving on, 2.2, P-05-1039, 'Allow amateur athletes within a lockdown area to continue to train and be coached outside of the area'. The petition was submitted by Kelly Brookin, having collected 176 signatures. The text of the petition is:             

'Deeside ice rink is currently being used as a field hospital resulting in our skaters having to travel to Widnes ice rink as it’s our nearest rink. Local lockdown rules now prevent them from training as they can’t travel out of the area. For the majority of sports, facilities are still available within the lockdown area but for Ice Skating this is not the case. Not allowing these skaters to train can have a detrimental impact on their physical and mental well being.'

Now, a response was received from the Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism on 28 October. The petitioner was offered the opportunity to provide further information in advance of the meeting but has not done so. How would you like—? Jack.

Thanks, Chair. As you know, the constituent is from my constituency and Deeside ice rink is a big, special venue that we have there. Similar to what Neil said, I think we've moved on slightly, but it's a little bit different, because, obviously, they mention travel over to England, which is currently not allowed, given the four-week lockdown there. I'm not sure what more the Petitions Committee could do. However, I would suggest we could write to the Deputy Minister just again to stress the importance, when he has those conversations with the UK Government that, perhaps in the future—hopefully, we don't see any other future local lockdowns, but if they do take place, then travel is permitted, and that is a reasonable excuse to travel across the border to the next nearest local ice rink, if committee members would agree.

09:05

Okay. Do all Members support that? Could I have some indication that you support it? Thank you.

Item 2.3, P-05-1042, 'Support SMEs in hair and beauty industry during local lockdowns'. The petition was submitted by Charlotte Louise Griffiths, having collected 1,070 signatures. The petition text refers to local lockdown rules and travel restrictions, which were in place at the time the petition was submitted, but that no longer apply.

For background, a response was received from the Minister for Economy, Transport and North Wales on 26 October. A research brief has been provided. The petitioner was offered the opportunity to provide further information in advance of this meeting, but has not done so. How would you like to take this forward? Neil.

Thanks, Chair. Similar to the other petitions, really, I think the petition is really valid. I think businesses have been through hell, really, with the lockdowns, but we're in a different place now, so I think there's little more that we can do at the moment with this petition.

Okay. All Members in agreement? Okay, thank you.

So, we move on now to 2.4, P-05-1055, 'Cancel GCSE and A level examinations'. The petition was submitted by Bethan Hellard, having collected 2,088 signatures, and the text of the petition reads

'Students throughout Wales have suffered enough strain on their education without the added pressure of self-isolation within year groups. Covid should not provide an added stress to pupils worrying about their future exams or university entries. Teachers that have been tracking our progress throughout the year should be held responsible for our end of year grades as they know our mental capacity best. It should not be down to unprecedented examinations.'

So, a response was received from the Minister for Education on 27 October. The petitioner has provided further comments. Then, on 10 November, the Minister made a statement to announce that there should be no end-of-year exams for GCSE, AS and A-level qualifications in 2021. So, how would you like to take this petition forward? Jack.

Thanks, Chair. I think the petition has done its job, hasn't it? It's run its course, really, so I think we congratulate the petitioner for this petition, and I suggest we close the petition on that basis, because there's no more we can do.

Okay, all Members agreed? Thank you.

Item 2.5, P-05-1065, 'Re-opening schools for year 11 pupils rather than year 8, from 2nd November onwards'. The petition was submitted by Cai White, having collected 63 signatures. Now, this petition text refers to school reopening during the second week of the firebreak lockdown, which no longer applies, following the full reopening of schools for all year groups from 9 November. Now, a response was received from the Minister for Education on 2 November. The petitioner was offered the opportunity to provide further information in advance of this meeting but has not done so. So, I invite Members to discuss the petition and any actions you wish us to take as a committee. Jack.

Thanks, Chair. I think we're in the same position again, aren't we? I don't think we can take this further forward now, we've moved to a different place, so if we note the petition and thank the petitioner then, and close it.

Okay. All Members agreed? Yes.

Other new petitions, 2.6, P-05-1032, 'Legislate to prevent people from changing Welsh house names'. This petition was submitted by Robin Aled Davies, having collected 18,103 signatures. The text of the petition:

'There is a pattern throughout Wales where new owners are changing their house names into English.'

Now, a response was received from the Minister for Mental Health, Well-being and Welsh Language on 30 October. A research brief has been provided, and the petitioner has provided further comments. So I invite Members to discuss this and any actions you wish the committee to take. Leanne.

09:10

Thank you, Chair. Clearly, many people feel strongly about this issue, and that is evidenced by the number of people who have signed this petition. My colleague Dr Dai Lloyd put forward legislation back in 2017 to protect Welsh place names, and unfortunately that legislation wasn’t supported to go forward. The Culture, Welsh Language and Communications Committee has looked into this, and they’ve concluded that the Welsh Government should keep a list under active review and should be willing to introduce further protection for historic place names if it doesn’t prove effective. And we’ve considered petitions regarding this before. Now, I accept it’s difficult to protect house names, and it may be easier to protect other Welsh place names. And I would like to see the legislation that Dr Dai Lloyd put forward brought back, and I would like to see it supported by the Government. But regardless of any of that—I may have to accept that we lost that particular battle—given that the committee has looked at this before, then we can ask them, I think, if they intend to provide an update or look into the situation again.

Given that it’s got 18,000 signatures, we should support it moving forward for a debate in the Senedd. Now, I do understand that we’re very tight on time in terms of the slots available between now and the end of term, but even if it’s difficult to find a debate slot for this debate now, then I would like this petition to be considered, when we come to the end of this committee’s work, for the report that we provide for the future committee, if it exists after this term in this same form, so that this is kept on the agenda, because I don’t think (a) we can afford to lose it in terms of the political issue, as it’s too important to the Welsh language and our history, and many other aspects of Welsh life as well, but we’ve also got to give this an airing given the numbers of people who have supported this petition. And I’d like to say a big thank you to the petitioners for bringing this forward to us.

Thanks, Chair. Yes, I strongly support moving this to a debate in Plenary. I think we’re losing far too much of our own indigenous culture here in Wales, and I’m also a bit disappointed that local action has not been taken, because it’s very cheap to change the name of a house. I think it’s £60 in Gwynedd, for example. So one local way of altering that situation would be to see a large increase in the fee for changing the names of houses. The advice given by Government is just advice on name changes; it’s not actually statutory. So, in effect, local authorities could charge what they want. Therefore, I strongly support the suggestion to put this to a full debate in Plenary.

Okay. All right, Clerk, you know the intentions going forward. If this could be put forward for debate. Thank you.

Moving on, 2.7, P-05-1040, 'Introduce a moratorium on the approval any new large scale waste incinerators in Wales'. Page 82 in your pack. This petition was submitted by Amanda Jenner, having collected 891 signatures online and 47 on paper, a total of 938 signatures. And the text of the petition reads,

'Given the effort to become a circular, zero waste economy, Welsh Government should introduce a moratorium on the development of any new waste incinerators, (including energy from waste) & halt the progression of any incinerator planning applications which are at the pre-application/pre-approval stages. Burning waste results in emissions, including Co2 which is not currently restricted under incinerator regs.'

So, a response was received from the Minister for Housing and Local Government on 23 October. A research brief has been provided, and the petitioner has provided further comments. So, I invite Members to discuss this and what actions you'd like to take going forward. Neil.

09:15

Thanks, Chair. Getting rid of other people's waste seems to be one of the few growth industries in Wales right now, and it just seems that developers are targeting Wales to throw up incinerators without any consideration for where they're actually going. There's one proposed in the middle of the estate in Trowbridge in Cardiff, which is completely unacceptable for many, many people. I'd like to write back to the Minister and inquire whether or not non-recyclable waste will be transported into Wales to support the viability of the incinerators, and whether or not they intend also to import any kind of waste into Wales to incinerate. If they do actually import non-recyclable waste, then how is that going to impact upon the recycling figures for Wales? And I think I'd like a decent explanation from the Minister as to why they think that burning waste is in any way acceptable when waste can be recycled.

If we are going to write to the Minister on this, I'd like to know what has changed in the light of the decision by China to no longer accept recycled waste from the UK in the form of plastics. I'm not entirely sure what has happened to the waste that we used to send to China. Do we now send it to another country? Do we now send it to incineration? So, if we could, in addition to the questions that have already been suggested that we ask in the letter, ask that as well, because I think that there's a bigger picture here, and there's no doubt that there are attempts to make Wales a kind of hub for these incineration plants. We've been saying this for 10 or 15 years, and they keep coming. So, I wonder at what point we've reached saturation in terms of these incineration plants. So, there's a number of questions that we can ask there. And, I think then, we can take a further decision about where we go next after we've seen what the Minister's got to say. 

Okay. Do all Members agree? Okay. Thank you.

Item 2.8, P-05-1044, 'Set up a Natural History GCSE to help prepare future generations to tackle the threats facing nature.' This petition was submitted by Robert Curtis, having collected 210 signatures. And the text reads, 

'Our natural world has never faced so many man made challenges and threats. The creation of a Welsh Natural History GCSE is now needed more than ever before. We must give future generations the skills and knowledge, which would enable them to tackle many of these global issues.

'Re-engagement with the natural world must become a priority of the Welsh Government. Wales could lead the way in preparing our children with the tools needed to tackle the climate emergency and species extinction crises.'

Now, a response was received from the Minister for Education on 21 October. A research brief has been provided, and the petitioner was offered the opportunity to provide further information in advance of the meeting, but has not done so. How would you like to go forward? Leanne. 

I think this is a really good point, and if we've got a Government in Wales that is really serious about tackling the climate crisis, then equipping young people with the skills that they need to be able to do that in the future is essential. That said, the development of the curriculum Bill is ongoing, and that work is in front of a committee, which is scrutinising that work. So, I think we need to let the committee do that work. We can perhaps bring the petition to the attention of Qualifications Wales, and to make sure that the legislation scrutiny committee is prepared to take this point on board. And, then, I think, if we can do all that, we can close the petition.

09:20
3. Y wybodaeth ddiweddaraf am ddeisebau blaenorol
3. Updates to previous petitions

Moving to updates to previous petitions, 3.1, P-05-941, 'Biodiversity Remit for NRW'. The petition was submitted by the Initiative For Nature Conservation Cymru, and was first considered in February 2020, having collected 1,195 signatures. The background is that the committee has now considered this petition on four occasions. We last considered it on 29 September, agreeing to write to the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs, to ask her to give further consideration to whether Natural Resources Wales has sufficient resources to ensure that it can appropriately prioritise work on biodiversity, in addition to its other responsibilities. A response was received from the Minister on 29 October, and the petitioner has provided further comments. How would you like to go forward? Jack.

Thanks, Chair. If I'm right, the Climate Change, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee in the Senedd are going to be taking a short inquiry forward on biodiversity in Wales, so perhaps it's best to send the petition and the information we've received on to that committee. I think that's where they'll get the most out of this. And with doing that, we could close the petition and let them take forward the work that needs to be taken forward.

So, we've had a proposal on this petition. Do all Members agree? Thank you, Jack.

P-05-945, 'The Climate Emergency and a National Forest for Wales'. The petition was submitted by Coed Cadw—the Woodland Trust in Wales—and was first considered in March 2020, having collected 4,354 signatures. We first considered this petition on 10 March, agreeing to provide the detailed comments provided by the petitioners to the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs, and to seek a further response to the issues and questions raised, particularly in relation to tree and woodland policies and targets for tree planting. A response was received from the Minister on 14 October, and the petitioners have provided further comments. What actions would you like to take as a committee? Neil.

Thanks, Chair. I think we could note the further detailed responses received, and also, given that the petitioner is now involved in the woodland strategy advisory panel, I wonder whether or not there's anything more we can do. So, we could possibly thank the petitioner and close the petition.

Okay. We have a proposal there to close this petition and to thank the petitioner. Do all Members agree? Okay.

Moving on, 3.3, P-05-868, 'Water Safety/Drowning Prevention and the effects of Cold Water Shock to be taught in all Schools in Wales'. This is page 121 in your packs. This petition was submitted by Carmarthenshire Water Safety Partnership, and was first considered in April 2019, having collected 896 signatures. Now, the background to this petition: the committee has now considered the petition on five occasions. We last considered it on 29 September, whilst agreeing to await the anticipated launch of a Wales water safety strategy and further views from the petitioner, before considering whether to take further action. The petitioner has provided further comments. How would you like to go forward, Members? Anyone? Leanne.

I don't think there's anywhere further that we can take this now, given that there's going to soon be a launch of the Wales water safety strategy. And the Welsh Government's position on the non-prescriptive nature of the new curriculum means that they're not going to really take any further action, I think, with regards to this now. So, I think we can close the petition, and thank the petitioner, and that we'll avoid this petition coming back before this committee a sixth time.

Okay. Thank you, Leanne. So a proposal's been made. Do all Members agree? Thank you.

So, now under health and social services, 3.4, P-05-974, 'Ensure the technology of prosthetic limbs provided within the Welsh NHS is equal to the rest of the UK', page 135. The petition was submitted by David Bradley and was first considered in September 2020, having collected 561 signatures. The committee first considered this on 15 September and we agreed to write back to the Minister for Health and Social Services to ask for details of when the Welsh Health Specialised Services Committee will carry out a review of the service specification for prosthetics, and for an explanation of why the position in relation to access to microprocessor-controlled prosthetics is different in Wales. Now, a response was received from the Minister on 2 November and the petitioner has provided further comments. So, again, I invite Members to discuss this and any actions you wish us to take as a committee. Leanne.

09:25

Could we write back to the Minister to ask just this one specific question as to why the position is different in Wales? We're getting a lot of information, but this key question that the petitioner wants to know is that, really. So, if we could do that, that would be helpful, I think. And we could write to the Welsh Health Specialised Services Committee as well to ask the reasoning behind why these microprocessor-controlled prostheses are not available though the current service specification and for a timetable for the review of the current service specification. If we could do that, I think that would help move this petition along.

Thank you. Do all Members agree? Okay.

So, the next one, 3.5—. Can I just check that we do have a clerk?

Yes, I'm here. Sorry. I think Graeme's lost connection. Hopefully he'll be back on soon.

Thank you, Mared.

So, moving on, 3.5, P-05-960, 'Fund the funeral costs of all NHS staff who die from or with Covid-19'. The petition was submitted by Professors Jane Henderson and Karin Wahl-Jorgensen and was first considered in May 2020, having collected 414 signatures. 

The committee has now considered the petition on four occasions. We last considered this on 29 September whilst agreeing to note the Minister’s intention to consider further advice and write again to the committee once this has been received. An update was received from the Minister on 3 November and the petitioners have provided further comments. How would you like to go forward? Neil.

I'd like to be guided by the petitioners and write back to the Minister and ask whether or not the option to administer the scheme through funeral homes and to pay a fixed sum, representing the average cost of a funeral, was considered as part of the review, as proposed by the petitioners. I wouldn't want to let this one drop at the moment. 

I wouldn't want to let this drop either. I think it's a matter of basic principle that, when people who are risking their lives, and actually lose their life, in the pursuit of public service, everything is done by all of us as taxpayers to support the families in that situation. I'm not happy. I am disappointed with the response that we've had and I do want us, as a committee, to write back and ask them to look at this again. 

Yes, there has been provision of a £60,000 payment to families, and yes, it is difficult to draw the line between who's an NHS worker, who provides care and all of those things, but it's not beyond the wit of humans to be able to do this, and given the situation that we're in and given the expectations that we're putting on these workers—they risk their lives every day when they go to work—the very least we could do as a Government, as a Parliament, as tax-paying citizens, is to give their families the knowledge, and them the peace of mind that, should the worst happen, they are going to be taken care of. And there are ways of determining the average cost of a funeral. Yes, of course, costs vary, but there are ways of doing that, and we should be guided by the petitioners in what they say on that issue in our response back to the Government on this.  

09:30

Thank you. So, moving on—culture, sport and tourism, 3.6, P-05-1006, 'Release the £59 million to the arts to prevent local grassroots music venues from closure'. The petition was submitted by Neil Bates, and was first considered in September 2020, having collected 100 signatures. Now, the committee first considered this petition on 29 September, and we agreed to write back to the Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism to ask why the full £59 million consequential funding has not been utilised for the cultural recovery fund, and also how the Government intends to use the resources at its disposal to ensure that buildings used as music venues are protected during the pandemic and not lost to redevelopment or other purposes. The committee indicated its intention to close the petition once this information had been received. A response was received from the Deputy Minister on 22 October. The petitioner was offered the opportunity to provide further information in advance of this meeting, but has not done so. So, again, I invite Members to discuss and let us know of your wishes to take forward. Leanne.  

I think we've got no option other than to close this petition now. There's still a question for me over the missing £6 million; £59 million is what was the consequential for the cultural recovery fund, and the Deputy Minister has outlined financial support, which includes the cultural recovery fund, which amounts to £53 million. So, the sharp mathematicians amongst people will recognise that there is a shortfall there. And I've written to the Government a number of times, and asked questions in Plenary, as to this £6 million—where is it going—and I've still not received any answers. So, clearly, the Government is not keen to give us answers on that particular question, but, for now, I'll let that go and propose that we close this petition, because we're not going to be able to take this issue any further, now. 

Okay. Do all Members agree? Okay.

Item 3.7, P-05-1013, 'Provide financial support for self-employed individuals within the Welsh live music industry.' It's page 147. The petition was submitted by Peter Phillips, and was first considered in September 2020, having collected 189 signatures. The background to this is that the committee first considered this on 29 September, noting the financial support for individuals due to be available from 5 October. The committee agreed to write back to the Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism to seek further information about the eligibility criteria for the funding available to individual freelancers and ask how the Government will keep that criteria under review if evidence shows that people employed in this sector fall through the gaps. A response was received from the Deputy Minister on 28 October, and the petitioner has provided further comments. How would you like to go forward? Leanne. 

Can we write back to the Minister about the freelancer fund? There are so many people who have fallen through the gaps of support in the various forms. The fact that you can claim a maximum of £2,500—. If you've been a musician who's not been able to play a gig since March, then, first of all, that's not going to go very far, and the petitioner points out that the fund operates on a first come, first served basis and ran out really quickly. It's clear that there needs to be more resource put into that fund, as well as changes to the criteria and the maximum limit, so that freelance musicians can be supported, or otherwise we're not going to have anybody able to play music at the end of this, because all these musicians are going to have to go and get other jobs, and they may not go back into the music industry, and then we'll all be poorer, won't we? 

Yes, Chair, I do agree. I'd just like to note as well that it's wider—. I know this petition is focused on music, but it is a little bit wider than that, isn't it? The wedding industry, in particular—I'm looking at photographers in the wedding industry at the moment, and they're falling through the gaps. So, whether or not that could be mentioned as a wider point in the letter to the Minister—I think that would be welcomed for all.

09:35

Okay. 

So, moving forward, item 3.8—this is under housing and local government—P-05-1007, 'Merge Hope and Caergwrle into a two-member ward in the County of Flintshire'. The petition was submitted by David John Healey, and was first considered in September 2020, having collected 282 signatures. Now, the committee considered this for the first time on 29 September, and we agreed to write back to the Minister for Housing and Local Government to share the concerns of the petitioner over enacting boundary changes during the coronavirus pandemic, and also to ask what consideration the Minister has given to pausing the review process in light of the current situation, and also whether other factors, such as community cohesion, should be given increased weight by the boundary commission as a result. Now, a response was received on 2 November, and the petitioner has provided further comments. How would you like to take this forward? Jack.

Thanks, Chair. As I previously stated, when this petition first came to the committee, for the record, I do know the petitioner well, and I know the two councillors from Hope and Caergwrle well as well. So, in terms of where the petition's gone, I don't think we can move it any further forward. I think the fact that the petitioner's accepted the response from the Minister says it all, but I would like to thank the petitioner and the councillors for what they do on a day-to-day basis. I suggest we close this petition, given the fact we can't take it further.

Okay. Any further comments from Members? No. Everybody agree with those actions? Okay.

So now, under education, 3.9, P-05-1021, 'Do not make face masks or face coverings mandatory in ANY (inc secondary) schools'. The petition was submitted by Lindsey Jones and was first considered in October 2020, having collected 214 signatures. The committee considered this petition for the first time on 13 October, and we agreed to write back to the Minister for Education to ask what guidance is made available to pupils about the wearing of face coverings, and what is being done to facilitate the safe and environmentally friendly disposal of face masks in schools. Also, we agreed to await further comments from the petitioner. A response was received from the Minister on 2 November, and the petitioner was offered the opportunity to provide further information in advance of the meeting, but has not done so, and has not commented since the petition was submitted. So, I invite Members to make a decision on this petition, please. Neil.

I think we could close the petition because, according to the guidance, face coverings are not obligatory anyway, and, obviously, the lack of contact from the petitioner also.

Are all Members agreed? Okay.

Moving forward, 3.10, P-05-1008, 'Teach mental health first aid in schools in Wales'. The petition was submitted by Jonny Alcock, and was first considered in September 2020, having collected 222 signatures. The committee considered the petition for the first time on 29 September, and we agreed to await the views of the petitioner on the response received from the Minister for Education before considering the petition further. The petitioner has now provided further comments. So, I invite Members to—. Jack.

Thank you, Chair. Firstly, I must say, I think this is a fantastic petition, and really one that's stuck with me. I think it was a really important matter before coronavirus, and no doubt after coronavirus it's perhaps more relevant to many people. Given the action taken forward and the petitioner's comments to the committee—that he's reassured, I think, from the words said from the Minister and the action by the children and young people committee and the Welsh Youth Parliament—I think we can close this petition. I don't think there's much more we can do apart from thank the petitioner, but certainly note our thanks for the importance and bringing this to the attention of us.

09:40

Okay. Do all Members agree? Okay. 

Thank you. Now, I think there are eight petitions here on which we've had no recent contact from the petitioner. I'll go through the names of them. But the committee have been awaiting further petitioner comments from the following petitions, with a view to deciding whether it is able to take any further action once these have been received. The petitioners have all been regularly contacted over recent months to offer the opportunity to provide comments, but none have been received. Therefore, the committee's invited to conclude that the petitioners no longer wish to actively pursue the petitions, and to agree to close them at this stage. Individual background has been provided on each of the petitions, for Members' information. So, I therefore invite Members to agree to close the remaining petitions on today's agenda in light of the absence of further contact from the petitioners. So, the first one is 3.11, P-05-951, 'Impose a legal limit on the maximum number of breeding bitches in licensed dog breeding establishments in Wales'. Members to close—agreed?

Okay. I'll read them out, and then you say if you wish any other action. So, 3.12, P-05-952, 'Revert to Welsh language spelling of place-names'.

This is covered by the previous petition that had 18,000 signatures, so I think we can close this too, Chair.

Thank you. Item 3.13, P-05-953, 'Ban Single Use Plastic Milk Bottles in schools'.

Item 3.14, P-05-961, 'Lower the age for breast cancer screening in Wales from 50 to 30'.

Item 3.15, P-05-999, 'Implement a minimum of 1 metre social distancing in all Primary Schools in September 2020'.

Okay. Item 3.16, P-05-1012, 'Oxygen chamber therapy for fibromyalgia patients on the NHS'.

Item 3.17, P-05-1016, 'Extend the new Green Homes Grant to Wales' and 3.18, P-05-1020, 'Introduce an Appeals process in Wales for all Centre Assessed Grades for 2020 public exam programme'.

4. Cynnig o dan Reol Sefydlog 17.42 i benderfynu gwahardd y cyhoedd o'r cyfarfod
4. Motion under Standing Order 17.42 to resolve to exclude the public from the meeting

So, having closed those, we move on to item 4, a motion under Standing Order 17.42 to resolve to exclude the public from the meeting for the following business. That's item 4 on your agenda. 

Cynnig:

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

Motion:

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.

I propose in accordance with Standing Order 17.42 that the committee resolves to meet in private for the remainder of today's meeting. Are Members content? Thank you. So, I now close the meeting. Thank you. Diolch.

Derbyniwyd y cynnig.

Daeth rhan gyhoeddus y cyfarfod i ben am 09:43.

Motion agreed.

The public part of the meeting ended at 09:43.