petitions committee celebrates its first year

Its been a busy few days for me, and now I have time to sit down and blog. I was privileged that Huw Lewis responded so quickly to my blog on his comments on devolution. I have read his article on this issue, but I based my blog on the general BBC story to clarify to all. I'm pleased that Huw is so passionate about devolution, and that he has emphasised his commitment to the process. I need never attack him again on this matter.

Yesterday a delegation of the cross party group on eating disorders met with Edwina Hart to discuss the future strategy for eating disorders in Wales. I will expand on developments in due course, but I can say that it was a very productive meeting, and we all came out with smiles on our faces! Sarah Aldritt, a young woman who is recovering from an eating disorder came to the meeting also, and put forward her opinions to the Minister regarding the lack of access to Dietitians in Wales, and a carer- Martin Ball also came along to provide the Minister with a valuable insight in to his experiences caring for a daughter with an eating disorder. Health professionals were also present, and could obviously provide the Minister with expert knowledge of what is happening in the Trusts and LHBs ( if anything) regarding the treatment of eating disorders in Wales.

Yesterday I also attended the launch of the AMs photo display at the Senedd. Many AMs took part, and the photos are there are week at the Senedd for you to look at. I took pictures around the theme of the 'Iron Lady'. I'll post them here for you to look at!

I also took part in a petitions committee event last night to mark a year since the establishment of the petitions committee. It was a hugely successful event, and Andy Williamson from the Hansard society chaired a panel debate about the petitions system, and how we are developing it here in Wales. We have had over 100 petitions now, and the committee is going from strength to strength.

Today I attended the Unison/Unite public sector pay rally at The Point in Cardiff Bay. I'm hoping to go and meet those who are on strike at the Bridgend picket line tomorrow. Its an issue that is totally unacceptable. When MPs can award themselves hefty pay rises and such, its unacceptable that those in the public sector are not been rewarded the pay rise they deserve. London Labour undermining the workers in the public sector again. No surprises there.

Westminster e-petitions event

I've just got back from London where I took part in a panel debate hosted by the Hansard society on e-petitions at Portcullis House. The procedure committee at Westminster instigated a review in to e-petitions last year, and the event was held to discuss the effectiveness of such systems, and the development of the democratic process.

The procedure committee has put a series of recommendations forward to the Government in order to develop a new e-petitions system which may be introduced instead of the 10 Downing Street petitions system, which currently does not put any obligation on Ministers to react to various petitions ( the conjestion charge petition being a case in point). This system would call for Ministers to reply to any correspondence arising from petitions within a set time, and for at least 3 petitions to be discussed on the floor of Parliament within a year. The procedure committee may have the potential to be the gatekeeper for such petitions, to help petitioners word their petitions effectively, and they may also refer any petition to a select committee to consider in greater detail. It will be interesting to see what the Government's response will be to these new proposals, especially as the Prime Minister has just launched an 'Ask the PM' youtube site to try and engage with the younger voters( although any questions asked will not be replied to until mid June!) As I mentioned in my speech, perhaps it is time for Westminster to follow Wales's lead.....

We launched our e-petitions system in April and we have had at least 10 e-petitions so far ( one to pull down the display of Thatcher...interesting!) and so far I believe that the petitions committee has been a success in terms of providing a clear link with the electorate here in Wales. We did our first site visit only two weeks ago to Blaenau Gwent to see plans for a bypass that local people are calling for so that lorries do not continually drive past the only school in the area. Going out on such visits gives us as committee members a clearer idea of what the petitioners have in mind, and how we can best help them in their campaign. We are also organising to take the petitions committee out to other areas of Wales considering the success of our North Wales meeting. Of course, publicising the petitions system is integral, and I hope that we can use the summer festivals to raise awareness of what the petitions system has to offer.