Extract from Wales Parliament Business statement - Mar 13

Wednesday, 14 March 2018 07:37

Jane Hutt AM: Leader of the house, can I welcome again the statement made by Jayne Bryant, the Chair of the Standards of Conduct Committee, last week on the dignity and respect policy? And can you clarify whether a date has been allocated for the debate on the policy, for all Members to support? And will the leader of the house consider funding a Wales-wide...Request free trial

Jane Hutt AM: Leader of the house, can I welcome again the statement made by Jayne Bryant, the Chair of the Standards of Conduct Committee, last week on the dignity and respect policy? And can you clarify whether a date has been allocated for the debate on the policy, for all Members to support? And will the leader of the house consider funding a Wales-wide survey on sexual harassment, as proposed by SiÃ¢n Gwenllian, as part of a national conversation on sexual harassment, which also Jayne Bryant welcomed last week in her response to her statement?

And, secondly, can you clarify with the Minister for Environment whether the environmental impact assessment has been instigated, which she agreed would be required for the latest planning application for the biomass incinerator in Barry? Residents were severely disturbed over the weekend by noisy pre-commissioning work at the incinerator, with a plume discharge. And has the biomass company replied to the letter of 14 February from the Welsh Government regarding the environmental impact assessment requiring response by 7 March 2018?

Julie James AM (Leader of the House and Chief Whip): Taking those in reverse order: the developer, I understand, has responded to the letter issued by the Welsh Government. Officials are currently considering the representations made before a final decision on the need for an EIA is made. Residents who have been affected by the activities that Jane Hutt has mentioned several times in this Chamberâ€”our advice is for them to raise their concerns with the Vale of Glamorgan Council, who will be able to investigate them.

In terms of the statement by the Chair of the standards committee, I don't think we have a definitive date, but we are considering that as part of the Government timetable for the next term, as we're now only a week away from the Easter recess. I have actually commissioned a study into sexual harassment and misogynistic hate crimes via the Police and Crime Commissioners of Wales. When we've had that back, we will be looking to see what we can do in terms of a wider survey around sexual harassment, and I'll be working very closely with the Chair of the standards committee to make sure that we can factor that into any of the actions that we take in the future.