Assembly Members will be more responsive to current issues affecting the people of Wales with the introduction of topical questions in Plenary today.The Assembly’s Business Committee, which is responsible for organising Assembly proceedings, agreed the change at its meeting on the 21 March and was subsequently approved by the Assembly on Wednesday 5 April.
It means Members are be able to submit questions about a matter of local, regional or national interest up to the morning of Plenary on a Wednesday.
At the same time, the current facility for Urgent Questions has been renamed Emergency Questions and the criteria has been amended so that they must be of ‘urgent national significance’.
The Llywydd will take the final decision on which Topical or Emergency Questions to accept.
Today, Members will discuss the following topical questions:
- Jeremy Miles (Neath): Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement about his decision to approve the use of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis in Wales as part of a study?
- Darren Millar (Clwyd West): Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the investigation being undertaken by Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board into reports that the quality of care for dementia patients on the Tawel Fan ward at Glan Clwyd Hospital may have contributed to at least seven deaths?
Elin Jones AM, Llywydd of the National Assembly for Wales said:
“This is another example of us responding to the needs of the people of Wales and modernising our ways of working to strengthen the Assembly’s accountability to those we represent.
“We introduced the election of committee chairs a year ago and now this change will allow Members to hold the Welsh Government to account about live issues and empower them to respond more quickly to their constituents.”