Culture, Communications, Cymraeg and Sport Committee

Good afternoon and welcome to this first meeting of the Culture, Communications, Cymraeg and Sport Committee. The public items of this meeting are being broadcast live on Senedd.tv. A record of the proceedings will be published as usual. This meeting is bilingual, and simultaneous translation is available from Welsh to English. We have received apologies from Helen Jenner MS. I'd like to ask if there are any declarations of interest from Members. Mike Hedges.

Because they cover such a wide area, I'm going to declare all of my interests here. In sport, I'm president of Ynystawe Cricket and Football Club and I'm the president of Penlan Association Football Club. In terms of culture and choirs, I'm president of Morriston Ladies Choir, and I'm either a vice-president or patron of Morriston RFC Male Choir, the Swansea Bay Singleton Singers and the Swansea Male Choir.

Thank you very much, Mike. Are there any other declarations of interest to note? Thank you very much.

We'll move on, therefore, to the second item. Would anybody like to make any comments on the record regarding the committee remit? You'll see from the papers that the remit is noted in detail. Are there any questions regarding the committee's remit? No questions—. Sorry, Louise.

I understand that the remit is to examine and hold the Welsh Government to account, but we've also got

'consider any matter affecting Wales',

which could be vast. So, it contradicts that, with the statements. How does that fit in with the statement of just examining Welsh Government stuff, but then we can bring any matter in that affects Wales? Sorry, that's probably a question for the officers, being new to this.

It's set very broadly. The Standing Orders allow the committee to look into a very broad range of things. I suppose those rules are trying to get across that the first thing is holding the Welsh Government to account, for its legislation, its budgets and for the way it exercises power. But the committee also has the ability to look at any issue that affects Wales, if it chooses to do so.

Right, even though we don't have international relations any more; obviously, that's with somebody else, isn't it?

I think Robin—

I can give some examples. In the last Senedd, we did quite a bit of scrutiny work with the Welsh Rugby Union, which doesn't have a direct accountability relationship, but the Members on the previous committee thought that that was important enough to Wales that the national Parliament should look at it. That would be an example.

Okay, I understand. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Louise.

Are Members therefore content to note the remit of the committee? Are there any further questions? Lis.

It lists the people or organisations that we can call in or that are called in usually, but we can call other organisations in. That's what we were just confirming there, yes?

I think that that summary will come in the next part of the meeting in terms of the organisations. But certainly, as Robin the researcher has just raised, it is possible for the committee to invite other organisations as part of our inquiries if it is an issue that is of interest to the work of the committee.

Thank you.

Are there any further questions or comments? Thank you very much. I see that all Members are content.

We can move on to the next item, namely item 3, a motion under Standing Order 17.42(ix) to resolve to exclude the public from the remainder of the meeting. I therefore invite the committee to resolve to exclude the public from the rest of the meeting to discuss matters relating to the internal business of the committee. Are Members content? Thank you very much. I see that all Members are content, so we will now proceed in private for the rest of the meeting to consider the committee's ways of working. We'll wait to hear that we are in private session.