How to get you influence What does an AM do? - Hold meetings in their local area - Work directly on behalf of the people in their community - Meet with groups and community organisations who they represent - Welcome people from their community at the Senedd - Cross Party Groups - Take part in Committees - Attend Plenary Sessions - Vote on issues - Suggest laws Who might want to engage with Assembly Members? Why? : First Minister Carwyn Jones AM Presiding Officer Dame Rosemary Butler AM - The Siambr, where all the Assembly Members meet for Plenary Meetings Welsh Labour 30 Assembly Members Welsh Conservative 14 Assembly Members Plaid Cymru 11 Assembly Members Welsh Liberal Democrats 5 Assembly Members The Assembly at work This is currently the break down of all the Assembly Members & political parties: Committee Meetings There are many different Committees in the National Assembly for Wales, and each Committee is made up of Assembly Members from each of the 4 different political parties. -Children and Young People Committee -Communities, Equalities and Local Government Committee -Enterprise and Business -Environment and Sustainability -Health and Social Care Committee -Constitutional and Legislative Affairs -Finance Committee -Public Accounts Committee -Standards of Conduct Committee -Scrutiny of the First Minister -Petitions Committee -Business Committee Committees what do they do? If the Committee are worried about an issue, they can hold an inquiry which will look at the issue and they can ask the public and experts for their opinions as well. Committees will then write a report and make recommendations to Welsh Government on their findings. These are a few inquiries which are happening/have happened: -Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) -Supply Teaching -Legal Highs -Poverty in Wales -Assisting Young People in Work -Recycling in Wales Environment and Sustainability Committee 5p charge on plastic bags Creation of Natural Resources Recycling in Wales Environment Bill ( Wales) Petitions The petitions process allows the people of Wales to raise issues and directly influence the work of the National Assembly for Wales. A petition is a way of asking the National Assembly for Wales to consider an issue or problem that it has the power to do something about. The issue or problem has to be in the 20 defined subjects (i.e. Education, Environment etc) this is called admissible. How many signatures do you need for a petition? House of Commons = National Assembly for Wales = 100,000 10 Additional Trains to Fishguard -Raised by Sam Faulkner and Joanne Griffiths, pupils at Ysgol y Preseli in Pembrokeshire and Cardigan Secondary in Ceredigion -Collected over 1,300 signatures and set up their own website to publicise the petition. -Received even more publicity from local press, BBC Wales and ITV Wales. -Train services increased and new station built. Your task is to think about one issue you would like to raise with your Assembly Members. 1.What is the issue 2.What ways you can influence the Assembly? You can think of a hashtag to promote your campaign! Should the voting age be lowered to 16 in all UK elections? @YourAssembly