------------------------ Public Document Pack ------------------------ Agenda - Petitions Committee Meeting Venue: For further information contact: Committee Room 1 - Senedd Graeme Francis - Committee Clerk Meeting date: 9 July 2019 Kath Thomas – Deputy Clerk Meeting time: 09.00 0300 200 6565 [email protected] ------ 1 Introduction, apologies, substitutions and declarations of interest (Pages 1 - 51) 2 New petitions 2.1 P-05-882 Transforming the response for older people experiencing domestic abuse – a call for action (Pages 52 - 72) 2.2 P-05-885 Accessible and Inclusive Public Transport for Citizens with Learning Disabilities in Wales (Pages 73 - 82) 2.3 P-05-887 Stop regional AMs elected to represent specific parties from defecting (Pages 83 - 89) 2.4 P-05-889 Labelling of Religiously Slaughtered Meat (Pages 90 - 99) 2.5 P-05-890 Second Home Tax (Pages 100 - 107) 2.6 P-05-891 National Reading and Numeracy Tests for children from as young as age 6 need to be discontinued with immediate effect (Pages 108 - 115) 2.7 P-05-892 Appoint a Learning Disability Commissioner for Wales (Pages 116 - 125) 3 Updates to previous petitions Economy and Transport 3.1 P-05-738 Public Petition for the Dinas Powys By-Pass (Pages 126 - 131) 3.2 P-05-748 School Buses for School Children (Pages 132 - 136) Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs 3.3 P-05-743 End the Exotic Pet Trade in Wales (Pages 137 - 141) 3.4 P-05-869 Declare a Climate Emergency and fit all policies with zero-carbon targets (Pages 142 - 147) 3.5 P-05-876 Protection of Red & Amber listed species in Wales (Pages 148 - 151) Health and Social Services 3.6 P-05-754 Lack of support for children with disabilities at crisis (Pages 152 - 154) 3.7 P-05-797 Ensure access to the cystic fibrosis medicine, Orkambi, as a matter of urgency (Pages 155 - 157) 3.8 P-05-842 Give young people a voice when commissioning local services in Wales (Pages 158 - 161) 3.9 P-05-854 Make learning disability training mandatory for hospital staff (Pages 162 - 165) 3.10 P-05-859 Provide Child Houses in Wales for victims of child sexual abuse (Pages 166 - 171) 3.11 P-05-866 Sepsis Public Awareness Campaign - Wales (Pages 172 - 173) Education 3.12 P-05-783 Ensuring Equality of Curriculum for Welsh Medium Schools e.g. GCSE Psychology (Pages 174 - 180) 3.13 P-05-805 Fair Deal For Supply Teachers (Pages 181 - 231) 3.14 P-05-832 To Amend the School Admissions Code Relating to Summer-Born Children (Pages 232 - 237) Housing and Local Government 3.15 P-05-875 The Capping of Council Tax Rises in Wales (Pages 238 - 241) 3.16 P-05-815 Control Rapidly Expanding Intensive Poultry Industry in Wales (Pages 242 - 262) Public Services 3.17 P-05-865 Guarantee fully plant-based options on every public sector menu to protect the rights of vegans and for our health, the environment and animals (Pages 263 - 271) Welsh Language 3.18 P-05-873 Free Welsh Lessons for the People of Wales (Pages 272 - 274) 4 Motion under Standing Order 17.42 to resolve to exclude the public from the meeting for the following business: Item 5 5 Consideration of Draft Report 5.1 P-05-736 To Make Mental Health Services More Accessible (Pages 275 - 287) By virtue of paragraph(s) vi of Standing Order 17.42 Agenda Item 1 Document is Restricted Pack Page 1 Agenda Item 2.1 P-05-882 Transforming the response for older people experiencing domestic abuse – a call for action This petition was submitted by Sarah Wydall having collected a total of 125 signatures. Text of Petition We call on the National Assembly to urge the Welsh Government to: • raise awareness among the public, third sector organisations and statutory agencies of the number of older women & men in Wales who experience domestic abuse by family members, and • ensure that essential levels of support and protection are available to older people experiencing such abuse. Domestic abuse in later life: 'Ignored, invisible & overlooked' The UK wide definition of domestic abuse, irrespective of age, is as follows: Any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive or threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 16 or over, who are or have been intimate partners or family members regardless of gender or sexuality. This can encompass but is not limited to the following types of abuse - psychological, physical, sexual, financial, emotional and as a result of neglect'. It is estimated that the total number of older people in Wales experiencing domestic abuse is a staggering 40,000. Domestic abuse of people aged 60 years or over, living in their own homes, is often a misunderstood, overlooked and under-recognised phenomenon that has wide ranging effects on their lives. Images of older people are often not used in public campaigns about domestic abuse. It is difficult for older men and women to identify themselves as potential victims of domestic abuse. Pack Page 52 The issue has been neglected in policy and practice when compared with other age groups. • The Crime Survey for England & Wales did not include domestic abuse statistics for those over the age of 59 years, until April 2017, when the age limit for those who participate in the survey was increased to 74 years of age (ONS, 2017). • Older people with dementia are at a higher risk of abuse due to their impaired ability to seek help, advocate for themselves or remove themselves from potentially abusive situations. • Disability is also known to increase the likelihood of a person experiencing abuse. Additional Information Do older people seek help? Research shows that older people are less likely to report abuse than younger age groups; they do not access third sector specialist services and they also want help for the abuser. On an individual level there may be many reasons why older people do not seek help: • A misguided feeling that they are somehow responsible for the abuse; • Fear of repercussion from the perpetrator; • A greater level of emotional, financial and physical dependence on their perpetrator than their younger counterparts; • They do not want to criminalise the abuser, who may well be a child or grandchild. Pack Page 53 On a more organisational level, barriers to seeking help include: • Generational factors including notions of privacy surrounding the home and intimate relationships may act as a barrier to seeking help. (Zink et al, 2004, 2005). • Our research shows that existing services are not suitable for older victims. Services are often tailored towards safely removing the victim- survivor from the harmer through relocation from the family home and the community. • In many cases older victim-survivors wish to maintain a relationship with the abusive person, particularly if the abuse is perpetrated by an adult child or grandchild. (Research by SafeLives in 2016 and Sprangler & Brandl, 2007). • Decision-makers frequently view older people as a homogenous vulnerable group of adults that are unable to make their own decisions. (Harbison, 2012). Assembly Constituency and Region Ceredigion Mid and West Wales Pack Page 54 # Y Gwasanaeth Ymchwil | Research Service Petition P-05-882: Domestic abuse and older people Y Pwyllgor Deisebau | 9 Gorffennaf 2019 Petitions Committee | 9 July 2019 Research Briefing: Petition number: P-05-882 Petition title: Transforming the response for older people experiencing domestic abuse – a call for action Text of petition: We call on the National Assembly to urge the Welsh Government to: • raise awareness among the public, third sector organisations and statutory agencies of the number of older women & men in Wales who experience domestic abuse by family members, and • ensure that essential levels of support and protection are available to older people experiencing such abuse. Domestic abuse in later life: 'Ignored, invisible & overlooked' The UK wide definition of domestic abuse, irrespective of age, is as follows: Any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive or threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 16 or over, who are or have been intimate partners or family members regardless of gender or sexuality. This can encompass but is not limited to the following types of abuse - psychological, physical, sexual, financial, emotional and as a result of neglect'. 1 It is estimated that the total number of older people in Wales experiencing domestic abuse is a staggering 40,000. Domestic abuse of people aged 60 years or over, living in their own homes, is often a misunderstood, overlooked and under-recognised phenomenon that has wide ranging effects on their lives. Images of older people are often not used in public Briefing Page campaigns about domestic abuse. It is difficult for older men and women to identify | themselves as potential victims of domestic abuse. The issue has been neglected in policy and practice when compared with other age groups. Briff Tudalen Pack Page 55 RS Ref: 19/9608-3 • The Crime Survey for England & Wales did not include domestic abuse statistics for those over the age of 59 years, until April 2017, when the age limit for those who participate in the survey was increased to 74 years of age (ONS, 2017). • Older people with dementia are at a higher risk of abuse due to their impaired ability to seek help, advocate for themselves or remove themselves from potentially abusive situations. • Disability is also known to increase the likelihood of a person experiencing abuse. Additional Information Do older people seek help? Research shows that older people are less likely to report abuse than younger age groups; they do not access third sector specialist services and they also want help for the abuser.