Everything you need to know about the Senedd’s new committees

Ella Groves, ICNN Senedd Reporter

Senedd Members have taken up their positions in Cardiff Bay, with parliamentary committees now in full swing as the Welsh Parliament enters its eight-week summer recess.

Committees are made up of Senedd Members from different party groups who are appointed to examine the areas of law that are devolved to the Welsh Government.

Meetings can be held in public or private according to Senedd rules. Currently the majority of discussions have been held in private but there are some things we do know.

So what are the committees, who sits on them, and what have they discussed so far?

The Business Committee

The business committee exists to organise Senedd proceedings.

It is chaired by Llywydd, Huw Irranca-Davies, and has four other members – Plaid Cymru’s Heledd Fychan, Reform’s Llŷr Powell, Labour’s Lynne Neagle, and Paul Davies from the Welsh Conservatives.

The committee has met ten times since May’s election.

In its first meeting, members agreed to conduct the meetings in private – with the agenda and minutes of the meeting being published on the Senedd website.

The committee has so far discussed items such as the appointment of Senedd commissioners, the establishment of committee remits and sizes, and the inclusion of MSs not in a political group on committees.

Legislation

Established on June 16, the legislation committee has met three times since its creation.

Reform’s Sarah Cooper-Lesadd is the chair and is joined by party colleague Adrian Mason.

Plaid Cymru’s Beca Brown, Kiera Marshall, and Peredur Owen Griffiths, Welsh Conservative Peter Fox, and Huw Thomas from Welsh Labour also sit on the committee.

Having most recently met on Monday July 13, one of the items discussed by the committee was the Representation of the People (Electoral Registration without Applications) (Electoral Reform) (Wales) Regulations 2026.

The proposed regulations would allow local authorities to conduct automatic voter registration for local government electoral registers in Wales.

Finance

The finance committee is made up of Conservative Sam Rowlands, Plaid’s Lyn Ackerman, Sera Evans, and Elfed Williams, Reform duo Iain McIntosh and Benjamin Hodge McKenna, and Welsh Labour’s Huw Thomas.

In the first of its three meetings so far, the finance committee quizzed finance minister Elin Jones on the supplementary budget.

Ms Jones, alongside her officials Andrew Jeffreys and Sharon Bounds, faced questions on the level of unallocated funding within the budget, ALN funding, and budget transparency.

Public Accounts and Public Administration

The public accounts and public administration has met twice since it’s formation.

The committee is made up of Reform’s Andrew Griffin and Cai Parry-Jones, Plaid’s Anna Nicholl, Alun Cox, and Carrie Harper, Welsh Conservative Andrew RT Davies, and Labour’s Shav Taj.

Opening the first meeting, committee chair Mr Griffin told colleagues: “The people of Wales rightly expect public money to be spent effectively, public services to be delivered efficiently, and public bodies to be open and accountable for the decisions they make.

“Our role is to ask the necessary questions, follow the evidence wherever it leads, and ensure that lessons are learned when things go wrong.”

In its second meeting, committee members put questions to Wales’ auditor general, Adrian Crompton, on the main barriers to the Welsh public sector’s progress, the financial challenges facing public services, and more.

Petitions

Responsible for considering public petitions, the petitions committee is chaired by Reform’s Jason O’Connell.

He is joined by Plaid’s Donna Cushing, Elwyn Vaughan, and Sara Crowley, Reform’s Joe Martin, Labour’s Vikki Howells, and Janet Finch-Saunders from the Welsh Conservatives.

In it’s first meeting on July 9, the committee looked at both new petitions and those referred from the previous Senedd term.

One petition discussed in the meeting called to bring ‘Jess’s Rule’ to Wales to “prevent missed and delayed” diagnoses for women.

Submitted by Tiffany Summerfield, it had 1,572 signatures – 1,292 of which were from Wales.

Speaking on the petition, Labour’s Vikki Howells said: “Some of us might be aware of Jess’s Rule. It’s gathered quite a lot of attention in the press over the last few months.

“We can see that the named policy that’s been introduced in England hasn’t been adopted in the same way here in Wales, but other patient safety initiatives implemented here by the previous government pointed to that development of a national patient safety plan.”

Early Years, Children, Young People and Education

Since its establishment on June 16, the early years, young people, and education committee has met only once.

Chaired by Plaid Cymru’s Sera Evans, the committee also includes her party colleagues Beca Brown and Mair Rowlands, as well as Reform’s Catherine Cullen, Claire Johnson-Wood, and Art Wright, Labour’s Lynne Neagle, and Conservative Sam Rowlands.

In its first meeting the committee laid out its remit for the upcoming Senedd term, focusing on areas such as early years, education, skills, and children’s health and wellbeing, including their social care.

Admitting there will be “crossover” with other committees, the members chose to write to the chair of the health and social care committee to highlight the overlap and show their willingness to work together on children’s health.

Health and Social Care

As the only committee allocated to Welsh Labour, the role of chair is held by Casnewydd Islwyn MS Jayne Bryant.

The other committee members are Plaid Cymru’s Safa Elhassan, Sara Crowley, Becca Martin, and Matthew Jones, along with Reform’s Gareth Thomas, Nigel Williams, and Claire Archibald, and Conservative Natasha Asghar.

Five of the committee members made declarations of interest, including Ms Elhassan who also works as an NHS consultant at Swansea Bay University Health Board.

The health and social care committee has met twice since its establishment on June 16, with the majority of both meetings conducted in private.

Climate Change; Environment, Sustainability and Rural Affairs

The committee, chaired by Reform’s James Evans, includes his party colleagues Gareth Beer and David Mills, and Plaid Cymru trio John Davies, Niamh Salkeld, and Anna Nicholl. Conservative Andrew RT Davies, Paul Rock of the Greens, and Labour’s Vikki Howells complete its membership.

Although the meeting quickly moved into private during its first meeting, the published agenda shows the committee discussed topics such as the supplementary budget for 2026/27.

Equality, Human Rights, and Social Justice

Also meeting for the first time on July 8, the equality, human rights, and social justice committee met just twice before recess.

It is made up of Plaid Cymru’s Zaynub Akbar – who is committee chair – and fellow Plaid MSs Elfed Williams and Sarah Rees.

Reform’s Joe Martin, Laura-Anne Jones, and Steve Bayliss, are also included, as are Labour’s Jayne Bryant, Wales Green Party leader Anthony Slaughter, and Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Jane Dodds.

Both meetings so far have been held predominantly in private.

The published agenda shows one of the items discussed by the committee was the legislative consent for the Armed Forces Bill (2026/27) proposed by Westminster.

According to the Senedd, the Bill is “subject to the legislative consent process under Standing Order 29.”

It notes that “this is when the consent of the Welsh Parliament is sought by the UK Government to legislate on an issue which falls within the competence of the Senedd.”

Economy, Energy, and Connectivity

Having met only once since it’s establishment on June 16, the economy, energy, and connectivity committee conducted its meeting largely in private.

However, the agenda shows the committee has discussed items such as the Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill and the Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill.

The committee is formed of nine members – chair Elwyn Vaughan, Alun Cox, Leticia Gonzalez, and Kiera Marshall – all of Plaid Cymru – Reform’s John Clark, Sarah Edwards, and Tom Montgomery, Conservative Janet Finch-Saunders, and Labour’s Shav Taj.

Culture, Communications, Cymraeg and Sport

Also created on June 16, the culture, communications, Cymraeg, and sport committee met twice ahead of the summer recess.

Composed of nine members, the committee includes Plaid Cymru’s Lis McLean, Mair Rowlands, Nick Carter, Niamh Salkeld, and Rebecca Phillips, Reform’s Helen Jenner, Louise Emery, and Steven Rodaway, Conservative Paul Davies, and Labour’s Mike Hedges.

The committee chair role is shared between Ms Rowlands and Ms McLean.

According to the Senedd, job sharing is “an innovative arrangement” which it is trialling to “enhance flexibility, accessibility and diversity within parliamentary roles.”

The committee’s remit includes culture and the arts, historic environment, communications, Welsh Language, the media, and sport.

Local Government, Housing and Planning

Chaired by Reform MS Carmelo Colasanto, the local government, housing, and planning committee has met twice since its formation.

Mr Colasanto, is joined on the committee by party colleagues David Hughes, and Francesca O’Brien, as well as Plaid’s Marc Jones, Rebecca Phillips, and Elyn Stephens, Anthony Slaughter of the Greens, Conservative Peter Fox, and Labour’s Mike Hedges.

Both meetings were held largely in private, however the agenda shows the committee has discussed the Representation of the People (Electoral Registration without Applications) (Electoral Reform) (Wales) Regulations 2026.

Constitution, Justice and External Affairs

Carrie Harper, the Plaid Cymru MS for Fflint Wrecsam chairs this committee, and is joined by her party colleagues Gwyn Williams, Peredur Owen Griffiths, and Sarah Rees.

Other committee members include Labour’s Lynne Neagle, Reform’s Cristiana Emsley, Joshua Kim, and Paul Marr, and Darren Millar from the Welsh Conservatives.

Similarly to many of the other committees, much of its first two meetings have been conducted in private.

However, the committee noted a letter from finance minister Elin Jones about “the UK Government’s commitment to update the Welsh Government’s borrowing and reserve arrangements, as announced in the UK autumn budget on November 26, 2025.”

Welsh Conservative leader Mr Millar described the borrowing limits of the Welsh Government as “totally inadequate” and suggested a need to petition for a change that is “more proportionate”.

These calls were echoed by Mr Owen Griffiths – a former finance committee chair – who said: “It’s something that we’ve highlighted time and time again, that the borrowing power of the Welsh Government is less than some of our local authorities.

“Prudential borrowing powers is something that we should have.”

Ms Harper acknowledged the statements and the consensus in the committee and said the topic would be discussed further in private session.

Standards of Conduct

There are five members of the standards committee, one from each of the political groups and the committee chair – Plaid Cymru’s Lindsay Whittle, who was elected on June 17.

The other members, elected on June 23, are Conservative Natasha Asghar, Labour leader Ken Skates, Plaid Cymru’s Elyn Stephens, and Reform’s Stephen Senior.

There are also alternate members of the committee, who can be called upon if a committee member is unable to act. These alternate members are: Plaid Cymru’s Peredur Owen Griffiths and Sera Evans, Reform’s Llŷr Powell, Labour’s Lynne Neagle, and Conservative Paul Davies.

The standards committee met twice ahead of recess, discussing issues such as a letter from Conservative MS Andrew RT Davies about the ministers code of conduct, and heard a technical briefing on the Member Accountability Act from Welsh Government officials.

Llywydd’s Committee

The final committee to be formed, the Lywydd’s committee, was established on July 15.

The committee members are Plaid’s Kerry Ferguson – who is deputy Llywydd and chair of the committee – and Marc Jones, Labour’s Jayne Bryant, Conservatives Andrew RT Davies and Sam Rowlands, and Reform’s Stephen Senior.

The committee did not meet ahead of the summer recess

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