Written Assembly Questions tabled on 26 March 2015 for answer on 2 April 2015
R - Signifies the Member has declared an interest.
W - Signifies that the question was tabled in Welsh.
(Self identifying Question no. shown in brackets)
Written Questions must be tabled at least five working days before they are to be answered. In practice, Ministers aim to answer within seven/eight days but are not bound to do so. Answers are published in the language in which they are provided, with a translation into English of responses provided in Welsh.
To ask the Minister for Natural Resources
William Powell (Mid and West Wales): When will the findings of the analysis commissioned by the Welsh Government and being undertaken by the Stockholm Environment Institute to update the ecological footprint of Wales be published? (WAQ68557)
Answer Received 10 April 2015
The Minister for Natural Resources (Carl Sargeant): I will write to you and a copy of the letter will be placed on the internet.
To ask the Minister for Education and Skills
Angela Burns (Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire): Given that Pembroke School and Tasker Milward are planning to stop offering GCSE triple science to pupils from September, has the Minister contacted the schools or Pembrokeshire County Council to express concern over this issue? (WAQ68558)
Answer Received on 7 April 2015
The Minister for Education and Skills (Huw Lewis): I can provide reassurance that Pembroke School and Tasker Milward School do not intend to stop offering GSCE Triple Science and will support those pupils wishing to study Triple Science.
As highlighted through such key developments as the Focus on Science campaign and a specific funding package supporting teaching and learning, the Welsh Government is placing great emphasis on promoting and developing the study of Science subjects - including a continuing commitment to Triple Science.
Curriculum planning is principally a matter for schools. However, the Welsh Government is working closely with the regional consortia and head teachers to assist schools with planning, and options are now being shared with schools across Wales.
In conjunction with WJEC, we are developing a new suite of Science GCSEs for first teaching from September 2016. Draft outline content has been recently published on the Qualifications Wales website. A key element of the suite is the provision of separate Science GCSEs in Biology, Chemistry and Physics, as well as a traditional double award Science. These have all been designed with the aim of providing a sound foundation for A Level studies in Science.
To ask the Minister for the Economy, Science and Transport
Mark Isherwood (North Wales): What plans does the Minister have for the Wales retail relief business rates scheme after 31 March 2015? (WAQ68553)
Answer Received on 31 March 2015
The Minister for Economy, Science and Transport (Edwina Hart): I will make an announcement on this in due course.
To ask the Minister for Health and Social Services
Mark Isherwood (North Wales): What steps has the Welsh NHS taken to ensure that its organisations have implemented the actions set out in the patient safety alerts on sepsis, issued on 12 September 2014? (WAQ68554)
Mark Isherwood (North Wales): Following the publication on 12 September 2014 of the patient safety alert on sepsis, what steps has the Welsh Government and/or the Welsh NHS taken in order to ensure that it at least matches progress in sepsis care with the NHS in England? (WAQ68555)
Mark Isherwood (North Wales): What steps has the NHS in Wales taken in order to progress sepsis care as a tier 1 development priority into a fully-fledged tier 1 priority? (WAQ68556)
Answer Received on 7 April 2015 (WAQ68554-6)
The Minister for Health and Social Services (Mark Drakeford): Organisations have been supported in achieving implementation of the actions of the Patient Safety Alert (PSA) by participation in the 1000 Lives Rapid Response to Acute Illness Learning Set (RRAILS). All organisations are represented on the RRAILS steering group, at quarterly national study days and on monthly webex calls and are therefore actively involved in agreeing standardisation, measuring improvements and sharing progress to achieving the PSA actions.
Sepsis care in Wales has progressed faster and further than that in NHS England due, in large part, to the way that Welsh organisations have shown that they can work collaboratively. Wales became the first healthcare system to implement the National Early Warning Score (NEWS), an important first step in the identification of sepsis. NEWS has been advocated by the Royal College of Physicians for implementation across the UK and has been the standard in Welsh acute hospitals since 2013, compared to its current use in approximately 60% of English hospitals. In addition NEWS is in use in the Welsh Ambulance Services Trust, most community hospitals and is being tested by some GP and out of hours services. Welsh NHS organisations have been able to agree a standardised sepsis definition and implement the same screening tool in all hospitals.
The main step in the transition of sepsis care as a tier one priority is in agreeing a set of sepsis metrics that can be used for improvement in the first instance and thereafter for quality assurance. Measurement of sepsis prevalence, incidence, treatment compliance and associated mortality in Wales is being assessed in
a number of ways, including through mortality and harm reviews, the 'Size of Sepsis in Wales' prevalence study, the Critical Care Outreach Team database and the Aneurin Bevan Collaborative on Sepsis (ABC Sepsis). Sepsis prevalence in hospital admissions will be a reportable outcome measure in the NHS Outcome Framework for 2015/16 which will be launched in April.