Written Assembly Questions tabled on 29 May 2014 for answer on 5 June 2014
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 Economy, Science and Transport
Andrew RT Davies (South Wales Central): Will the Minister make a statement in relation to the options being considered for the upgrading of Five Mile Lane in the Vale of Glamorgan, the proposed timescale for completion of these works, and what public consultation is to take place? (WAQ67138)
Answer received on 4 June 2014
The Minister for Economy, Science and Transport (Edwina Hart): We are working with the Vale of Glamorgan Council to deliver improvements to Five Mile Lane. The Council will consult on the plans this autumn. If agreed, construction would start by January 2016 and take 15 months to complete.
Andrew RT Davies (South Wales Central): With reference to the answer to WAQ67039, will the Minister provide a yearly breakdown of the amount spent on surveying work undertaken on the A4226 for the years 2009/10, 2010/11, 2011/12, 2012/13, 2013/14 and the current financial year to date? (WAQ67139)
Answer received on 4 June 2014
Edwina Hart: No survey work for the A4226 has been commissioned by the Welsh Government in 2009/10, 2010/11, 2011/12 or 2012/13. My response to WAQ67039 provided the amount spent in 2013/14.
Andrew RT Davies (South Wales Central): With reference to the answer to WAQ67041, what capital funding has the Minister made available from her department’s 2014/15 budget? (WAQ67140)
Answer received on 4 June 2014
Edwina Hart: £6m of capital funding is available to Cardiff Airport from the EST departmental budget for 2014/15. This is a proportion of the £10m commercial loan announced by the Finance Minister in December 2013.
Andrew RT Davies (South Wales Central): With reference to the answer to WAQ66993, will the Minister provide the total floor space available for use in each of the 9 buildings, the total current occupied rental space, and annual figures for rental receipts for each of the last four financial years? (WAQ67141)
Answer received on 4 June 2014
Edwina Hart: Of the 9 former Technium buildings transferred, the total available space for each of the 4 buildings remaining in the Welsh Government’s ownership and responsibility (as at 1 April 2014) is as follows:-
Edwina Hart: Of the 9 former Technium buildings transferred, the total available space for each of the 4 buildings remaining in the Welsh Government's ownership and responsibility (as at 1 April 2014) is as follows:-
| Total Space Available (sq ft) | |
Ty Menai, Bangor
| 31,525 |
Harbwr House, Aberystwyth
| 8,531 |
Beacon, Llanelli – on lease to Carmarthenshire County Council
| |
Baglan Bay Innovation Centre, Baglan
| 24,245 |
The total current occupied space (at 1 April 2014) is 63,980 sq ft.
The annual rent for each of the last four years is as follows:-
| Annual Rent 2010/2011 | Annual Rent 2011/2012 | Annual Rent 2012/2013 | Annual Rent 2013/2014 |
| £826,222 | £702,518 | £584,085 | £431,742 |
Andrew RT Davies (South Wales Central): With reference to the answer to WAQ66993, will the Minister make a statement on the current use of Technium buildings that remain in Welsh Government ownership or responsibility? (WAQ67142)
Answer received on 4 June 2014
Edwina Hart: The former Technium buildings that remain in Welsh Government ownership or responsibility are being managed to support economic development activity by providing premises for businesses or through disposal, raising funds in support of wider economic development objectives.
Andrew RT Davies (South Wales Central): With reference to the answer to WAQ67040, how many direct inward investment leads have come from the UKTI in each of the last four years, giving a figure for each financial year? (WAQ67143)
Answer received on 3 June 2014
Edwina Hart: UKTI has sourced 46 projects in the last four financial years:
2010/11 – 10 projects
2011/12 – 9 projects
2012/13 – 15 projects
The figure for 2013/14 has not been ratified by UKTI at this stage.
To ask the Minister for Finance
Paul Davies (Preseli Pembrokeshire): How much money has the Welsh Government spent analysing the impact of its twitter accounts over the last five years? (WAQ67149)
Answer received on 3 June 2014
The Minister for Finance (Jane Hutt): Over the last five years, the Welsh Government has spent £9,040 analysing the impact of its Twitter accounts. This is broken down by financial year as below:
| Financial Year | Amount |
| 2010/11 | £0 |
| 2011/12 | £2,200 |
| 2012/13 | £1,800 |
| 2013/14 | £5,040 |
| 2014/15 | £0 |
Apart from the above costs, the analysis of the impact of Twitter channels is carried out internally by Welsh Government officials.
Paul Davies (Preseli Pembrokeshire): How much office space in the Welsh Government’s offices is currently vacant? (WAQ67150)
Answer received on 3 June 2014
The Minister for Finance (Jane Hutt): The estimated amount of vacant office space on the Welsh Government’s administrative estate as at 31 March 2014 was 179 square meters. This equated to approximately 0.002 % of the total administrative estate (90,234 square meters).
Key data on the efficiency of the Welsh Government’s administrative estate, including vacant space, is published annually in this Government’s ‘State of the Estate’ report. The report for financial year 2013/14 is currently in preparation and will be published in the autumn.
Paul Davies (Preseli Pembrokeshire): How much has the Welsh Government spent on styling, clothing and make-up for Welsh Ministers in the past five years? (WAQ67151)
Answer received on 3 June 2014
Jane Hutt: We do not collate information on this. Occasionally items of specialist clothing will have been purchased for specific Ministerial visits (such as wet weather or safety clothing), but there will have been no expenditure on styling or make-up.
Paul Davies (Preseli Pembrokeshire): How much has the Welsh Government spent on complementary therapy for staff in each of the last five years? (WAQ67153)
Answer received on 13 June 2014
Jane Hutt: Staffing within the Welsh Government is a matter for the Permanent Secretary. I have asked him to write to you separately with the information you have requested.
Paul Davies (Preseli Pembrokeshire): How much money has the Welsh Government made available to maximise the opportunities of the 2014 NATO summit? (WAQ67154)
Answer received on 29 July 2014
Jane Hutt: We have set aside a budget of up to £3 million to help fund a range of activities to ensure a safe and smooth Summit, and to take the opportunity of the Summit to promote Wales on the world stage.
To ask the Minister for Local Government and Government Business
Janet Finch-Saunders (Aberconwy): Will the Minister confirm the date of the next local government elections in Wales?(WAQ67136)
Answer received on 3 June 2014
The Minister for Local Government and Government Business (Lesley Griffiths): I will confirm the date of the next Local Government elections shortly.
To ask the Minister for Natural Resources and Food
Janet Finch-Saunders (Aberconwy): Will the Minister make a statement on the implementation of enforcement procedures on marine permit licenses granted in Wales? (WAQ67137)
Answer received on 29 July 2014
The Minister for Natural Resources and Food (Alun Davies): The Welsh Ministers are the Enforcement Authority for marine licensing, and the enforcement powers are set out under Part 4 of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 (MCAA). The Welsh Government’s Marine and Fisheries Division carry out the enforcement functions.
Natural Resources Wales (NRW), following a delegation of MCAA licensing authority functions, administers marine licensing in Wales on behalf of the Welsh Ministers.
The Marine and Fisheries Division carry out routine inspections of works that have been granted Marine Licenses. If the need for investigation or enforcement action arises, the Marine and Fisheries Division and the NRW Marine Licensing Team work together to reach resolution. Enforcement functions are undertaken in line with the requirements of the MCAA, and standard procedures.
‘NB. This section must be completed. Draft answer must be cleared by Head of Division or equivalent’
Andrew RT Davies (South Wales Central): With reference to the Welsh Government’s food waste treatment programme, will the Minister confirm total Welsh Government spend to date broken down by each financial year? (WAQ67144)
Answer received on 4 June 2014
The Minister for Natural Resources and Food (Alun Davies):
| Year | Spend |
| 2009/10 | £2.76m |
| 2010/11 | £3.40m |
| 2011/12 | £3.14m |
| 2012/13 | £2.87m |
| 2013/14 | £2.29m |
| 2014/15 (to date) | £0.06m |
Andrew RT Davies (South Wales Central): With reference to the Welsh Government’s food waste treatment programme, how many local authorities are currently in active regional ‘collaborative procurement hubs’ to jointly secure food waste treatment capacity? (WAQ67145)
Answer received on 4 June 2014
Alun Davies: Nineteen.
Andrew RT Davies (South Wales Central): With reference to the Welsh Government’s food waste treatment programme, what targets are in place to measure the scheme’s success and will the Minister publish the most recent figures? (WAQ67146)
Answer received on 4 June 2014
Alun Davies: The success of the programme is measured in terms of its contribution to local authorities meeting their recycling and Landfill Allowance Scheme (LAS) targets. In addition, the programme has secured significant economies of scale through facilitating the collaboration of 19 local authorities, with four projects having awarded contracts to date.
Andrew RT Davies (South Wales Central): With reference to the Welsh Government’s food waste treatment programme, is the Minister aware of any occasion on which the Welsh Government has released funding for anaerobic digestion sites which are already claiming feed-in tariffs, and will the Minister list each affected local authority if applicable? (WAQ67147)
Answer received on 4 June 2014
Alun Davies: None of the local authority anaerobic digestion projects supported by the Welsh Government were already claiming feed-in tariffs before Welsh Government funding was offered.
Andrew RT Davies (South Wales Central): With reference to the Welsh Government’s food waste treatment programme, will the Minister provide an update on plans to establish a regional hub by Cardiff, Newport and the Vale of Glamorgan local authorities? (WAQ67148)
Answer received on 4 June 2014
Alun Davies: There are no plans to establish a regional food waste hub by Cardiff, Newport and the Vale of Glamorgan.