Answers to the Written Assembly Questions for answer on 5 October 2009

[R] signifies that the Member has declared an interest.
[W] signifies that the question was tabled in Welsh.

Contents

Questions to the Minister for Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills

Questions to the Deputy First Minister and Minister for the Economy and Transport

Questions to the Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing

Questions to the Minister for Health and Social Services

To ask the Minister for Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills

Nerys Evans (Mid and West Wales): Will the Minister make a statement on the number of students currently studying at Welsh Universities. (WAQ54892)

Nerys Evans (Mid and West Wales): Is there currently a cap on the number of students who can attend Welsh Universities and if so, what is it. (WAQ54893)

Answer issued on 06 October 2009

The latest Higher Education Statistics Agency figures show that there were 125,540 undergraduate and postgraduate students enrolled at Higher Education Institutions in Wales in 2007/08.  This represents a 19.9 % increase since 2000/01.  

Information on enrolments at Welsh Higher Education Institutions for academic year 2008/09 will not be published until January 2010.

There is not currently a cap on the number of students that Welsh Higher Education Institutions may recruit.

To ask the Minister for the Economy and Transport

Andrew RT Davies (South Wales Central): How many miles of the M4 are currently under speed restrictions lower than the national speed limit. (WAQ54889)

Answer issued on 09 October 2009

There are currently 15 miles of the M4 in Wales under temporary speed restrictions. My officials are in the process of collating information on permanent speed restrictions and I will forward a copy of this to you in due course

Andrew RT Davies (South Wales Central): How many miles of motorway or trunk road in Wales are currently under speed restrictions lower than the national speed limit and what is this figure as a percentage. (WAQ54890)

Answer issued on 09 October 2009

There are currently 15 miles of motorway and 83 miles of trunk road in Wales under temporary speed restrictions. This represents 7.5% of the motorway and trunk road network in Wales. My officials are in the process of collating information on permanent speed restrictions and I will forward a copy of this to you in due course.

To ask the Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing

Angela Burns (Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire): What assessment has the Minister made of the National Park Authority’s planning powers. (WAQ54891)

Answer issued on 05 October 2009

All three National Park Authorities in Wales are individual local planning authorities.    As such, they have a duty to prepare and adopt a local development plan for their area, to determine applications for planning permission, and to take planning enforcement action where necessary.  

In late 2008, I asked the Wales Audit Office to undertake a comparative review of the planning services provided by each of our National Park Authorities.  Those reports were published on 27 May 2009, since when I and my officials have met the Park Authorities to review their progress in responding to the recommendations to improve their planning service delivery performance as identified in each of their WAO Reports.  No recommendations were included requiring structural changes to the current delivery of planning functions by National Park Authorities.  

To ask the Minister for Health and Social Services

Andrew RT Davies (South Wales Central): When will all NHS Trusts in Wales be complying fully with the Working Time Directive. (WAQ54888)

Answer issued on 06 October 2009

At the beginning of September 93.5% of rotas developed by Trusts were EWTD compliant. The Chief Executive of NHS Wales has written to the Chief Executives of the new Local Health Boards reminding them of the need for all rotas to be compliant.