Written Assembly Questions tabled on 30 May 2014 for answer on 6 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 Finance

Russell George (Montgomeryshire): Will the Minister tell me how the objectives of the National Procurement Service relate to the objective of the Welsh Purchasing Consortium? (WAQ67157)

Russell George (Montgomeryshire): Will the Minister tell me if there is any direct overlap between the work of the National Procurement Service and that of the Welsh Purchasing Consortium? (WAQ67158)

Russell George (Montgomeryshire): Will the Minister confirm if there is any direct duplication between the work of the National Procurement Service and that of the Welsh Purchasing Consortium? (WAQ67159)

Answer received on 29 July 2014 (WAQ67157-9)

The Minister for Finance (Jane Hutt): NPS and WPC work on a complimentary and co-operative basis and all WPC contracts within the remit of NPS are in the process of being transferred to NPS. However the respective terms of reference and objectives do differ.

NPS undertakes procurements for ’All-Wales’ contracts and frameworks available to be used by all public sector organisations in Wales. NPS will manage common and repetitive spend of around £1.8 billion out of a total Wales procurement spend of £4.3 billion (based on 2010/11 spend analysis).

WPC membership comprises of 19 local authorities and co-ordinates collaborative procurement delivered through individual lead authorities on behalf of the whole of its membership.

NPS ultimate goal is delivery of at least £25m annual savings once fully operational. NPS’s scope includes 6 Super Categories, with sub-categories under each one. Super Categories are ICT & Telecoms; Construction and Facilities Management; People Services; Fleet; Professional Services, Corporate Services and Utilities. WPC will now move its focus to spend on those categories outside scope of NPS, such as Social Care.

NPS will become self funded, through a levy on spend going through contracts and frameworks, whereas WPC are funded annually through direct contributions by local authority members.

To ask the Minister for Health and Social Services

Kirsty Williams (Brecon and Radnorshire): Has the Government undertaken a review into the 'All Wales Whistleblowing' policy and, if so, when did the review start, or when does it start, and when do you expect the review to finish? (WAQ67155)

Answer received on 4 June 2014

The Minister for Health and Social Services (Mark Drakeford): Whistleblowing policy for the NHS in Wales is regularly re-assessed and I can confirm that the latest review started in March. It is being taken forward through the Welsh Partnership Forum to ensure full engagement with NHS Employers, Trade Unions and staff associations. The Forum also provides an appropriate mechanism for securing agreement on the outcomes of the review.

At the same time work is being undertaken by the Older Persons Commissioner in this field. Its outcome will be of particular interest and I am keen to avoid placing an artificial deadline for completion of the latest review of the All Wales policy. I do however expect significant progress to have been made by September and will be happy to provide further information then.

To ask the Assembly Commission

Russell George (Montgomeryshire): Will the Commission provide a breakdown of how much has been spent on security measures on the National Assembly estate over the past three financial years? (WAQ67156)

Answer received on 29 August 2014

Sandy Mewies AM (on behalf of the Assembly Commission): As Wales’ principal democratic institution the Commission places great emphasis on the security of its estate and of all those that work within it and visit it. We aim to strike an appropriate balance between maintaining an open and accessible estate and the need to have in place suitable preventative security measures.

As part of our continual review of these measures, we have implemented a number of physical security improvements to the Estate since 2011 as follows: