Written Assembly Questions tabled on 1 October 2014 for answer on 8 October 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 Natural Resources
Janet Finch-Saunders (Aberconwy): Will the Minister clarify when the December storm damaged coastal path and surrounding area at Conwy Morfa will be repaired? (WAQ67781)
Answer recieved on 18 November 2014
Carl Sargeant: Work will soon start to repair and prevent further erosion of the Coast Path at Conwy Morfa.
Janet Finch-Saunders (Aberconwy): Will the Minister advise as to what monitoring of process is undertaken by Welsh Government officials in relation to the Marine Permit License conditions and how many enforcement actions have commenced in the past three years wherein the relevant conditions have not been met? (WAQ67782)
Answer received on 18 November 2014
The Minister for Natural Resources (Carl Sargeant): Marine Licences are inspected by Welsh Government Marine Enforcement Officers to ensure compliance with licence conditions. The inspection regime for each marine licence is dependant on risk assessment.
In the last three years there have been three cases of enforcement action in relation to marine licences.
Simon Thomas (Mid and West Wales): Will the Minister publish the timetable for legislating in relation to the welfare and control of dogs? (WAQ67784)W
Answer received on 18 November 2014
The Deputy Minister for Farming and Food (Rebecca Evans): Rwyf wedi cyhoeddi Datganiad Ysgrifenedig heddiw yn datgan bod y Rheoliadau drafft gwreiddiol wedi'u tynnu yn ôl a bod y broses o ail-ddrafftio Rheoliadau Lles Anifeiliaid (Magu Cŵn)(Cymru), heb y cyfeiriadau at ficrosglodynnu, wedi'u cyflwyno. Bydd rhain yn cael eu trafod ar 9 Rhagfyr yn y Cyfarfod Llawn.
Mae'r gwaith o ddatblygu'r Rheoliadau Lles Anifeiliaid (Rheoliadau Adnabod) (Cymru) yn parhau, a byddaf yn darparu rhagor o wybodaeth wrth i'r gwaith hwn fynd yn ei flaen.
To ask the Minister for Education and Skills
Andrew RT Davies (South Wales Central): Will the Minister detail how successful the graduate strand of Jobs Growth Wales has been and how this measures against initial targets? (WAQ67785)
Answer received on 18 November 2014
The Deputy Minister for Skills and Technology (Julie James): The initial target was to create 1200 graduate job opportunities over three years linked to the HEFCW delivered GO Wales programme. The target has been reduced to 565 over three years, sustainability of these opportunities has been positive with 94% of those completing their opportunity sustaining employment. Unmet numbers in the graduate strand have been re-allocated to the mainstream private sector strand, where demand has been very high, including demand for graduate recruitment.
Andrew RT Davies (South Wales Central): Will the Minister detail what the Welsh Government's strategy is for retaining talented graduates in Wales? (WAQ67786)
Answer received on 8 October 2014
Julie James: Welsh Government places great importance on the development of skilled graduates in Wales, and helping to create job opportunities that keep them in Wales or attract them back to Wales later in their careers. We build graduate links with Welsh companies through the GO Wales programme. More than 2,500 companies have had graduates or undergraduates introduced to them for work-based projects through GO Wales. Evaluation of the programme refers to very high levels of satisfaction and perceived success from individual and business participants.
From the 2012-13 cohort, 60 per cent of first degree graduates from Welsh universities gained employment within Wales. Even more positive is that 71 per cent of the total of first degree graduates who lived in Wales, regardless of where they studied, gained employment in Wales.
A recent report* also tells us that, compared to English regions, Wales has a higher graduate retention rate than all except the North West and London.
* Source: Wiserd, the Wales Institute of Social & Economic Research, Data & Methods, 2011 report:
http://www.wiserd.ac.uk/research/archive-projects/2011/welsh-graduate-migration/
Andrew RT Davies (South Wales Central): Will the Minister detail how the Welsh Government is tackling the underemployment of graduates through schemes such as Jobs Growth Wales? (WAQ67787)
Answer received on 25 November 2014
Julie James: The Welsh Government is committed to ensuring that young people in Wales continue to receive the skills they need to progress in their chosen career and progress into further learning at a higher level through a number of its employability programmes. Examples of this include, but are not limited to, access to opportunities through the Jobs Growth Wales programme and Apprenticeship opportunities at Level 3 and above. The GO Wales programme has been successful in creating graduate opportunities via short term placements with all types of organisations in Wales, providing a subsidy to employers towards employment costs, and a work based learning award to add value to the experience (a City and Guilds Professional Development Award).
Andrew RT Davies (South Wales Central): What assessment has the Minister made of the advertising or promotion of job roles that are just above or on the minimum wage for graduates in Wales, which leads to the potential underemployment of Welsh graduates? (WAQ67788)
Answer received on 25 November 2014
Julie James: Welsh Government does not assess advertising and promotion in respect of general graduate job opportunities. Where opportunities are linked to specific programmes such as GO Wales, our providers do of course adhere to relevant employment legislation.
The Higher Education Careers Services Unit (HECSU) and the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services (AGCAS) advises in its 2014 report ‘Where do Graduates Go’ that, whilst there are more opportunities for graduates to find and secure work in the labour market, it is important that they maintain realistic expectations of future salaries. It is inevitable that, in a very competitive jobs market, some graduates have to take work at a relatively low salary to gain experience that will enable them to progress in later careers.
Average graduate salaries differ depending on the job, the employer and the region of employment, which is why the average salary for 2012/13 graduates ranges from £18,615 - £22,785 for full-time graduates who were working full-time in the UK in professional and managerial jobs as well as non-professional jobs.
To ask the Minister for Health and Social Services
Simon Thomas (Mid and West Wales): Will the Minister provide an update on cancer treatment for children and young people under the Welsh NHS? (WAQ67783)W
Answer received on 18 November 2014
The Minister for Health and Social Services (Mark Drakeford): Mae ein Cynlluniau Cyflawni ar gyfer Canser yn amlinellu'r camau y byddwn yn eu cymryd i wella gwasanaethau canser ar gyfer pobl o bob oed. Ledled Cymru, roedd 100% o’r plant a gafodd eu hatgyfeirio ar gyfer triniaeth canser wedi dechrau’r driniaeth o fewn yr amseroedd targed.