11/02/2008 - Answers issued to Members on 11 February 2008

Answers issued to Members on 11 February 2008

[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 Minister for Finance and Public Service Delivery

Questions to the Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing

Questions to the Minister for Health and Social Services

Questions to the Minister for Heritage

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

Nicholas Bourne (Mid & West Wales): Will the Minister list the number of recorded attacks on teaching staff in schools in Wales in each year since 1999? (WAQ51149)

The Minister for Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills (Jane Hutt): Information on attacks on teaching staff is not collected centrally.

Welsh Assembly Government guidance on the use of reasonable force to restrain or control pupils sets out that schools should keep records of all incidents in which staff have needed to restrain pupils for their own or others’ safety. This information should be used to plan and avoid further incidents within schools.

The Welsh Assembly Government takes very seriously the issue of violent attacks on teaching staff and for this reason commissioned a national review of behaviour and attendance, which is due to be published in April 2008. Part of the remit of the review is to consider how school staff might be better equipped to avoid and deal with incidents of extreme behaviour such as violence. The Welsh Assembly Government will be considering closely the review’s recommendations on this aspect.

Nicholas Bourne (Mid & West Wales): Will the Minister provide details of the number of surplus primary and secondary school places in each local authority in Wales? (WAQ51150)

Jane Hutt: The following table has been compiled by the Welsh Assembly Government from information submitted by each local authority. It shows the total number of unfilled places in primary and secondary schools. (All authorities also have some schools which are over-full.) Not all unfilled places are surplus, because a margin of spare capacity needs to be retained in order to accommodate fluctuations in population, and not all surplus capacity can effectively be removed. Nevertheless authorities should be aiming for no more than 10% surplus capacity overall and would need to consider carefully the options for action where individual schools have significant surplus capacity (i.e. over 25% and at least 30 empty places).

Unfilled School Places: January 2007

Nicholas Bourne (Mid & West Wales): How many incidents involving knives were reported at schools across Wales each year since 1999? (WAQ51153)

Jane Hutt: The number of incidents at Welsh schools which involved knives is not collected centrally.  

Section 42 of the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 provides a new power for head teachers to search a pupil whom they reasonably suspect to be carrying a knife or other weapon on his or her person or in his or her belonging. Any school which suspects knife-carrying will be able to choose whether to conduct a search, or call the police to do so.  

Section 42 is not yet in force in Wales. I intend to consult on the timing of the introduction of section 42 and on associated guidance, in the Summer Term 2008.

I wish to ensure that head teachers in Wales are able to foster an environment in which all members of the school community can thrive and feel respected, safe and secure; and have the legal powers to do that.   Decisions on what is appropriate for an individual school will be a matter for the governing body and the head teacher.

Nicholas Bourne (Mid & West Wales): What is the average level of student debt in Wales in each year since 1999? (WAQ51155)

Jane Hutt: The 2004/05 Student Income and Expenditure Survey presented the first robust figures on general measures relating to student finance for Welsh domiciled students.  The survey was boosted in order to allow the analysis of the income and expenditure of Welsh domiciled students separately for the first time and reported a predicted level of student debt among final year full-time students of around £7,650 by the end of their course.

The size of the sample was still too small to provide a robust estimate for part-time students. Part-time students in general appeared to be better off than full-time, with savings exceeding borrowings.

The latest 2007/08 student income and expenditure survey, with a boosted sample for Welsh domiciled students, is currently in progress. The survey report is expected to be published in November 2008.

Nicholas Bourne (Mid and West Wales): How many children residing in Wales are educated in England? (WAQ51156)

Jane Hutt: Information provided by the Department for Children, Schools and Families show that in January 2007 there were 1,950 pupils resident in Wales and educated in LEA maintained schools in England.

Nicholas Bourne (Mid & West Wales): Will the Minister provide details of the administrative costs of her department in each year since 1999? (WAQ51157)

Jane Hutt: The Permanent Secretary, who manages the Central Administration budget for the Welsh Assembly Government, will write to you in response to this question.

Questions to the Minister for Finance and Public Service Delivery

Nicholas Bourne (Mid & West Wales): Will the Minister provide details of the number of Assembly Sponsored Public Bodies in Wales in each year since 1999? (WAQ51193)

The Minister for Finance and Public Service Delivery (Andrew Davies): The information requested is set out in the table below:

* as at 31 March

Peter Black (South Wales West): How much has been budgeted for the maintenance of Welsh Assembly Government buildings throughout Wales for the financial year 2008/09? (WAQ51200)

Andrew Davies: The anticipated budget for the repair, servicing and maintenance of the Assembly Government’s administrative estate is around £3.5m in 2008-2009. This is in the General Administrative Expenditure Budget within the Central Administration MEG.

Peter Black (South Wales West): How much has been budgeted for new build Welsh Assembly Government buildings throughout Wales for the financial year 2008/09? (WAQ51202)

Andrew Davies: Initial allocations included in Central Administration baselines for next financial year are £3.5m revenue and £5m capital. Detailed profiling of the remaining capital costs for the Aberystwyth building is currently being undertaken and, once the profile has been confirmed, will form the basis of the full capital budget. This profiling work is based upon the previously published construction target cost of £20.5m net of VAT.

As you will be aware, we are about to embark on a reprocurement of the Llandudno Junction Building construction and whilst we do have an indicative budget figure it would be inappropriate to disclose that estimate for commercial reasons.

Questions to the Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing

Nick Ramsay (Monmouth): What representations has the Minister received from the UK Government on Parliamentary orders to increase renewable energy production across the UK? (WAQ51127)

The Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing (Jane Davidson): I have received no representations from the UK Government on Parliamentary orders to increase renewable energy production across the UK.

Nick Ramsay (Monmouth): Will the Minister outline the Welsh Assembly Government’s policies on the development of wind turbines as a source of renewable energy in Wales? (WAQ51128)

Jane Davidson: Wind energy is the most readily available commercial renewable technology and Wales’ weather and geography means we are well placed to use it. Our policy is to place wind turbines where they are most effective.  

TAN 8 SSAS encompass less than 4% of the land mass of Wales. The Forestry Commission is undertaking the process of leasing the land which it manages within the TAN 8 strategic search areas for major wind farm developments on a competitive basis. The successful wind farm developers in the bidding process have been offered options for this land (which constitutes a very small fraction of the forested area of Wales) requiring the minimum of tree felling. These development proposals will be subject to normal planning consent processes and will need electricity grid connections. TAN 8 considered the issue of landscape impact and designated areas and  ensured that National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, amongst other areas, would not be included as strategic search areas.

Offshore, there are proposals for two large wind-farms, 750MW off Abergele and 1,500MW in the outer Bristol Channel straddling the Wales/England median line near Lundy: with the potential for more following the completion of the recently announced England and Wales off shore wind strategic environmental assessment exercise.

Nicholas Bourne (Mid and West Wales): Will the Minister provide details of how the Assembly Government intends to support first time house buyers in Wales? (WAQ51158)

The Deputy Minister (Jocelyn Davies): We are currently looking at options to provide help for first time buyers to fulfill the commitment in the Assembly Government’s policy paper 'One Wales’. Work on this is progressing well and I will make a decision in due course.

Nicholas Bourne (Mid and West Wales): Will the Minister provide details of the criteria it intends to apply to its proposals to provide grants for first time buyers in Wales? (WAQ51159)

Jocelyn Davies: We are currently looking at options to provide help for first time buyers to fulfill the commitment in the Assembly Government’s policy paper 'One Wales’.  Work on this is progressing well and I will make a decision in due course.

Nicholas Bourne (Mid and West Wales): What is the average proposed grant to be awarded to first time house buyers as per the policy outlined in the One Wales Government programme? (WAQ51160)

Jocelyn Davies: We are currently looking at options to provide help for first time buyers to fulfill the commitment in the Assembly Government’s policy paper 'One Wales’. Work on this is progressing well and I will make a decision in due course.

Nicholas Bourne (Mid & West Wales): Will the Minister provide details of the amount of energy generated in Wales which comes from renewable sources in each year since 1999? (WAQ51188)

Jane Davidson: Details of energy generated in Wales from renewable sources are contained in the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform publication Energy Trends. Figures prior to 2002 are not included as a change in methodology means that figures collected from this year onwards are not comparable with figures from earlier years. The amounts of energy generated from renewable sources since 2002 are:

2002 - 783 GWh

2003 - 787 GWh

2004 - 1,030 GWh

2005 - 1,216 GWh

2006 - 1,409 GWh

Nicholas Bourne (Mid & West Wales): How many local authorities in Wales now operate fortnightly domestic refuse collections? (WAQ51189)

Jane Davidson: Eight local authorities in Wales currently operate fortnightly domestic refuse collections to at least some of the households in their area. These are Conwy, Denbighshire, Newport, Torfaen, Wrexham, the Isle of Anglesey, Gwynedd and Carmarthenshire. Similar services are under consideration in a number of other areas.

Fortnightly collections offer residents improved and environmentally sustainable services as the fortnightly collection of residual waste complements alternate collection of recyclable and compostable wastes. This encourages higher recycling rates while helping to hold down local authority collection costs resulting from the additional services being provided to meet Welsh Assembly Government targets and EU landfill diversion targets. It also helps to decrease the amount of residual waste sent for costly landfill disposal.

Local authorities decide the pattern of services in their areas but the Assembly Government has supported the introduction of fortnightly residual waste collection with alternate collection of recyclates particularly if authorities collect recyclable and compostable waste weekly.

Nick Ramsay (Monmouth):  Will the Minister make a statement on how she is ensuring that the recommendations set out in the interim Pitt report are passed down to local authorities in Wales? (WAQ51195)

Jane Davidson: The interim Report provides a comprehensive assessment of the consequences of last summer’s floods, the response provided and describes the emerging conclusions of those investigations.  While Wales was fortunate to have escaped the worst of last summer’s weather it is equally as vulnerable and the report’s emerging conclusions are of relevance to Wales.

The Report makes 87 interim recommendations, 15 of which the authors feel should be progressed and implemented immediately. The New Approaches Programme which I launched last summer will deliver a framework within which flood and coastal risk can be effectively managed in Wales and the report’s findings generally support the direction being forged in Wales through this Programme.

The majority of the recommendations require actions by the Environment Agency and Local Resilience Fora including local authorities. My officials are working with representatives from the Environment Agency, local government, the emergency services and internal policy colleagues to consider the implications of the report, their significance and how best to implement in Wales. An action plan to implement the report’s recommendations in Wales is being prepared and will be complete by the end of March. Implementation will be through the Wales Resilience Framework.

Questions to the Minister for Health and Social Services

Nicholas Bourne (Mid & West Wales): Will the Minister list the number of recorded attacks on Welsh Ambulance Trust paramedics and other ambulance staff in each year since 1999? (WAQ51139)

The Minister for Health and Social Services (Edwina Hart): Data for every year since 1999 is not available. However, I can tell you that the total number of violent incidents against Welsh Ambulance Trust staff reported for 2003/04, 2005/06 and 2006 /07 were 179, 285 and 204 respectively.

Nicholas Bourne (Mid & West Wales): Will the Minister make a statement on the estimated cost of providing a family nurse for every Secondary school in Wales? (WAQ51140)

Edwina Hart: The budget allocation of £4.5m to support this commitment has been announced. It is not possible to provide detailed costs until the model of providing a family focussed service to school aged children has been agreed.

Nicholas Bourne (Mid & West Wales): What is the projected cost of maintaining the free NHS prescriptions policy in each year to 2017? (WAQ51141)

Edwina Hart: £29.5million was the total funding allocated in 2007-08 to reimburse LHBs for the phased reduction in the costs of prescription charges. This was based on previous years’ income. This funding has been built into the baseline allocation for LHBs for GP Prescribing.

We can only assume that the cost of free prescriptions will increase in line with the increase in prescription volumes generally (assuming that the percentage of people eligible for free prescriptions remains constant). Prescription volume growth in 2006-07 (over the previous year) was 3.76%. 

Nicholas Bourne (Mid & West Wales): Will the Minister provide details of the number of cancelled operations at NHS hospitals in Wales in each year since 1999? (WAQ51142)

Nicholas Bourne (Mid & West Wales): What is the estimated cost of cancelled operations in NHS hospitals in Wales in each year since 1999? (WAQ51143)

Edwina Hart: Although cancelled operations data has been collected from June 2002, initially, not all trusts submitted the data. The full data has been submitted from January 2003, and includes cancellations by the patient, cancellations by the hospital for clinical reasons and cancellations by the hospital for non-clinical reasons. The data in the table below gives the number of cancelled operations in each year.

It should be noted that an operation is classed as cancelled once the patient has received a verbal or written notification of the date of operation and is subsequently cancelled. Not all cancellations result in the loss of a theatre slot. During the same period, over 1.1million operations have taken place in NHS Wales.

It is not possible to estimate the cost of cancelled operations to the NHS in Wales.

Nicholas Bourne (Mid & West Wales): Will the Minister provide details of the administrative costs of her department in each year since 1999? (WAQ51144)

Edwina Hart: The Permanent Secretary, who manages the Central Administration budget for the Welsh Assembly Government, will write to you in response to this question.

Nicholas Bourne (Mid & West Wales): Will the Minister provide details of the number of cancelled GP appointments in each year since 1999? (WAQ51146)

Edwina Hart: This information is not held centrally.

Nicholas Bourne (Mid & West Wales): What is the estimated cost of cancelled GP appointments in each year since 1999? (WAQ51147)

Edwina Hart: This information is not held centrally.

Darren Millar (Clwyd West): Has the drug Sutent been prescribed to any NHS patients in Wales and if so in what Local Health Board Area and under what circumstances? (WAQ51191)

Edwina Hart: The drug Sunitinib (Sutent®) has been dispensed within hospital pharmacies to NHS patients in Wales since September 2006. The latest data is attached. I have no further details of the circumstances under which it was prescribed.

Nicholas Bourne (Mid & West Wales): What recent discussions has the Minister had regarding the provision of additional funding for the roll out of human papilloma vaccines for women in Wales 2008? (WAQ51192)

Edwina Hart: I have identified funding for the roll-out of the vaccination programme starting in Autumn 2008. Welsh Assembly Government officials have been engaged, on my behalf, in discussions with the National Public Health Service, the NHS and the other UK health departments. These discussions are based on the recommendations received by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation - the independent expert group that advises each UK health department on vaccination policy.  

Questions to the Minister for Heritage

Nicholas Bourne (Mid & West Wales): What discussions has the Minister had with the Westminster government regarding the impact of the planned digital television switchover in Wales? (WAQ51175)

Nicholas Bourne (Mid & West Wales): What percentage of households in Wales does not currently receive digital television? (WAQ51176)

The Minister for Heritage (Rhodri Glyn Thomas): I am in regular contact with Westminster Ministers regarding digital switchover and the Welsh Assembly Government is represented on the UK government’s digital switchover group.

Latest figures from Digital UK show that 10% of households in Wales do not currently receive digital television.