Written Assembly Questions tabled on 4 June 2015 for answer on 11 June 2015
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 Education and Skills
Aled Roberts (North Wales): Will the 2014-15 additional funding of £12.5 million from the Employment and Skills budget expenditure line, which was ring-fenced and intended to support part-time, employed learners, be available again in this 2015-16 period and/or the 2016-17 period? (WAQ68748)
Answer received 16 June 2015
The Deputy Minister for Skills (Julie James):
A funding allocation of £12.5 million was ring fenced to support the first phase development of the new Skills Priorities Programme in the 2014/15 academic Year. In the 2015/16 academic year Welsh Government has ring-fenced funding of £4.5 million for the second phase of the Skills Priorities Programme. This activity will run from September 2015 to March 2016 and will be delivered through three strands of activity
The first strand will fund residual learning activity within academic year 15/16. This will enable learners who have already commenced but not completed their learning in the 2014/15 academic year to achieve the learning outcome. The second strand will help build capacity within the further education sector to deliver targeted higher-level skills provision in line with Welsh Government priority sectors and linked to regional demand. The third strand will support practitioner development to enable lecturers to deliver qualifications at Levels 4 and 5 and above.
This activity will enhance the further education sector's capacity and capability to respond to the higher level skills requirements of employers.
Welsh Government officials will continue to work closely with Further Education Institutions to support the ongoing development of the Skills Priorities Programme. Further Education Institutions will be notified at the earliest opportunity of the Welsh Government funding available from April 2016. It is envisaged that this funding will be eligible for use as match funding within forthcoming European Social Fund projects. .
To ask the Minister for Health and Social Services
Janet Finch-Saunders (Aberconwy): What steps is the Welsh Government taking to address the £2.5 billion funding gap in the Welsh NHS predicted by the Nuffield Trust by 2025-26? (WAQ67849)
Answer received on 11 June 2015
The Minister for Health and Social Services (Mark Drakeford): The Welsh Government's budget has been ruthlessly reduced by the Government at Westminster. A further £50 million has been taken from Welsh services, in year and without any prior notice. Against this background the Welsh Government takes all steps within its own powers to protect patients from this attack.
The Welsh Government has provided an additional £500m in total for the NHS in 2014-15 and 2015-16 as part of its immediate response to the Nuffield Trust's A Decade of Austerity in Wales? report, which was published in 2014.
This is equivalent to an additional £80 per person in Wales in 2014-15 and £75 per person in 2015-16.
The long-term funding challenge identified by the Nuffield Trust is based on a number of assumptions, including that funding for the NHS maintains its share of GDP. The report also says that NHS will have to undertake service reform, provide more care closer to people's homes and make productivity and efficiency savings if it is to remain affordable in the long term.
Decisions about funding for the NHS in Wales will be taken following the outcome of the UK Government's spending review, which is expected in the autumn.