Written Assembly Questions tabled on 6 November 2015 for answer on 13 November 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 Natural Resources
Nick Ramsay (Monmouth): What discussions has the Welsh Government held with local authorities in Wales on the number of solar farms it would like to see approved? (WAQ69391)
Nick Ramsay (Monmouth): What discussions has the Welsh Government held with local authorities in Wales on the amount of energy to be produced from solar farms in each or any local authority? (WAQ69393)
Answer received on 17 November 2015
The Minister for Natural Resources (Carl Sargeant): None. Our planning policies and guidance, as outlined in Planning Policy Wales and Technical Advice Note 8, encourage local planning authorities to plan positively for all forms of renewable and low carbon energy technologies. I published my Green Growth Wales: Local Energy document in July, and this sets out my ambition for Wales to use locally generated energy, from a range of installations to fulfil local demand and reduce our dependence on central generation. The document outlines a number of actions that I am taking to address some of the identified issues in the planning system. In September I published a revision to the Welsh Government's Practice Guidance - Planning for Renewable and Low Carbon Energy – A Toolkit for Planners, which gives local planning authorities a methodology for calculating the potential for solar power renewable energy generation in their area. This, in turn, can be used to form the evidence base for positive, proactive policies in local development plans.
Welsh Government continues to support local authorities in the development of their own renewable energy and energy efficiency schemes through our Green Growth Wales and Resource Efficient Wales services. Such development has the ability to contribute to the ambitions set out in the Well Being of Future Generations Act 2015, and to enable local authorities to save money and generate income. In constrained financial times this is going to be crucial in protecting front-line services.
To ask the Minister for Education and Skills
Andrew RT Davies (South Wales Central): Will the Minister outline what criteria the Welsh Government used to choose the 68 pioneer schools? (WAQ69390)
Answer received on 17 November 2015
The Minister for Education and Skills (Huw Lewis):
Earlier this year, I invited consortia to work with their schools across Wales to apply to be Pioneer Schools, taking forward the development of the new curriculum. An application form was provided by Welsh Government for consortia to share with schools, containing a clear set of six criteria, against which applications would be assessed by a National Panel in October. The National Panel was chaired by Professor Graham Donaldson, with representation from Estyn, the Welsh Local Government Association and Welsh Government.
The criteria for selection as a Pioneer School required them to demonstrate:
- The degree to which the principles of Successful Futures were already embedded in their practice and planning;
- That the school, department and nominated practitioners had a proven track record of developing curriculum, teaching, learning and assessment practice at school, departmental and practitioner level;
- A track record in sharing and engagement in partnership working, including school to school support;
- The school's track record of involvement in professional learning in the last three years, including an account of how any proposed partnerships, networks or clusters would work;
- Details about the school's most compelling example of innovation and creativity in the last three years;
- Their confidence in highly effective leadership practice in the school, including relevant comments from Estyn reports etc.
The schools announced as Pioneers (Curriculum) on November 5th were drawn from across Wales, and represent a range of rural and urban settings; English-medium and Welsh-medium; primary, secondary and special schools, schools with a religious character, and a range of school roll sizes.
I am also working with Owain ap Dafydd, Headteacher of Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhymni, who has brought together a network of over 30 Welsh-medium schools. These schools will support the wider Pioneer Network, and ongoing discussions with Owain and the regional consortia, building on his emerging network, will result in the identification of further Welsh-medium Pioneer Schools (Curriculum) in the coming weeks.
To ask the Minister for Finance and Government Business
Andrew RT Davies (South Wales Central): Will the Minster detail how many jobs have been created by Capital Law Commercial LLP/Consult Capital Ltd as a result of Welsh Government grants and break this down for each year of receipt? (WAQ69392)
Andrew RT Davies (South Wales Central): Will the Minister detail how much money Capital Law Commercial LLP/Consult Capital has received in Welsh Government grants and break this down for each year of receipt? (WAQ69394)
Andrew RT Davies (South Wales Central): Will the Minister detail how many redundancies have been made by Capital Law Commercial LLP/Consult Capital in each of the last five years? (WAQ69395)
Answer received on 20 November 2015
The Minister for Finance and Government Business (Jane Hutt): The details of grant funding paid to support Capital Law Commercial LLPare provided in the table below.
Capital Law has received funding under several schemes - the Workforce Development, ReAct and Overseas Business Development Programmes. Consult Capital has not received grant support from Welsh Government
| 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 |
| 44 | 8 | 14 | 8 |
All figures £000's
The Welsh Government grants support paid to Capital Law Commercial LLP had no job creation targets attached to the funding. The information you requested on redundancies made by these businesses is not held by the Welsh Government.
Andrew RT Davies (South Wales Central): Will the Minister detail how many Welsh businesses have received Welsh Government grants for each of the last five consecutive years? (WAQ69396)
Answer received on 20 November 2015
Jane Hutt: The total number of Welsh businesses that have received Welsh Government grant funding for each of the last five consecutive years is 296.