​Written Assembly Questions tabled on 7 December 2016 for answer on 14 December 2016

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 First Minister

Steffan Lewis (South Wales East): What assessment has ‎been made of the transitional help required for exporting companies based in Wales for a future outside the:
1) single market
2) customs union (WAQ71673)
 
Answer received on 13 December 2016

The First Minister (Carwyn Jones): We have a comprehensive range of support for existing and would-be exporters that is focussed on:

Inspiring them to start or grow their exports.

Transferring the knowledge and skills to build their capability to export.

Supporting visits to overseas markets.

It is not possible to say what future trading arrangements will look like at this stage but my officials are already working closely with exporters and stand ready to provide the help that they need going forward.

To ask the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure

Andrew RT Davies (South Wales Central): What assurances has the Minister received following his most recent meeting with Ford Europe? (WAQ71655)

Answer received on 13 December 2016

Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure (Ken Skates): We are in regular dialogue with the Ford European Management team and the Bridgend plant. Ford and the Welsh Government are in agreement that the plant and its workforce should continue to make productivity and cost improvements, compete to win new investment opportunities in a competitive global market place, and demonstrate that it can be as  efficient as its sister plants, across Europe.

We have consistently provided capital investment and skills support to win new investment to the site and will continue to support new opportunities, where possible.

Andrew RT Davies (South Wales Central): Will the Minister provide a breakdown of the monies provided over the last three years to war memorial maintenance, detailing which memorials have been in receipt of this money and the sum each memorial has received? (WAQ71656)

Andrew RT Davies (South Wales Central): What grants/support payments are provided by the Welsh Government to support the maintenance and ensure the upkeep of war memorials in Wales? (WAQ71663)
 
Answer received on 14 December 2016

Ken Skates:  In April 2014, the Welsh Government launched a new programme "Grants for War Memorials" to support the repair and conservation of all types of war memorials in Wales. The grant scheme, administered by Cadw, is to run for 4 years as part of the First World War commemorations and eligible projects are offered grants of up to £10,000, up to a maximum of 70% of eligible costs.
 
To date, grant totalling £73,972 has been offered as follows:

Andrew RT Davies (South Wales Central): Will the Minister make a statement on the partial closure of the Two Sisters operation in Merthyr as to the current commitments he has secured for the rest of the plant's operations? (WAQ71657)

Answer received on 14 December 2016

Ken Skates: I have met with the Managing Director and other board members of 2 Sisters Red Meat Ltd.  I remain concerned to ensure that the consultation period, which is scheduled to conclude later this week, results in the smallest possible impact for staff engaged in the product packing facility at the abattoir in Merthyr Tydfil.  My officials remain engaged with the company to offer support in this respect.  I have been assured by the Managing Director, however, that the slaughter and deboning activities at Merthyr are not impacted by the company’s review of its operations across its red meat estate.  As such, I am satisfied that the rest of the Merthyr plant’s operations will be unaffected.

Andrew RT Davies (South Wales Central): Will the Minister provide a statement on the amount of money the Board of Cardiff Airport has received from the Welsh Government's approved loan and confirm the repayment terms attached to the loan? (WAQ71659)
 
Answer received on 14 December 2016

Ken Skates: We have agreed a commercial loan facility with Cardiff International Airport Ltd – the value drawn down to date is £21m.  The repayment terms of the loan form part of the loan agreement, which is commercial in confidence.
 
Andrew RT Davies (South Wales Central): Will the Minister make a statement on the outcomes of the meeting between his officials and the Vale of Glamorgan Council on 5 December 2016 in relation to the Dinas Powys bypass? (WAQ71662)

Answer received on 14 December 2016

Ken Skates:  My Officials met with the Vale of Glamorgan Council on 12 December.  Although the Dinas Powys by-pass is not included in the emerging Local Development Plan, the local authority has advised that they will give further consideration to the issues involved.

Adam Price (Carmarthen East and Dinefwr): Will the Minister state whether contingent liabilities in the form of government guarantees have been entered into by the Government in order to facilitate economic development during the last five years? (WAQ71666)

Answer received on 14 December 2016

Ken Skates: During the last 5 years there has been one instance where there has been a guarantee entered into to facilitate economic development which appeared as a contingent liability in the Welsh Government accounts .

In this particular case the guarantee was subsequently called  , but the sums of money involved were recovered by Welsh Government following  the realisation of assets.

Darren Millar (Clwyd West): Will the Minister publish a list of all grants made available to the automotive industry, including the name of the organisation, the grant awarded and the total paid, in each of the past 5 years? (WAQ71670)

Answer received on 14 December 2016

Ken Skates: Since 2011, The Welsh Government has offered just over £49m worth of financial assistance to companies investing in capital projects in the automotive sector in Wales. This has been in support of nearly 40 projects with associated private sector capital of over £360m and in excess of 3,500 jobs. Details of payments of over £25,000 by the Welsh Government to individual organisations are published on the Welsh Government website.

Janet Finch-Saunders (Aberconwy): Will the Minister outline plans for the remaining 4 per cent of the premises in Wales not covered by the Superfast Cymru programme? (WAQ71671)

Answer received on 13 December 2016

Minister for Skills and Science (Julie James): As stated in previous responses on the matter, we have already pre-empted the proposed UK Government broadband USO by establishing in Wales the Access Broadband Cymru grant scheme and Ultrafast Connectivity Voucher scheme which provides funding to access broadband. Those properties not covered by market investment, or by the roll out of Superfast Cymru, can access the scheme now to improve their situation.
 
We are currently assessing the responses to the recent consultation with the telecoms industry in relation to an additional £12.9 million to extend the reach of the Superfast Cymru project next year. This is the amount that BT forecasted last year will be returned to the public purse through a gain-share clause within the current Superfast Cymru contract.
 
A further Open Market Review process is already underway to identify any remaining unserved premises. Only once the outcome of the review has been analysed will we be in a position to confirm both whether and how a new procurement to provide access for further premises can be taken forward. Procurement activity could take place during 2017 with a new contract to commence in early 2018.
 

To ask the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Well-being and Sport

Andrew RT Davies (South Wales Central): Will the Minister confirm that he will be re-categorising heart and stroke 999 calls to ensure that they fall within the category red criteria for emergency response? (WAQ71658)

Andrew RT Davies (South Wales Central): Will the Minister provide a definitive list of conditions that fall within a category red 999 call for Ambulance Services? (WAQ71661)

Answer received on 19 December 2016

The Cabinet Secretary for Health, Well-being and Sport (Vaughan Gething): In my written statement on 6 September, I committed to make a decision on the future of the clinical response model by the end of March 2017, following consideration of the final report from the independent evaluation of the model. I will not pre-empt any recommendations made in the report, including any changes to the future categorisation of calls, nor will I re-categorise clinical conditions without clinical evidence and advice that it is appropriate to do so.
A definitive list of the categorisations for clinical conditions in red, amber and green categories is held by WAST.
It is important to consider that the cause and clinical severity of conditions such as shortness of breath and chest pains can vary and will require call handlers to assess the patient’s condition and circumstances and categorise the call accordingly. As such, the criteria for the categorisation of calls will not always be rigidly applied unless the patient’s clinical condition and individual circumstances support this. For example, heart attacks and strokes may be categorised within the Red or the Amber category according to their relative clinical severity. 
 
Andrew RT Davies (South Wales Central): Will the Minister make a statement on the first seven months since the implementation of the Social Services and Well-Being Act, with particular reference to how it intends to tackle the 11 per cent increase in delayed transfer of care since 2012? (WAQ71664)

Answer received on 19 December 2016

The Cabinet Secretary for Health, Well-being and Sport (Vaughan Gething): I will write to you and a copy of the letter will be placed on the internet.
 

To ask the Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs

Andrew RT Davies (South Wales Central): Will the Minister provide details of what meetings she has held with Western Power in relation to improving capacity to the grid for renewable energy projects in Wales? (WAQ71660)

Answer received on 14 December 2016

Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs (Lesley Griffiths): I have held no such meetings.

To ask the Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Children

Andrew RT Davies (South Wales Central): Will the Minister set out details of the powers he has to compel owners of residential parks to reveal details of their accounts? (WAQ71672)

Answer received on 14 December 2016

Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Children (Carl Sargeant): I do not have any powers to compel owners of residential parks to reveal details of their accounts.

To ask the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government

 
Adam Price (Carmarthen East and Dinefwr): Will the Minister provide a figure for the number of organisations with which the Welsh Government has entered into agreements to accept a restricted and as yet unquantifiable potential liability as set out in the Consolidated Accounts for each of the last five years? (WAQ71665)
 
Answer received on 14 December 2016

Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government (Mark Drakeford):  The Welsh Government has not entered into any agreements to accept unquantifiable potential liabilities in the last five years.

Adam Price (Carmarthen East and Dinefwr): Will the Minister provide figures for infrastructure funding provided by the Welsh Government, broken down by constituency and region over the last ten years? (WAQ71667)

Answer received on 14 December 2016

Mark Drakeford: Regional capital spending does not form part of the audited Welsh Government's consolidated annual accounts.  However, following the publication of the Wales Infrastructure Investment Plan in 2012, information has been collected centrally on projected Welsh Government capital investments with a total value in excess of £0.5m.  A geographical breakdown of this information for the years available is provided in the attached table. 

Welsh Government Capital Spend by Welsh Assembly Constituency 

The following considerations should be noted regarding the collation of this information:

To ask the Counsel General

Andrew RT Davies (South Wales Central): Will the Counsel General provide a list of legal firms, barristers and constitutional experts who have advised him in the preparation and execution of the Welsh Government's case to the Supreme Court regarding the UK Parliament's involvement in triggering Article 50? (WAQ71668)

Answer received on 13 December 2016

Counsel General (Mick Antoniw): The Welsh Government's Legal Services Department instructed leading and junior Counsel, Richard Gordon QC and Tom Pascoe of Brick Court Chambers. No external legal firms were instructed.

The Welsh Government was also grateful for the input of academics Professor Richard Rawlings and Dr Andrew Blick in the preparation of the Counsel General's case.

Andrew RT Davies (South Wales Central): What is the full amount spent to date by the Welsh Government seeking external legal advice for its case to the Supreme Court regarding the UK Parliament's involvement in triggering Article 50, as at 6 December 2016? (WAQ71669)

Answer received on 13 December 2016

Mick Antoniw: The amount spent as at 6 December 2016 by the Welsh Government is £48,585.36 + VAT.