Written Assembly Questions tabled on 10 February 2014 for answer on 17 February 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)
To ask the Minister for Economy, Science and Transport
Eluned Parrott (South Wales Central): Further to the Minister’s answer to WAQ65398, given that £651,000 had been allocated in the 2013/14 Welsh Government Budget for the International Trade Opportunities Programme, how much of it has been spent to the end of January? (WAQ66404)
Answer received for publication on 17 February 2014
The Minister for Economy, Science and Transport (Edwina Hart): £234,948 of the International Trade Opportunities programme budget has been spent this financial year to 31 January 2014.
Eluned Parrott (South Wales Central): How much money has been allocated for the International Trade Opportunities Programme in the Welsh Government Budget for 2014/15? (WAQ66405)
Answer received for publication on 17 February 2014
Edwina Hart: The 2014-15 budget for the International Trade Opportunities programme has not yet been agreed.
Eluned Parrott (South Wales Central): What analysis has the Welsh Government carried out regarding the reasons why businesses are deciding not to proceed with International Trade Opportunities Programme Projects and what has the Minister learnt from this? (WAQ66406)
Answer received for publication on 17 February 2014
Edwina Hart: Our analysis shows that there are four main reasons for a company’s decision not to proceed with an ITO project. These are:
- Company restructure or change of personnel;
- Project linked to an overseas visit that was cancelled or postponed by the company;
- Company has insufficient resources to take the project forward at the time;
- Company selected an alternative source of assistance
Eluned Parrott (South Wales Central): In the International Trade Opportunities Programme, on a month by month basis between 1 September 2013 and 31 January 2014, how many Project Briefs have been forwarded to contractors for them to produce Project Plans, for each of the following regions:
- Western Europe 1 (Ireland, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland)
- Western Europe 2 (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Switzerland, Greece)
- Central & Eastern Europe (Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Turkey, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia)
- Russia & Ukraine
- Middle East & North Africa (Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Egypt, Oman, UAE, Libya)
- North America (USA, Canada, Mexico)
- South America (Brazil, Argentina, Chile)
- Oceania (Australia, New Zealand)
- India
- China, Hong Kong & Taiwan
- North Asia (Japan, South Korea)
- South Asia (Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore)? (WAQ66407)
Answer received for publication on 17 February 2014
Edwina Hart: Thirty eight project briefs were forwarded to contractors between 1 September 2013 and 31 January 2014. The monthly breakdown by region is provided below.
Eluned Parrott (South Wales Central): In the International Trade Opportunities Programme, for each of the regions listed below, at 31 January 2014, (a) how many projects had been approved and have gone ahead, (b) how many projects have been discontinued (i.e. a decision has been taken to not proceed with the project), (c) how many were awaiting a decision and (d) how many were yet to reach the deadline for submitting Project Plans:
- Western Europe 1 (Ireland, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland)
- Western Europe 2 (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Switzerland, Greece)
- Central & Eastern Europe (Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Turkey, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia)
- Russia & Ukraine
- Middle East & North Africa (Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Egypt, Oman, UAE, Libya)
- North America (USA, Canada, Mexico)
- South America (Brazil, Argentina, Chile)
- Oceania (Australia, New Zealand)
- India
- China, Hong Kong & Taiwan
- North Asia (Japan, South Korea)
- South Asia (Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore)? (WAQ66219)
Answer received for publication on 17 February 2014
Edwina Hart: The total number of projects approved, discontinued, awaiting a decision and awaiting a project plan is shown in the table below. This information is for the financial year to 31 January 2014.
To ask the Minister for Education and Skills
Aled Roberts (North Wales): How soon after the publication of School Census (PLASC) data are individual schools informed of their Pupil Deprivation Grant allocation? (WAQ66409)
Answer received for publication on 17 February 2014
The Minister for Education and Skills (Huw Lewis): Guidance issued to Consortia in April 2013 included an indicative budget for 2013-14 and 2014-15 for the PDG to enable longer term planning. The verified PLASC data on which the allocations are calculated is normally available in June/July. The Welsh Government’s Final Budget for 14-15 was published in December.
Consortia have been advised of their PDG allocations for 2014/15 and they are in the process of confirming with schools the exact level of funding they will receive. Local Authorities are required to set their overall budgets by 11 March and to confirm school budgets by 31 March.
Aled Roberts (North Wales): Will the Minister confirm that all schools in receipt of Pupil Deprivation Grant funding now have details on their websites showing how the money is being spent? (WAQ66411)
Answer received for publication on 17 February 2014
Huw Lewis:The requirement for schools to publish information about the PDG on their websites is clearly stated in our guidance and we will be asking consortia coordinators to follow this up to ensure that schools comply.
Aled Roberts (North Wales): What work has the Welsh Government undertaken to assess extension of the Pupil Deprivation Grant to school children under five years of age? (WAQ66413)
Answer received for publication on 17 February 2014
Huw Lewis: The budget agreement clearly states that the Pupil Deprivation Grant (PDG) is only available to support pupils aged 5-15 who are eligible for Free School Meals (e-FSM) and looked after children (LAC) aged 4-15. Any changes to include nursery age pupils would breach the budget agreement.
The Welsh Government recognises the importance of early years education. Officials are currently working to improve consistency of support across Wales and this will be addressed further through the Early Years and Child Care Plan, which will link into our emerging Deprivation Programme.
Aled Roberts (North Wales): What regular monitoring mechanisms does the Minister currently employ to collate information on how schools are spending their Pupil Deprivation Grant funding? (WAQ66410)
Aled Roberts (North Wales): What plans does the Minister have to rationalise the number of documents school leaders need to read in order to fully understand how to spend the Pupil Deprivation Grant? (WAQ66414)
Aled Roberts (North Wales): What assessment has the Welsh Government made of the idea that the level of paperwork involved in implementing the Pupil Deprivation Grant is “overly bureaucratic”? (WAQ66416)
Answer received for publication on 17 February 2014 (WAQ66410, WAQ66414 and WAQ66416)
Huw Lewis: In terms of monitoring expenditure, the primary source of evidence is in consortia PDG spending plans and school reports on the use of their PDG.
In order to assist school leaders, we published a short guidance for practitioners in December 2013; this was focussed on what they need to know. The Sutton Trust Toolkit and other recommended reading are all hosted at a central point on Learning Wales, grouped under the Poverty theme; these additional documents are not essential to understanding how to spend the grant but are there to provide practitioners with ideas and inspiration.
Other than a requirement to publish online their PDG allocations, plans for its use, and the impact of their interventions, the Welsh Government does not impose any other reporting requirements on schools in relation to their allocation of the PDG. The grant is distributed via the regional consortia and it is the consortia that are required to submit spending plans and reports to Welsh Government.
Aled Roberts (North Wales): What assessment has the Welsh Government made of the number of under-fives eligible for free school meals in primary schools? (WAQ66417)
Answer received for publication on 14 February 2014
Huw Lewis: Nursery-aged children do not normally receive full time education hence they are not normally eligible to receive free school meals.
The most recent data available comes from the Pupil Level Annual School Census 2013 (PLASC). According to PLASC, 10,109 pupils under five years of age were eligible for Free School Meals as at January 2013.
Aled Roberts (North Wales): What training is given to school leaders and staff regarding the use of Pupil Deprivation Grant funding? (WAQ66415)
Aled Roberts (North Wales): How is the Welsh Government ensuring that best practice in respect of Pupil Deprivation Grant spending is being shared with other schools? (WAQ66418)
Answer received for publication on 17 February 2014 (WAQ66415 andWAQ66418)
Huw Lewis: School Improvement Consortia are expected to support practitioners’ professional development, including developing effective leadership at all levels.
In terms of PDG, consortia should work with schools to promote:
- collaborative approaches such as coaching and mentoring by the most effective practitioners
- action-based enquiry methods such as professional learning communities
- attendance at seminars and events on reducing the impact of poverty on pupils’ educational attainment,
- high-quality accredited practical programmes and/or modules as set out in the Masters in Educational Practice (MEP), launched in September 2012;
- a module on poverty will be published on the Learning Wales website in Spring 2014.
- The Welsh Government has commissioned the four consortia to develop a Policy Observatory and database of good practice for schools to share..
To further support schools to make effective use of the PDG, we are developing a quick guide to what works in schools which will be published shortly. We will also be broadcasting a webinar at the end of March which will show video footage case studies, a presentation by the Sutton Trust on the use of the toolkit, and the opportunity to put questions to an invited panel.
Aled Roberts (North Wales): What existing programmes or schemes have been cancelled to provide the unidentified £7.9 million which forms part of the new £20 million Schools Challenge Cymru scheme? (WAQ66419)
Answer received for publication on 17 February 2014
Huw Lewis: The £20 million package of support announced for Schools Challenge Cymru includes the £12.1 million identified by the Minister for Finance last month as part of the Welsh Government’s response to the UK Government’s Autumn Statement. We are looking at a range of budget lines across the DfES MEG to identify which ones will support delivery of the Schools Challenge Cymru programme. Any resultant budget movements will be included in the 2014-15 Supplementary Budgets.
Aled Roberts (North Wales): What changes will the Minister be making to the evaluation of teachers’ professional development in order to achieve a “relentless focus” on improvement within Schools Challenge Cymru? (WAQ66420)
Answer received for publication on 17 February 2014
Huw Lewis: I recognise that the quality of teaching is the single most influential factor on learner outcomes and I am committed to ensuring that all school practitioners in Wales undertake effective professional development throughout their career. The whole school workforce has a role to play in driving up standards in schools and it is essential that, together, they are able to deliver, support and lead high quality teaching.
In terms of evaluating professional development, we have already established the practice, review and development (PRD) process, following a review of continuing professional development (CPD) provision, performance management and professional standards for teachers in Wales. PRD combines these three elements to establish an integrated system that ensures professional development needs are identified through performance management, using professional standards as the ‘backdrop’. This helps to ensure that professional development is focussed on improved learner outcomes and requires schools and practitioners to evaluate the impact of their participation in professional development activities.
To further support the evaluation of professional development, work is also underway to introduce Regulations that will require schools to show how they intend to develop their staff in their school development plan (SDP). This will help to ensure that professional development is firmly linked to the school’s improvement priorities and support rigorous evaluation of the extent to which improvement targets and priorities have been addressed.
Following a thematic study recently carried out by Estyn of schools’ use of statutory INSET days, officials have written to all local authorities/consortia, setting out the expectation for consortia system leaders/challenge advisors to work with individual schools to plan and evaluate INSET provision. The letter also highlighted their duty to identify and share effective practice with other schools and facilitate collaborative development activities.
Aled Roberts (North Wales): What criteria will the Minister be using to identify which schools will participate in Schools Challenge Cymru? (WAQ66421)
Answer received for publication on 17 February 2014
Huw Lewis: This programme will focus on our most challenged schools facing the most challenging circumstances. Participating schools will be identified as underperforming as measured by banding, plus a range of deprivation related factors including the achievement of Level 2 inclusive of pupils eligible for free school meals. Education Consortia are key partners. We will work with them in line with the national model to ensure we target our resources effectively.
Aled Roberts (North Wales): Will the financial support available to schools participating in Schools Challenge Cymru be in addition to the £10,000 they receive as Band 4 or Band 5 schools? (WAQ66422)
Answer received for publication on 17 February 2014
Huw Lewis: No decision has been made yet about the continuation of financial support for Band 4 and 5 schools in 2014/15. Officials are currently considering options for the continuation of this financial support alongside the funding arrangements for Schools Challenge Cymru.
Aled Roberts (North Wales): Further to the Minister’s written statement, given on 10 February 2013, what confirmations has the Minister already received that the expected “expertise from all over the UK” will be delivered? (WAQ66423)
Answer received for publication on 17 February 2014
Huw Lewis: We already have experts working with us to ensure we have the best education system possible. Some have conducted reviews on our behalf – including Robert Hill. Others such as Mel Ainscow are already working with local authorities and consortia and making a significant difference. We will draw on their expertise and identify others who will work with us to support and deliver Schools Challenge Cymru.
Aled Roberts (North Wales): What criteria will be used to identify and employ the “specially-appointed system leaders” required to help deliver the Central South Wales Challenge? (WAQ66424)
Answer received for publication on 17 February 2014
Huw Lewis: Ensuring we have the right people working in the right way with our challenge schools is essential to this programme. Officials are developing the criteria for this crucial role.
We will ensure we make full use of the knowledge and expertise across Wales as well as working with experts drawn from across the UK. Some of Wales’ best performing schools will share expertise and leadership, supporting teachers in the Challenge Schools Cymru programme to achieve the improvements needed.
Aled Roberts (North Wales): How will the Central South Wales Challenge schools programme work within Schools Challenge Cymru? (WAQ66425)
Answer received for publication on 17 February 2014
Huw Lewis: The Consortia across Wales have a fundamental role in Schools Challenge Cymru programme and are key partners. They will help to identify the schools to benefit from this programme. We will work with them in line with the national model to ensure that we target our resources effectively.
Central South Wales consortia are encouraging their schools to work together to share good practice to improve standards. This approach will be part of the wider Schools Challenge Cymru package of support underpinned by the additional funding that has been announced. We expect the action plans for each school in the Schools Challenge Cymru programme to bring coherence across any other interventions in place to support improvement.
Aled Roberts (North Wales): What impact will Schools Challenge Cymru funding have on schools who benefit from existing projects and funding? (WAQ66426)
Answer received for publication on 17 February 2014
Huw Lewis: As advised in WAQ66419, we are looking at a range of budget lines across the DfES MEG to identify which ones will support delivery of the Schools Challenge Cymru programme. Any resultant budget movements will be included in the 2014-15 Supplementary Budgets.
Aled Roberts (North Wales): What discussions did the Minister have with school leaders and education professionals prior to announcing the Schools Challenge programmes? (WAQ66427)
Answer received for publication on 17 February 2014
Huw Lewis: I meet with school leaders and education professionals on a regular basis and hold discussions on many areas of my portfolio.
Aled Roberts (North Wales): Will the Schools Challenge Cymru programme run from April 2014 or September 2014? (WAQ66428)
Answer received for publication on 19 February 2014
Huw Lewis: Once we have identified the schools to take part in the programme there will be a period of action planning, with the programme taking effect in schools from September. We expect to announce the schools participating in Schools Challenge Cymru by the beginning of May and the Head Teachers of those schools will be expected to engage in activities over the summer period in readiness for September.
Aled Roberts (North Wales): Will the Minister consider reviewing the funding system for the Pupil Deprivation Grant so that it reflects the actual number of eligible pupils rather than the number in the previous year’s School Census? (WAQ66412)
Aled Roberts (North Wales): What restrictions are in place that prevent Welsh Government matching actual payment of the Pupil Deprivation Grant to schools with the start of the school financial year? (WAQ66429)
Answer received for publication on 17 February 2014 (WAQ66412 and WAQ66429)
Huw Lewis: We currently have no plans to review the allocation basis for PDG.
We can only base funding allocation on verified data. We use verified PLASC.
PDG allocations for the 2014/15 financial year were based on the PLASC data for January 2013. PLASC data for January 2014 will not be available until August 2014.
The budgeting negotiations and settlement run to the financial year. Due to the level of funding provided under PDG, the grant must remain in line with the budgeting process and hence the financial year.
To ask the Minister for Health and Social Services
Leighton Andrews (Rhondda): Is the Minister aware of whether pregnant mothers were being diverted away from the University Hospital of Wales to other hospitals between 7th and 9th February and, if this was the case, will he give the reasons and the number of those who were affected? (WAQ66408)
Answer received for publication on 19 February 2014
The Minister for Health and Social Services (Mark Drakeford): Because of a highly unusual and sudden surge in demand on 7th February, one woman was diverted to another general hospital due to the lack of capacity in the Maternity Unit. On 8 February one woman was transferred to a facility that was able to provide neonatal cots following an elective Caesarean section for a twin pregnancy.