Written Assembly Questions tabled on 10 November 2016 for answer on 17 November 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 Cabinet Secretary for Health, Well-being and Sport
Mark Isherwood (North Wales): What is the Welsh Government's criteria for babies to receiver Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) immunisation, and how is this set? (WAQ71442)
Answer received on 18 November 2016
The Cabinet Secretary for Health, Well-being and Sport (Vaughan Gething): The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is the UK’s independent, expert panel that provides advice on immunisation matters. Guidance to health professionals is published in “Immunisation against infectious disease”. The JCVI recommends Palivizumab should be offered to high risk groups to help protect against the effects of RSV. It is normally given at monthly intervals through the RSV season to very high risk infants under 2 years with severe heart or lung disease, most of whom were born prematurely and in whom the risk of dying from RSV is higher. Individual clinicians may deviate from the guidance if considered appropriate.
Further information can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/458469/Green_Book_Chapter_27a_v2_0W.PDF
Mark Isherwood (North Wales): How is Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) immunisation funded in each Local Health Board? (WAQ71443)
Answer received on 18 November 2016
Vaughan Gething: Health boards should provide this service from within core allocations.
Mark Isherwood (North Wales): How many infants received the Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) immunisation funded in each Local Health Board area during the winter of 2015/16? (WAQ71444)
Answer received on 18 November 2016
Vaughan Gething: This information is not collected centrally.
Simon Thomas (Mid and West Wales): How does the Minister intend to support low income families with disabled children, now that there has been a significant reduction in government funding for the Family Fund? (WAQ7145)
Simon Thomas (Mid and West Wales): How many families receiving funding from the Family Fund in 2014/15 will be unable to reapply as of 2016? (WAQ71454)
Simon Thomas (Mid and West Wales): Where does the Minister expect families of disabled children to find financial support now that the Government has reduced its commitment to and provision of the Family Fund? (WAQ71455)
Simon Thomas (Mid and West Wales): What does the Minister intend to do to help the 3,000-4,000 families in Wales that have previously received support from the Family Fund and are now unable to apply for funding? (WAQ71456)
Simon Thomas (Mid and West Wales): Will the Minister make a statement on the reduction of funding to the Family Fund and the impact this will have on low income families now unable to reapply for this? (WAQ71457)
Answer received on 18 November 2016
The Minister for Social Services and Public Health (Rebecca Evans): I wrote to all Assembly Members on 15 November 2016 setting out the background and context to the funding decisions for the Sustainable Social Services Third Sector Grant Scheme. This scheme replaced four separate grant schemes, including the Family Fund grant, bringing together some £22 million into a single grant. This new grant scheme is enabling third sector organisations to support our transformational approach to the delivery of sustainable social services in Wales. The new grant scheme commenced in April 2016.
Family Fund submitted an application to the new grant scheme and this was assessed against the published grant funding criteria and policy priorities. We received 84 applications requesting funding of more than £69 million. To ensure equity across sectors, a maximum grant of £1.5 million was made available to any one organisation. Family Fund received this maximum grant.
In recognition of the longstanding support provided to families by the Family Fund an additional £400k has been awarded as a transitional grant for 2016/17. This will enable Family Fund to provide additional support for families and will help them to refocus their grant funding model.
The Welsh Government has maintained overall grant funding levels for the third sector in this area, and this has enabled us to fund other third sector organisations which support disabled people including Carers Wales and Learning Disability Wales.
Families are eligible to receive grant funding every three years. Families can however apply within the three year period and the Family Fund will consider making additional grant awards in exceptional circumstances. We have asked Family Fund to focus 70% of new grant awards on respite care and short breaks as in previous years up to 55% of the grant funding was used for goods and services including white goods and ICT equipment such as tablets.
Through our significant investment in the Families First programme, we continue to develop effective, multi-agency systems support for our most vulnerable families in order to improve their outcomes. Our family focussed approach to assessing and tailoring family support is making a real difference to family outcomes and life chances are being improved as a result. We have ring fenced funding providing support for disabled users and this means services such as benefits advice and employment and childcare support will continue to be provided.
To ask the Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs
Simon Thomas (Mid and West Wales): What financial provision has the Minister made for NRW to implement a jobs evaluation? (WAQ71450)W
Simon Thomas (Mid and West Wales): What discussions has the Minister had with NRW about jobs evaluation following the merger? (WAQ71451)W
Answer received on 24 November 2016
The Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs (Lesley Griffiths): No additional financial provision has been made for job evaluation. I expect NRW to manage any additional budget pressures within the parameters of its original business case and its future budgetary provisions. I have met with NRW and also the five Trade Unions representing staff at Natural Resources Wales to discuss this issue.
To ask the Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Children
Janet Finch-Saunders (Aberconwy): Will the Minister make a statement on discrimination and digital exclusion in relation to the difference in cost to register as a landlord online versus paper forms, under Rent Smart Wales? (WAQ71445)
Answer received on 22 November 2016
The Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Children (Carl Sargeant): Paper applications need to be verified with the applicant and entered manually, which makes the process more costly.
Andrew RT Davies (South Wales Central): Will the Minister confirm that he will make additional resources available to primary schools in order to deliver the Welsh Government's commitments to childcare through the foundation phase? (WAQ71446)
Answer received on 22 November 2016
Carl Sargeant: There is currently a requirement for local authorities to provide a minimum of 10 hours of Early Years Foundation Phase and the funding for this is already within the local authorities’ Revenue Support Grant and the specific Education Inclusion Grant.
From September 2017 we will be testing different elements of the childcare offer, including its fit with the Foundation Phase.
Andrew RT Davies (South Wales Central): Will the Minister provide details of exactly how much money will be made available to schools to make childcare capacity increases in the foundation phase, and in particular to holiday provision? (WAQ71447)
Answer received on 22 November 2016
Carl Sargeant: The childcare offer will include the minimum of 10 hours of Early Years Foundation Phase, funding for which is already included in the Revenue Support Grant to local authorities. From September 2017 we will be testing different elements of the childcare offer, including its fit with the Foundation Phase.
I intend to make the offer available in a variety of settings, not just schools, to allow for parental choice and to ensure it works well for parents and children. Holiday provision for 3 and 4 year olds in particular is supported mainly by the non-maintained sector where parents currently rely heavily on day nurseries and child-minders.
Andrew RT Davies (South Wales Central): What modelling/estimations has the Minister's department undertaken in relation to the number of qualified staff that will be required to deliver the childcare commitments during school holidays within the school setting? (WAQ71448)
Answer received on 22 November 2016
Carl Sargeant: I intend to make the childcare offer available in a variety of settings, not just schools, to allow for parental choice and to ensure it works well for parents and children. We are undertaking a range of modelling work in relation to capacity and demand including workforce requirements.
Andrew RT Davies (South Wales Central): Will the Minister make his findings from the recently commissioned research on the childcare sector, the support it needs and the costs involved in providing quality care, available when complete? (WAQ71449)
Answer received on 22 November 2016
Carl Sargeant: Yes.