​

Written Assembly Questions tabled on 11 March 2015 for answer on 18 March 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 First Minister

Leanne Wood (South Wales Central): What preparatory work is being undertaken to ensure that the transition to extending the franchise to 16 and 17 year olds will be done as quickly as possible once the powers over franchise are devolved, and what preparatory work is being undertaken to ensure that 16 and 17 year olds will be registered by the Assembly election in May 2016? (WAQ68480)

Answer received on 17 March 2015

The First Minister of Wales (Carwyn Jones): It would not be appropriate to undertake preparatory work on either of these matters until Parliament has agreed to give the Assembly legislative competence in relation to the franchise for 16 and 17 year olds and the Assembly has decided whether and how it wishes to legislate using this competence.

Leanne Wood (South Wales Central): Has the Welsh Government given any consideration to the possible administrative difficulties in holding the Police Commissioner elections, should they take place, on the same day as the Assembly election, given that the franchise will remain at 18 for the Police Commissioner elections? (WAQ68479)

Answer received on 17 March 2015

The First Minister of Wales (Carwyn Jones): The Welsh Government is well aware of the complications involved. There are five Assembly regions, each of which requires a Regional Returning Officer. There are four Police Areas, each requiring a Returning Officer. The Assembly elections are conducted on a constituency basis, with the regions formed by grouped constituencies. The PCC elections are based on groupings of counties. The opportunities for errors to be made in the delivery of completed ballot papers to the appropriate returning officer, and in the counting of votes, are manifold. There is also the confusion which may arise from voters being confronted with three ballot papers, with different voting systems used for Assembly elections and PCCs.

The dates of both sets of elections are currently matters for the UK Government and Parliament. The then Minister for Local Government and Government Business wrote to the Home Secretary two years ago to raise concerns about holding these elections on the same day, to no avail.

The issues have been discussed in the Welsh Elections Planning Group, and my officials are working with UK Government officials and the Electoral Commission to make the best of the situation and to seek out appropriately qualified persons to act as the returning officers for the elections.

To ask the Minister for Natural Resources

Janet Finch-Saunders (Aberconwy): Will the Minister provide a breakdown of all money provided by the Welsh Government to Conwy County Borough Council in relation to costal defence and storm damage repairs following the harsh winter of 2013/14, to include; Llandudno North Shore, Deganwy Promenade, Llandudno West Shore and Conwy Morfa? (WAQ68477)

Answer received on 18 March 2015

The Minister for Natural Resources (Carl Sargeant): I can confirm that the current grant awarded to Conwy County Borough Council for coastal defence restoration works under the Department for Natural Resources budget is as follows.

In addition to the above, £452,581 was awarded to Conwy via the Department of Economy, Science and Transport’s Tourism Infrastructure Fund (TIF) to aid recovery following the winter storms of 2013/14.

Janet Finch-Saunders (Aberconwy): With reference to monies allocated to Conwy County Borough Council for coastal repairs at Llandudno West Shore, Deganwy Promenade and Conwy Morfa, given that these repairs are unlikely to be completed by 31 March 2015, what consideration has been given to extending the deadline for funding claims? (WAQ68478)

Answer received on 18 March 2015

The Minister for Natural Resources (Carl Sargeant): I have had assurances from Conwy County Borough Council that the works at Llandudno West Shore, Conwy Morfa and Deganwy will be completed before the end of this month, and all related spend claimed for, therefore there will be no need to extend the deadline for funding claims into next financial year.

To ask the Minister for Education and Skills

Angela Burns (Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire): Will the Minister provide the cost of the free school breakfast scheme to the Welsh Government in each of the last three years? (WAQ68472)

Answer received on 17 March 2015

The Minister for Education and Skills (Huw Lewis): The Welsh Government made available £14.7m in funding to local authorities for the 2013-14, and 2014-15 financial years, via the Revenue Support Grant (RSG).

During the 2012-13 financial year, the Free Breakfast in Primary Schools (FBIPS) scheme was grant-funded. Local authorities claimed £12,030,629.17 in grant funding for this period.  

To ask the Minister for the Economy, Science and Transport

Lynne Neagle (Torfaen): Further to the Minister's answer to WAQ68434 confirming that National Museum Wales is examining the possibility of introducing a charge to undertake the underground tour at Big Pit, what plans are being considered to introduce new charges at other National Museum sites in Wales? (WAQ68473)

Answer received on 18 March 2015

The Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism (Ken Skates): The Programme for Government commitment to maintain free access to the seven National Museum sites is central in developing our policy for museums. I was pleased to receive a response to my recent letter from the President of the National Museum that a charge for the underground tour will not be introduced at Big Pit.

Although I expect Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales to make every effort to increase its income in difficult economic contexts, we must ensure that people in our most deprived communities continue to enjoy the benefits of our rich cultural heritage. I will therefore look very closely at any further plans to introduce charging at National Museum sites should they emerge.

To ask the Minister for Public Services

Janet Finch-Saunders (Aberconwy): With reference to sections 35 and 36 of the Local Government (Wales) Bill , what consideration has the Welsh Government given to its definition of 'chief officers', given that it could result in the Independent Remuneration Panel's workload being negatively affected by taking on the responsibility for managing pay policy and salary determinations of deputy chief officers? (WAQ68474)

Answer received on 17 March 2015
 
The Minister for Public Services (Leighton Andrews): Section 35 of the Local Government (Wales) Bill temporarily extends the Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales’ existing functions relating to the salaries, or proposed change of salary, of local authority Heads of Paid Service to Chief Officers, until 31 March 2020. The definition of Chief Officer has the same meaning as that in Section 43(2) of the Localism Act 2011. 

Section 36 of the Bill increases the membership of the Panel from five to six in recognition of its additional responsibilities under the Bill. The Bill also empowers the Welsh Ministers, through regulations, to alter the number of Panel members to reflect future changes of workload.

Janet Finch-Saunders (Aberconwy): In relation to local government re-organisation, will the Minister make a statement to outline how the Local Democracy and Boundary Commission is expected to complete the number of principal council reviews required by the local elections of 2018? (WAQ68475)

Answer received on 17 March 2015

The Minister for Public Services (Leighton Andrews): There are no local government elections scheduled for 2018. 

Janet Finch-Saunders (Aberconwy): What consideration has the Welsh Government given to the cost of pensions for those employees aged 55 and over made redundant by local authority mergers? (WAQ68476)

Answer received on 18 March 2015

The Minister for Public Services (Leighton Andrews): The recent Wales Audit Office report Managing early departures across Welsh Public Bodies recommended that we should work with local government on some common principles to underpin any early departure arrangements arising from local government mergers. The Welsh Government will be responding to that report in due course.