Answers issued to Members on 19 May 2009

[R] signifies that the Member has declared an interest.
[W] signifies that the question was tabled in Welsh.

Contents

Questions to the First Minister

Questions to the Deputy First Minister and Minister for the Economy and Transport

Questions to the Minister for Health and Social Services

Questions to the Minister for Heritage

Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Local Government

Questions to the First Minister

Brynle Williams (North Wales): Will the First Minister make a statement on the role of the Welsh Assembly Government in the construction of a new nuclear power plant at Wylfa? (WAQ54114)

The First Minister (Rhodri Morgan): The consenting of Power stations above 50MW, which would cover new nuclear power stations, is reserved to the UK Government. From April 2010 this will be a matter for the Independent Planning Commission.

The Welsh Assembly Government would, however, have a role in relation to certain consents required by nuclear operators in Wales, such as general oversight of the Environment Agency (which regulates the disposal and off-site transfer of radioactive waste) and an appellate role and call-in powers in relation to radioactive waste licensing decisions made by the Agency in Wales.

There is a rigorous and highly detailed system for the approval of new nuclear build in England and Wales which any developer would have to follow. Any applicant looking to build a new nuclear power station in Wales would be required to provide full information to us. We would advise DECC or the IPC of our views, based on advice from all of the relevant statutory bodies relating to environment and transport in the normal way, and in the light of our energy policy.

I would expect us to be particularly interested in the health protection, radioactive waste/spent fuel management and site safety/security aspects of any developments in or close to Wales.

Such safety and environmental concerns are the primary focus when dealing with nuclear projects. These would be balanced alongside the potential job creation aspects arising from building and running of new nuclear power stations. We would always seek the maximum social and economic benefit from any such power stations built in Wales.

Questions to the Deputy First Minister and Minister for the Economy and Transport

Nick Bourne (Mid and West Wales): What discussion has the Minister had with Cardiff Council regarding proposals to construct the Eastern Bay Link Road? (WAQ54137)

The Deputy First Minister and Minister for the Economy and Transport (Ieuan Wyn Jones): I have met with Cardiff Council to discuss their transport proposals including the Eastern Bay Link Road. The Council will need to put its proposals to prioritise the scheme within the Sewta Regional Transport Plan, the final version of which is to be formally submitted to the Welsh Assembly Government later this year.

Questions to the Minister for Health and Social Services

Irene James (Islwyn): Will the new Caerphilly hospital have laundry services for staff uniforms? (WAQ54178)

The Minister for Health and Social Services (Edwina Hart): A centralised laundry facility for cleaning uniforms will be provided from Llanfrechfa Grange, and there will be a Central Changing facility at Ysbyty Ystrad Fawr where clean uniforms will be delivered on a daily basis.

Kirsty Williams (Brecon and Radnorshire): What information has each NHS organisation submitted in its estates return on its anticipated receipts from net land and property disposal in 2007-08? (WAQ54180)

Edwina Hart: The information requested is outlined below:

Kirsty Williams (Brecon and Radnorshire): How much land has each NHS organisation indicated in its estates return it expected to have available for disposal in 08/09, 09/10 and 10/11? (WAQ54181)

Edwina Hart: My officials are carrying out an ongoing review of potential land disposals taking into account the emerging Capital Programme, the current market, the need for affordable housing and, of course, my reorganisation of the NHS in Wales.

Darren Millar (Clwyd West): How many IVF treatments have been carried out in each of the last 3 years and of those treatments carried out, how many were successful in each year? (WAQ54186)

Edwina Hart: Health Commission Wales (HCW), the commissioning body for IVF treatment, has this data from 2007, and this is set out in the table below.

There has been an improvement in success rates as techniques have improved and HCW continues to work with the providers of IVF to improve the outcome for patients further.

Questions to the Minister for Heritage

Nick Bourne (Mid and West Wales): How much money has the Welsh Assembly Government given to the film industry in Wales in each year since 1999? (WAQ54124)

The Minister for Heritage (Alun Ffred Jones): The support provided by the Arts Council of Wales from its Grant in Aid Settlement and direct Welsh Assembly Government financial support for the Welsh film industry was:

Information relating to the support provided by Sgrin and managed by the former Welsh Development Agency is currently unavailable. Officials will provide this information as soon as possible.

Nick Bourne (Mid and West Wales): What specific discussions has the Assembly Government had with major sports bodies over the last 12 months regarding the staging of events in Wales? (WAQ54130)

Alun Ffred Jones: The Welsh Assembly Government is in regular discussion with many Welsh and UK/GB national governing bodies of sport and other stakeholders about attracting major sporting events to Wales.

Over the last few months, officials have held a series of six stakeholder engagement workshops in Cardiff, Newport, Swansea, Wrexham, Bangor and Aberystwyth as part of the development of a major events strategy for Wales. Several governing bodies of sport have been represented at these workshops.

We have engaged with Welsh Governing Bodies of sport in their CEO forum to discuss the major events strategy and potential event opportunities for Wales in the run up to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Additional and regular meetings have also taken place with the Welsh Rugby Union, Millennium Stadium, the FAW and with external stakeholders such as UK Sport.

Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Local Government

Nick Bourne (Mid and West Wales): What is the total number of places provided by local authorities in Wales for gypsy-travellers in each year since 1999, broken down into local authority area? (WAQ54150)

The Minister for Social Justice and Local Government (Brian Gibbons): The Welsh Assembly Government re introduced the biannual Caravan Count in July 2006 as a result of the Equality of Opportunity Committee’s report 'Review of Service Provision for Gypsies and Travellers’ in 2003 and more recently Pat Niner’s report on the 'Accommodation Needs of Gypsy Travellers in Wales’ (2006). Prior to this the last Gypsy Traveller count survey was in January 1997.

The latest figures are reproduced in the table below.

Nick Bourne (Mid and West Wales): What percentage of property owned or leased by the Welsh Assembly Government and Assembly Sponsored Public Bodies complies with the Disability Discrimination Act? (WAQ54151)

Brian Gibbons: The Welsh Assembly Government places considerable importance on removing the barriers faced by disabled people, both in making its services fully accessible and in managing and recruiting staff. Since completing a disability access audit in 2002 embracing the whole of the Welsh Assembly Government’s administrative estate, a substantial programme of DDA improvement work has been undertaken with the result that compliance levels overall for the administrative estate are over 98%, with the balance of offices earmarked for disposal or further review.

A new estate-wide DDA audit has also been commissioned for 2009/10 aimed at achieving the fullest possible access for disabled people. The Welsh Assembly Government is also committed to ensuring the highest standards of accessibility in the development of the new offices in Aberystwyth and Llandudno Junction. Independent professional advisers have been appointed to provide advice on all access-related issues in the design process.

Information is not held centrally for Assembly Government Sponsored Bodies.