Written Assembly Questions tabled on 13 September 2016 for answer on 20 September 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 as the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure
Janet Finch-Saunders (Aberconwy): Will the Minister advise as to why the contract for BT to run the Superfast Cymru marketing activities came to an end a year before the Superfast project itself comes to an end? (WAQ70941)
Answer received on 20 September 2016
The Minister for Skills and Science (Julie James): The three year Superfast Cymru marketing and communications agreement with BT ended on 30th June 2016. The marketing arrangement with BT spanned the length of the original contract to deliver the Superfast Cymru project which was due to end in June 2016. Following a variation to the Superfast Cymru contract to deliver superfast broadband access to around 40,000 additional premises, the end date of the project was extended to June 2017. Communications and marketing was not included in the contract variation.
Janet Finch-Saunders (Aberconwy): What was the total cost and duration of BT's contract to run Superfast Cymru marketing activities, and what is the budget for such marketing activates to be run by the Welsh Government now that this contract has ended? (WAQ70942)
Answer received on 20 September 2016
Julie James: The marketing and communications agreement with BT spanned three years at a total cost of £1.7m to support the Superfast Cymru roll-out. The Welsh Government has budgeted £1.15m over the next three years to deliver a multi-layered regional engagement programme across Wales.
Mark Isherwood (North Wales): Will the review of the Visit Wales Partnership for Growth 2020 identify how best to support Wales' tourism sector as it competes for customers visiting England, against the backdrop of enhanced resources for Visit England? (WAQ70945)
Answer received on 15 September 2016
The Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure (Ken Skates): The review of Partnership for Growth looked at the recent performance of the industry and considered how changes in market conditions may impact on growth opportunities facing the visitor economy in Wales up to 2020.
The review summarises the position and indicates areas where the strategy will be refocused for the remainder of the period to 2020. We currently remain on track to exceed the strategy target of 10% growth in real terms from staying visitor earnings by 2020.
To ask the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Well-being and Sport
Janet Finch-Saunders (Aberconwy): How is the Welsh Government monitoring progress on the implementation of the nine recommendations of the fourth Assembly's Health and Social Care Committee's short inquiry into the GP workforce in Wales, all of which were accepted by the then-Minister for Health and Social Services? (WAQ70940)
I have provided an update below against each of the recommendations from the inquiry and you will see that many of these are being implemented or progressed through the new marketing campaign.
Recommendation 1 – This recommendation was accepted in principle and was implemented via the primary care workforce plan and HPEI review. Full consideration has been given to the possibility of increasing the number of GP training places but given that there are a number of places that remain unfilled, it remains the position that increasing the number at this point in time does not represent the best allocation of funding. However, this situation will be kept under review.
Recommendation 2 – This recommendation has already been implemented. A new process has been introduced this year to consider whether changes should be made to the number of specialty training posts for the 2017/18 intake. The outcome of this process is being discussed with NHS Chief Executives and I expect to receive advice in the coming weeks.
Recommendation 3 – This issue continues to be considered on a UK-wide level, against the backdrop of the Shape of Training agenda. The previous Minister wrote to the committee with the requested further information.
Recommendations 4 to 6 – These recommendations began their implementation through the primary care workforce plan and are now being further progressed under the recruitment and marketing campaign and the GP offer, which is due to launch in October. I will be making a statement in Plenary on the campaign on Tuesday 20 September.
Recommendation 7 – This matter is being taken forward through the “widening access” programme of work. During the summer recess, I also met the deans of both medical schools in Wales, and they identified the importance of reviewing the activities already in place to encourage Welsh students to aspire to a career in medicine - and to encourage them to consider starting their education for that career here in Wales. Promoting medical careers to those students already in Wales will be another facet of the marketing campaign, in addition to the other elements aiming to attract those from outside of Wales.
Recommendation 8 – Officials have been in discussions with NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership (NWSSP) to develop a career conversations service, not only for those nearing retirement but for those thinking of leaving Wales or general practice entirely. The work is in its early stages of development but will feature as part of the longer term offer to GPs under the recruitment campaign. There has already been some development for GP trainees in this area (also undertaken by NWSSP), in the form of entry and exit interviews, for those about to embark on their training and those nearing the end. This helps establish early expectations and the reality of their experiences of training in Wales as well as trying to explore the reasons behind those trainees who either stay in Wales or leave to work elsewhere.
Recommendation 9 – The GP retainer scheme will be another feature of the GP offer. However it is also linked to the work to implement recommendation 8, as it is only through those conversations can we build a picture and understand the grassroots reasons behind those GPs wishing to leave general practice or retiring early.
Janet Finch-Saunders (Aberconwy): Will the Minister confirm whether the Welsh Government has in place a 10-year workforce plan for the Welsh NHS? (WAQ70943)
Vaughan Gething: I am committed to the development of a 10-year national workforce plan for the NHS, which received cross-party support in the Assembly in 2015.
Since that debate, work has been undertaken to develop the plan including a literature review of best practice across the UK and beyond, consideration of the outputs of the Health Professionals Education and Investment Review, the NHS Wales Workforce Review and the most recent Integrated Medium Term Plans submitted by health boards and trusts. A collaborative programme of work to address key workforce priorities common to NHS organisations in Wales has also been agreed by Chief Executives, with those priorities and actions also informing the approach of the 10-year plan. Action to address the current challenges faced by the workforce is therefore underway and the development of a plan for the longer term is in hand.
On 18 May the First Minister announced a Parliamentary Review into the future of Health and Social Care in Wales as a priority for this government. The original timescale for the 10-year workforce plan was for it to be made ready by November 2016. This now means that this long term plan would be published prior to the parliamentary review concluding and without having had the chance to consider its findings. I do not think this is the best course of action. The review represents a real opportunity to build a consensus on the priorities and long-term aims of health and social care in Wales, both of which will help further inform the direction of the future workforce.
In light of this, the 10-year plan publication date has been moved, to allow for the Parliamentary Review to conclude and provide a period of time to analyse the outcome of the review and develop the plan accordingly.
Janet Finch-Saunders (Aberconwy): What discussions has the Minister held with medical schools in Wales with regards to increasing the number of Welsh Government-funded places for Physicians Associates, from the current 27 available this year, and will he provide an update on the work of the Workforce, Education and Development Services (WEDS) Task and Finish Groups work in this area? (WAQ70939)
Answer received on 20 September 2016
Vaughan Gething: The Welsh Government has centrally funded a pilot, two year education programme to train Physicians Associates in Swansea University (15 places) and Bangor University (12 places). Both programmes are due to commence this month.
Any decisions on future Physician Associate training places will need to be taken in the context of the ongoing evaluation of the pilot programme. The work of the Task and Finish Group, established by the All Wales Strategic Medical Workforce Group, (which is supported by Workforce Education and Development Services) is ongoing, with a focus on developing a Governance Framework for Physicians Associates.
To ask the Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs
Janet Finch-Saunders (Aberconwy): Will the Minister make a statement on the importance of democratic scrutiny of the responses of public bodies to consultations relating to planning legislation, with particular reference to the 2014 TAN1 consultation, and the development of LDPs? (WAQ70944)
Answer received on 20 September 2016
The Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs (Lesley Griffiths): TAN 1 provides technical advice and guidance on the preparation of Joint Housing Availability Studies (JHLAS) and is not planning legislation. The consultation on TAN 1, in 2014, was undertaken in accordance with the Welsh Government Consultation Guidance and all responses, including those from public bodies, were considered as part of the review process.