21/01/2008 - Answers issued to Members on 21 January 2008

Answers issued to Members on 21 January 2008

[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 Environment, Sustainability and Housing

Questions to the Minister for Health and Social Services

Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Local Government

Questions to the First Minister

Kirsty Williams (Brecon and Radnorshire): Will the Minister make a statement on the continuing delays in publishing the report on the Welsh Assembly offices at Merthyr Tydfil project? (WAQ50843)

The First Minister (Rhodri Morgan): I apologise for the delay in publishing the final report on the Merthyr Tydfil office project known as the closure report. I have been assured that a draft of the report that will be presented to the Permanent Secretary in February and that a copy will be placed in the Members’ Library as soon as it is finalised.

Nick Ramsay (Monmouth): Has the First Minister met with Labour Party group leaders from the 22 Welsh local authorities in order to discuss this year’s local government funding settlement? (WAQ50845)

The First Minister: I met with a number of Labour Party group leaders in early December to discuss this year’s Local Government Finance Settlement. I also discussed local government issues including the settlement with local government representatives at a partnership council meeting on 29 November. The Minister for Social Justice and Local Government, who has lead responsibility for local government issues has also met representatives of local authorities as part of the consultation process on the provisional local government revenue settlement

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

Kirsty Williams (Brecon and Radnorshire): Will the Minister make a statement on how the Welsh Assembly Government intends to improve services on the Heart of Wales line? (WAQ50840)

The Deputy First Minister and Minister for the Economy and Transport (Ieuan Wyn Jones): Officials from my Rail Team, the Heart of Wales Line Forum, including the local authority transport consortia and Arriva Trains Wales, completed an all-day evaluation appraisal workshop on potential improvements on 17 January 2008. The workshop identified some further evaluation work which will be completed shortly.

I look forward to seeing the outcome of the evaluation.

Questions to the Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing

Dai Lloyd (South Wales West): What percentage of the liquified natural gas (LNG) provided at the LNG terminal at Milford Haven is destined for Welsh use? (WAQ50839)

The Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing (Jane Davidson): The Milford Haven LNG terminals could provide around 20 per cent of the UK’s gas requirements as North Sea reserves decline. Energy networks are complex and the percentage of this gas used in Wales will depend on three things: the amount of LNG available, direct gas demand within Wales and the amount of electricity imported into Wales from gas-fired stations in the rest of the UK. Although Wales’ direct consumption of UK gas supply is around 6 per cent to 7 per cent of the UK total, because of a shortage of generating capacity, south Wales imports electricity from England, much of which is generated by gas-fired stations. When the LNG terminals are operational, it can be expected that an increasing proportion of gas used for supplying electricity from England to Wales will be sourced from Milford Haven.

Kirsty Williams (Brecon and Radnorshire): Will the Minister make a statement on increasing the minimum distances between wind turbines and properties? (WAQ50841)

Jane Davidson: Guidance on proximity of wind turbines to residential dwellings is set out in Technical Advice Note (TAN) 8: Planning for Renewable Energy. This states that '500m is currently considered a typical separation distance between a wind turbine and residential property to avoid unacceptable noise impacts, however when applied in a rigid manner it can lead to conservative results and so some flexibility is advised’. The issue is less to do with distance than the need to limit noise from wind farms to 5 decibels (dBA) above background noise for both day and night-time.

The separation distances between wind turbines and residential properties can be examined as part of the refinement work by local planning authorities and on a case-by-case basis, taking into account topography and orientation, when decisions on planning applications are taken.

Kirsty Williams (Brecon and Radnorshire): Does the Minister have any plans to review the access rights of canoeists on rivers and waterways in Wales? (WAQ50842)

Jane Davidson: The Assembly does not currently have the legislative powers to change the existing legal rights of landowners and others in relation to access to rivers and waterways. The Welsh Assembly Government is keen, however, to promote wider opportunities for recreational activity on Wales’ extensive water resources. To this end we have asked the Environment Agency Wales to prepare a new strategic plan on water-related recreation. This should be finalised shortly and an action plan will then be developed to take forward key agreed elements of the plan. In addition, we are funding during 2007-08 a number of exemplar projects on water access which, if successful, can be replicated elsewhere.

Mark Isherwood (North Wales): Can the Minister please list all operational windfarms in Wales, detailing their installed capacity, as well as the name and nationality of the operator? (WAQ50846)

Jane Davidson: The details are provided in the table below. The information in the first three columns was obtained from the British Wind Energy Association.

Nicholas Bourne (Mid and West Wales): Will the Minister make a statement on the Welsh Assembly Government's policy of increasing micro-generation for supplying energy? (WAQ50856)

Jane Davidson : The policy is set out in the Assembly Government’s Microgeneration Action Plan at:

http://new.wales.gov.uk/about/departments/dein/publications/microgenplan?lang=en

Workgroups have been set up to take forward the three broad themes in the plan (education, research, awareness and training; buildings, planning and construction; and business, commercialisation and infrastructure).

The Assembly Government is committed in 'One Wales’ to draw up an energy strategy to include, amongst other things, actions on microgeneration.

Microgeneration will feature strongly in the consultation on a renewables energy routemap that I plan to publish shortly and which will inform the development of the energy strategy.

Questions to the Minister for Health and Social Services

Nicholas Bourne (Mid and West Wales): Will the Minister provide details of all the targets the Welsh Assembly Government has set for the national health service since 1999, when they were introduced, and when they are expected to be met? (WAQ50850)

The Minister for Health and Social Services (Edwina Hart): National targets were introduced in 2002-03 as part of the performance improvement framework.

Since 2002-03, between 18 and 40 national targets have been issued annually, and they are to be achieved by the March 31 of each financial year, with a few exceptions.

There are also 12 national health gain targets that cover five priority areas of health in Wales: coronary heart disease, cancer, health of children, mental health and health of older people. These targets were introduced in 2004 and have to be achieved by 2012.

Nicholas Bourne (Mid and West Wales): Will the Minister make a statement on the Welsh Assembly Government’s policy on expanding examinations on patients for early detection of a disease? (WAQ50855)

Edwina Hart: New screening programmes that support the early detection of disease are being considered and developed all the time. The National Screening Committee (NSC) makes recommendations to Ministers and the NHS on screening policy and implementation using research evidence, pilot programmes and economic evaluation.

In February 2007, my predecessor announced that a bowel-screening programme would be established in Wales. Abdominal aortic aneurysm screening and a vascular risk management programme are also being considered.

Darren Millar (Clwyd West): What action is the Minister taking to match the recent announcement made by the Prime Minister regarding the deep cleaning of hospitals? (WAQ50859)

Edwina Hart: I am determined to improve hospital cleanliness. We have set high standards for cleanliness in our hospitals to be implemented by individual NHS trusts. The Healthcare Standards for Wales 2005 requires that each trust produces a cleanliness strategy and cleaning plan.

In October, I sent hygiene inspection teams into two hospitals, Nevill Hall and Morriston. They looked at the accident and emergency units at both hospitals and visited medical admissions and urology wards at Morriston and acute surgical and acute medical wards at Nevill Hall. The focus of the checks was to look at cleanliness of the environment for patients, relatives and carers and to ensure that they can support the provision of safe and high-quality healthcare services. I have received a report on the spot checks at Morriston and Nevill Hall Hospitals, and the trusts are taking forward the report’s recommendations. The programme of unannounced spot checks across Wales will continue throughout 2008.

I have also established a task and finish group to look at how we can empower ward sisters further to ensure standards are delivered and maintained. This group will report back to me by the end of March this year.

Darren Millar (Clwyd West): What role does the Minister consider that deep cleans have in reducing hospital acquired infections? (WAQ50860)

Edwina Hart: Deep cleaning has a role to play, for example, following ward closure due to an outbreak of infection, it is not effective unless it is followed up with routine daily cleaning.

The key to clean hospitals is effective regular cleaning to the specifications set out within our national standards of hospital cleanliness.

Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Local Government

Mick Bates (Montgomeryshire): What representations has the Minister made on the case of Ama Sumani who has been forced to leave Wales and return to Ghana despite her terminal medical condition? (WAQ50852)

The Minister for Social Justice and Local Government (Brian Gibbons): As this is a non-devolved matter, I have today written to Liam Byrne MP, Minister of State for Borders and Immigration regarding this issue.