Written Assembly Questions tabled on 19 June 2014 for answer on 26 June 2014
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 Minister for Finance
Peter Black (South Wales West): Given that the Minority Ethnic Women’s Network is the second organisation receiving Welsh Government and EU funding to have failed because of governance issues, what steps will the Minister now take to ensure that third sector organisations in receipt of public funds operate proper governance and accountability procedures? (WAQ67278)
Answer received on 29 July 2014
The Minister for Finance (Jane Hutt): MEWN is a small charity in Swansea engaged in outreach work. It has been involved in delivering a number of ESF funded operations as a joint sponsor in operations led by YMCA Swansea and by SOVA. It is also involved in the delivery of the Identity Project led by Swansea YMCA and funded through the Equality and Inclusion Grant. As a joint sponsor, MEWN Swansea’s contracts are with the lead organisation, rather than directly with the Wales European Funding Office and Welsh Government. There is currently no evidence that any Welsh Government or European funding has not been used for the purposes it was awarded.
Good governance is vital to how organisations operate and are held accountable. It is imperative that the financial management and governance arrangements they have in place are fit for purpose. It is for external bodies to comply with their own practices in line with appropriate regulatory and reporting standards.
Welsh Government requires Departments to adopt grant practices which are relevant and proportionate to the grant funding for which they have responsibility. However, the Grants Centre of Excellence, WEFO and the Third Sector Unit continue to provide advice, support and guidance on all aspects of grant administration across Welsh Government which includes:
Written guidance which is available for grant managers on the due diligence checks that should be undertaken before grant funding is awarded and during the life of a grant award. Due diligence is a process of checks that ensure reasonable precautions
are taken prior to issuing any award of funding or payment to funded bodies. This includes checks that could highlight issues with governance arrangements. It is important that grant managers ensure these checks are continued throughout the life cycle of the grant to ensure they have the most up to date information and can act accordingly.A corporate due diligence sharing area has been developed and implemented
The Welsh Government website has published guidance documents which aim to provide an insight into the Welsh Government’s expectations on grant funded bodies in line with the Nolan principles. Specifying that organisations are accountable for their decisions and actions to the Welsh Government and the public.
The Good Governance Group has been established to share relevant details of pertinent external bodies or individuals with the Big Lottery Fund, Charity Commission, WCVA, WLGA and other appropriate bodies who are providers of publicly funded grants. This enables an informed decision to be made on the risks of funding organisations.
WEFO continues to supply regular training for project sponsors, including the third sector, in respect of the particular demands associated with EU funded projects. It also provides funding for the “3-SET” team, which is run by the WCVA and which provides advice and support specifically tailored for the third sector. All projects are supported by designated project officers who are there to support and advise sponsors as necessary.
Following consultation in 2013, Welsh Government published a fully updated Third Sector Scheme which now incorporates The Code of Practice for Funding the Third Sector. The Scheme provides a robust framework to underpin this relationship. The Code of Practice sets out 17 key Principles for funding and includes clarity on the roles and responsibilities of both funders and funded organisations.
The Third Sector Unit within Welsh Government continues to work with the sector through a variety of mechanisms including the Third Sector Partnership Council (TSPC) which is a key forum for the third sector to talk to, and hear from, Welsh Government. It is chaired by the Minister for Communities and Tackling Poverty and is made up of representatives of Third Sector networks. Welsh Government also continues to provide core funding for Third Sector infrastructure bodies including Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA) and County Voluntary Councils (CVCs). These bodies ensure that advice and support are available across Wales for voluntary and community organisations, including guidance on governance and funding issues.
The Welsh Government is committed to continuous improvement across all its grant funding programmes.
To ask the Minister for Health and Social Services
Andrew RT Davies (South Wales Central): When will the Minister announce the details of the Commissioning through Evaluation referrals for NHS Wales patients for SIRT treatment? (WAQ67267)
Andrew RT Davies (South Wales Central): How many NHS Wales patients does the Minister expect to receive SIRT treatment each year? (WAQ67268)
Andrew RT Davies (South Wales Central): When does the Minister expect Commissioning through Evaluation referrals for NHS Wales patients being treated by SIRT to begin? (WAQ67269)
Andrew RT Davies (South Wales Central): Will the Minister list the treating centres to which NHS Wales patient being treated by SIRT will be referred? (WAQ67270)
Andrew RT Davies (South Wales Central): How many NHS patients in Wales eligible for SIRT treatment through Commissioning through Evaluation will be treated in Cardiff? (WAQ67271)
Andrew RT Davies (South Wales Central): Will the Minister estimate the additional funding costs for sending NHS Wales patient referrals to treating centres outside Wales for treatment with SIRT? (WAQ67272)
Answer received on 25 June 2014 (WAQ67267-72)
The Minister for Health and Social Services (Mark Drakeford): The Welsh Health Specialised Services Committee (WHSSC) is preparing a commissioning plan in order to engage with the NHS England Commissioning through Evaluation (CtE) programme for patients with advanced liver disease, who may be candidates for selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT). A key component of this requires confirmation with cancer specialists in Wales on the method of selection of patients who may be referred for SIRT.
In this financial year 2014/15, the resources allocated by Welsh Government will support treatment for 4 to 5 patients.
Referrals to a designated liver cancer treatment centre undertaking SIRT supported by a hepatobiliary multidisciplinary team will commence within one month of final arrangements for patient selection and the referral pathway to the SIRT centre being agreed.
It is likely, based on the expected number of Welsh patients for 2014/15, that only one SIRT centre at University Hospital, Birmingham will be used in order to provide consistent patient support and quality of care.
The standard agreed in the NHS England CtE programme for SIRT is that each of the 10 SIRT centres will treat no less than 20 patients per annum in order to maintain clinical expertise as a centre of excellence. The designation criteria for the centres were set out with a competitive assessment resulting in some larger hepatobiliary services such as Liverpool not being selected. Given the expected number of Welsh patients in 2014/15, Cardiff would not meet the agreed standard for designation of as a SIRT centre at this stage.
Given that Cardiff is not part of the SIRT evaluation comparative costs for this process will not be available.
Darren Millar (Clwyd West): What specific improvements can veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder expect following the £650,000 investment in psychological therapies? (WAQ67274)
Darren Millar (Clwyd West): What proportion of the £650,000 announced on 19 June 2014 to improve access to psychological therapies will be dedicated for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder? (WAQ67277)
Answer received on 29 July 2014 (WAQ67274/7)
Mark Drakeford: On 26 June I re-launched the Veterans NHS Wales Service and announced that £100,000 of the £650,000 investment in psychological therapies in the current year will support psychological therapy provision for veterans. I expect the funding in the current year will focus on equalising waiting times across the Service in advance of any recommendations that will arise from the Public Health Wales review of the service. The review is currently well advanced and will report in the next few weeks.
Darren Millar (Clwyd West): When did the Minister take the decision to rebrand NHS services for veterans? (WAQ67275)
Answer received on 29 July 2014
Mark Drakeford: The Veterans’ NHS Wales Service is run and administered wholly by its constituent LHBs and as such the decision to rebrand was taken by the Service following concerns raised by partners over awareness among the veterans community. I support the decision which emphasises the fact the Service is embedded within the NHS, offering proven evidence based therapies within a strong clinical governance structure.
Darren Millar (Clwyd West): What was the total spent on psychological therapies in the Welsh NHS in 2013/14 compared to 2014/15? (WAQ67276)
Answer received on 30 June 2014
Mark Drakeford: Mental health accounts for the largest single area of health expenditure in Wales. Our continued commitment to mental health is demonstrated by ring-fenced funding (the minimum LHBs should spend on mental health services) which has increased year-on-year from £387.5 million in 2008-09 to £587 million in 2014-15.
It is not possible to identify, separately, the spend on psychological therapies within the global amount, but such therapies are an important part of the regular treatments provided by such services.
In 2013/14 I awarded funding of £200,000 to support the delivery of psychological therapies for people of all ages to build on the work already undertaken in training of existing staff to improve their skills and competencies in delivering evidenced-based psychological therapies. Family therapy interventions are well evidenced to reduce risks of relapse in those with psychosis, whilst mindfulness therapy can reduce the risk of relapse in depression. As you are aware I was pleased to announce £650,000 for 2014/15 last week.
To ask the Minister for Housing and Regeneration
Kirsty Williams (Brecon and Radnorshire): Will the Minister make a statement on what the Welsh Government is doing to help services veterans to access suitable housing? (WAQ67273)
Answer received on 25 June 2014
The Minister for Housing and Regeneration (Carl Sargeant): Our guidance provides local authorities with the flexibility to prioritise service personnel when allocating social housing. Those who have served in the regular Armed Forces of the Crown, and have been homeless since leaving those Forces, are recognised as being in priority need. All local authorities disregard the War Disablement Pension and Armed Forces Compensation Scheme for the purposes of assessing Council Tax Support, Housing Benefit and Disabled Facilities Grant. The Welsh Government has supported the development of a website for those who work with homeless veterans.
In 2013-14, £2 million funding was allocated to local authorities through the Social Housing Grant programme to support the provision of housing for personnel leaving the Armed Forces. .