Written Assembly Questions tabled on 19 October 2015 for answer on 26 October 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 Minister for Natural Resources
Andrew RT Davies (South Wales Central): What was the total amount of money provided by the Welsh Government to the TAG and Farming Connect programmes from 2007 to the present day, providing a breakdown of those costs, including administration and consultancy fees? (WAQ69306)R
Answer received on 30 October 2015
The Deputy Minister for Farming and Food (Rebecca Evans): The Welsh Government committed funding totalling £2,600,000 to the TAG project. A total of £184,220.01 was allocated for administration. There were no consultancy fees allocated to the TAG project.
The Welsh Government committed funding totalling £28,171,049 to Farming Connect under the Wales RDP 2007-2013. A total of £497,642.38 was allocated to administration and £89,243.75 to consultancy fees.
Andrew RT Davies (South Wales Central): How much money is provided by the Welsh Government to the four different streams in the farming connect programme under the new rural development plan, providing a breakdown per stream/tender? (WAQ69307)R
Answer received on 30 October 2015
Rebecca Evans: Following a formal procurement exercise, contracts totalling £27,233,898 (excl. VAT) were awarded for the first four years of the programme covering Lots 1-3 of the Farming Connect Framework, comprising:
Lot 1 Knowledge Transfer Programme - £19,158,758
Lot 2 Lifelong Learning and Development Programme - £2,395,076
Lot 3 Advisory Service - £5,680,064
There was no successful bidder for Lot 4 Accredited Training, Support and Independent Quality Assurance. This aspect of the Farming Connect Framework is to be re-tendered.
The contract value consists of both European and Welsh Government funding. The Welsh Government will provide the following budget for the first four years of the Farming Connect Framework for Lots 1-3:
Lot 1 Knowledge Transfer Programme - £9,004,616.26
Lot 2 Lifelong Learning and Development Programme - £1,125,685.72
Lot 3 Advisory Service - £2,669,630.08
Andrew RT Davies (South Wales Central): How many companies submitted tenders to the Welsh Government in relation to the farming connect programme under the new rural development plan? (WAQ69308)R
Answer received on 30 October 2015
Rebecca Evans: Four companies submitted consortia tenders for the delivery of the Farming Connect programme under the new Welsh Government Rural Communities – Rural Development Programme 2014-2020. This followed a formal procurement exercise incorporating an open competitive tender that was advertised in the Official Journal of the European Union and on Sell2Wales.
To ask the Minister for Communities and Tackling Poverty
Kirsty Williams (Brecon and Radnorshire): What consideration has the Minister given to including representation from active local groups on the Syrian refugee taskforce set up as a result of the refugee crisis? (WAQ69303)
Answer received on 30 October 2015
The Minister for Communities and Tackling Poverty (Lesley Griffiths):
The Syrian Refugee Taskforce has strong representation from the Third Sector including the Welsh Refugee Council and the British Red Cross. Representatives from the Refugee Coalition are members of the Operations Board. The Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA) is a substantive member of both the Taskforce and Operations Board. The first meeting of the Taskforce is on the 19 November where our discussions will include mechanisms to feed in views from local groups.
To ask the Minister for Finance and Government Business
Andrew RT Davies (South Wales Central): What governance and evaluation has been made by the Welsh Government over monies provided to Menter a Busnes since 2007? (WAQ69304)R
Andrew RT Davies (South Wales Central): How much money has been provided by the Welsh Government to Menter a Busnes since 2007, providing a breakdown per year and per individual funding allocation/project? (WAQ69305)R
Answer received on 30 October 2015
The Minister for Finance and Government Business (Jane Hutt): I will write to you as soon as possible and a copy of my letter will be placed in the library.