Answers issued to Members on 31 July 2007
[R] signifies that the Member has declared an interest.[W] signifies that the question was tabled in Welsh.ContentsQuestions to the Minister for Social Justice and Public Service Delivery
Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Public Service Delivery
Irene James (Islwyn): Will the minister confirm the substance misuse treatment available to the people in Islwyn and what changes have occurred recently to the services available? (WAQ50214)
The Minister for Social Justice and Local Government (Brian Gibbons): I am answering this as Minister for Social Justice and Local Government.My predecessor wrote to you on the 19 June setting out the details of the specific changes to the substitute prescribing and related support services in the Islwyn area. If you require further details of the full range of education, harm minimisation and treatment services for drug and alcohol misusers that are available in the area, you can obtain this information from the Caerphilly Community Safety Partnership who are responsible for assessing the need for substance misuse-related services and commissioning them accordingly.Irene James (Islwyn): What stepsdoes the Minister havein place to allow local communities to have a greater say on spending and community initiatives, in ways similar to those referred to by Hazel Blears MP, in her speech to the Local Government Association Conference on 5 July 2007? (WAQ50223)
Brian Gibbons: I am answering this as Minister for Social Justice and Local Government.Allowing local people a say in spending decisions affecting their areas has great potential to generate real and continuing public engagement in local democracy. Participatory budgeting has already been used with some success in Coedpoeth near Wrexham. We will examine this and other models with a view to extending the approach to other parts of Wales in due course.