Answers issued to Members on 6 November 2007

[R] signifies that the Member has declared an interest. [W] signifies that the question was tabled in Welsh.

Contents

2 Questions to the Minister for Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills

3 Questions to the Minister for Finance and Public Service Delivery

3 Questions to the Minister for Health and Social Services

5 Questions to the Minister for Rural Affairs

6 Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Local Government Answers issued to Members on 6 November 2007

Questions to the Minister for Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills

Irene James (Islwyn): Will the Minister provide a statement on how many schools in currently offer the Welsh Baccalaureate qualification? (WAQ50513)

The Minister for Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills (Jane Hutt): 74 centres, including 55 schools, are approved to deliver the Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification at Advanced and Intermediate levels in post-16 provision from September 2007. These 74 centres comprise the first phase of the roll-out of the Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification at Advanced and Intermediate levels in post-16 provision.

There will be some 9,000 students registered at the roll-out centres and I am delighted to say that there are Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification centres in every Local Education Authority area in Wales. This represents excellent progress towards our target that at least 25% of the post-16 students will follow Welsh Baccalaureate courses by 2010.

In addition 34 centres, including 22 schools, are delivering the Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification at Foundation level, 14 of the 22 schools are also delivering the Intermediate level model in Key Stage 4. The provision in these centres is in pilot phase and is expected to encompass over 3,300 students. We plan to roll-out this provision from September 2009, subject to the outcomes of the pilot.

Irene James (Islwyn): Will the Minister provide a statement on how many schools and colleges in Islwyn currently offer the Welsh Baccalaureate qualification? (WAQ50514)

Jane Hutt: There are 3 Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification centres in Islwyn. , Cross Keys campus, is delivering the Advanced and Intermediate levels; Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhymni and Blackwood Comprehensive School are piloting the Intermediate and Foundation levels in Key Stage 4.

In addition, in the Local Education Authority area, there are a further four Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification centres—Lewis School, Lewis Girls School, St Cenydd Community Comprehensive School and College.

Irene James (Islwyn): Will the Minister provide a statement on how many Universities in Wales recognise the Welsh Baccalaureate as a formal entry qualification? (WAQ50515)

Jane Hutt: I am delighted that all Higher Education Institutions in Wales have made positive statements about how they recognise the Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification. Increasingly, this positive attitude by Higher Education Institutions towards the Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification is reflected in universities in other parts of the UK.

This is especially encouraging in light of the fact that as autonomous institutions, universities set their own entry criteria.

We will continue to promote the Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification with Higher Education Institutions and other key groups, including employers and to seek to ensure that individual institutions’ policies are applied consistently in those institutions.

Irene James (Islwyn): Will the Minister provide a summary of how many students in Wales studied and passed a science A-level in the academic year 2006-07? (WAQ50517)

2 Answers issued to Members on 6 November 2007

Jane Hutt: Information collated by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) and published in August 2007 provides the following information on number of entries and pass rates for A level sciences in Wales in 2006/07.

Subject Number of Percentage of entries resulting Entries in pass grade (Grade A-E) Biology 2,660 94.4 Chemistry 1,980 96.6 Physics 1,323 94.7 Other Science Subjects 457 96.5 Applied Science 25 92.0

Due to the nature of the data it is not possible to identify how many students across Wales undertook A- level science studies; some students may have entered more than one science subject and thus be represented in more than one figure above, other students may have studied science subjects but not entered external examinations.

The data represent entries at all examination centres in Wales for all examination boards.

Irene James (Islwyn): Will the Minister highlight how many students graduated in the summer of 2007 from a Welsh University with a degree in a Science Subject? (WAQ50518)

Jane Hutt: This information will not be published until January 2008. Latest Higher Education Statistics Agency data show that in 2005/06 there were 5,825 qualifiers at Welsh Higher Education Institutions in science subjects.

Questions to the Minister for Finance and Public Service Delivery

Nicholas Bourne (Mid and West Wales): What is the Welsh Assembly Government’s policy with regard to contracting out postal services by public bodies? (WAQ50599)

The Minister for Social Justice and Public Service Delivery (Andrew Davies): The Welsh Assembly Government does not have a policy on public bodies contracting out postal services.

Nicholas Bourne (Mid and West Wales): Will the Minister explain the details of the compensation available to Postmasters who have received money from the Post Office Development Fund and whose Post Offices subsequently closed down? (WAQ50591)

The Deputy Minister for Regeneration (Leighton Andrews): Post Office Ltd’s basic compensation package to subpostmasters and subpostmistresses of closing offices is twenty eight months remuneration, based on the best year of the last three years’ salary. I have been advised that additional funds may be available for exceptional circumstances.

Questions to the Minister for Health and Social Services

Alun Cairns (South Wales West): What considerations has the Minister given to supporting autism assistance dog training for children with autism? (WAQ50464)

The Minister for Health and Social Services (Edwina Hart): There are no plans at present to support autism assistance dog training for children with autism. Officials are aware of a pilot scheme which is

3 Answers issued to Members on 6 November 2007 being run by a voluntary sector organisation in England and have asked to be kept informed of their findings.

The Welsh Assembly Government’s ASD Strategic Action Plan for Wales went out to consultation earlier this year and reponses are being analysed.

Nicholas Bourne (Mid and West Wales): Will the Minister make a statement on the increase of NHS spending every year from 1999 to 2007, and the ratio of money being invested in administration to frontline services? (WAQ50584)

Nicholas Bourne (Mid and West Wales): Will the Minister make a statement on the ratio of money spent in the NHS in Wales on administration to the money spent on frontline services every year from 1999 to 2007? (WAQ50585)

Edwina Hart: Total NHS spending in Wales has increased by 79% overall between 1999 and 2007. Year on year increases are shown in the table below:

2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 7.8% 9.2% 9.7% 7.8% 13.0% 6.2% 7.3%

Information on the breakdown of investment in administration in NHS Wales is readily available in the public domain and is published in the annual accounts of each individual NHS organisation. However, there is no central definition of either administrative or frontline services across NHS organisations in Wales.

Nicholas Bourne (Mid and West Wales): How much money was spent on administrative functions in each of the 22 Local Health Boards in Wales each year from 1999 to 2003? (WAQ50586)

Nicholas Bourne (Mid and West Wales): How much money was spent on administrative functions in each of the 22 Local Health Boards in Wales each year since 2003? (WAQ50587)

Edwina Hart: The following table shows the amount each Local Health Board spent on administration costs between 2003-04 and 2006-07. LHBs did not exist before 2003.

Local Health Board Administrative Costs 2003-2007

Local Health Board 2006-07 2005-06 2004-05 2003-04

£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000

Anglesey 1,591 1,603 1,562 1,578 Blaenau Gwent 1,941 1,770 1,848 1,649 Bridgend 2,323 2,319 2,266 2,098 Caerphilly 2,772 2,810 2,865 2,340 Cardiff 3,416 3,439 3,303 3,042 Carmarthenshire 2,598 2,867 2,849 2,309 Ceredigion 1,630 1,589 1,723 1,598 Conwy 2,127 2,175 1,981 1,826 Denbighshire 1,899 1,946 1,864 1,770

4 Answers issued to Members on 6 November 2007

Flintshire 2,292 2,261 2,204 2,089 Gwynedd 2,178 2,197 2,194 2,095 Merthyr Tydfil 1,826 1,799 1,809 1,436 Monmouthshire 1,773 1,894 2,138 1,772 Neath Port Talbot 2,360 2,372 2,361 2,113 Newport 2,486 2,374 2,230 2,991 Pembrokeshire 2,139 2,128 2,096 1,962 Powys 846 895 1,062 923 Rhondda Cynon Taff 3,599 3,246 3,320 2,939 Swansea 2,947 2,936 2,980 2,604 Torfaen 1,765 1,851 1,727 1,544 Vale of Glamorgan 1,995 1,760 1,726 1,636 Wrexham 2,257 2,380 2,310 2,077

Total 48,750 48,611 48,418 44,391

Source: Annual accounts of Local Health Boards in Wales 2003-04 to 2006-07.

Kirsty Williams (Brecon and Radnorshire): Will the Minister make a statement on the development of Kidney Dialysis services for patients who live in Brecon and Radnorshire? (WAQ50499)

Edwina Hart: I recognise the need to improve access to renal dialysis in Powys, including Brecon and Radnorshire, as a priority. The decisions about precisely where to put any new capacity will require more detailed planning and further analysis of population distribution by Health Commission Wales. The new Renal Networks will be key to moving this forward and I will be monitoring progress closely.

As well as expanding the number of dialysis units, I want us to explore other ways of delivering renal replacement therapy such as utilising community and primary care facilities for dialysis, particularly in rural areas, and increasing home therapy. Most importantly, we must increase the opportunities for kidney transplants for all those patients in Wales who are dependent on dialysis.

The Minister for Rural Affairs

Mick Bates (Montgomeryshire): Will the Minister make a statement on the timetable for Tir Cynnal payments this year? (WAQ50511)

The Minister for Rural Affairs (Elin Jones): Tir Cynnal payments under current arrangements are due on the anniversary of individual agreements.

Entrants to the scheme in 2006 will receive their first payment in December 2007 (total value £1.1million) provided that their Single Application Form has been fully validated along with their Tir Cynnal agreement.

The second payment for 2005 applicants is due from March 2008 onwards (total value £6.3million).

Mick Bates (Montgomeryshire): How many Tir Cynnal payments have been made so far this year? (WAQ50512)

Elin Jones: £700,000 has been paid to 243 Tir Cynnal applicants this year to date.

5 Answers issued to Members on 6 November 2007

Kirsty Williams (Brecon and Radnorshire): Will the Minister outline what plans the Welsh Assembly Government has to purchase vaccine for bluetongue disease? (WAQ50598)

Elin Jones: DEFRA announced on 1 November that they were tendering for 10 to 20 million doses of bluetongue vaccine. The Welsh Assembly Government has been closely involved in plans for the Bank. The Welsh Assembly Government is in discussions with the Welsh livestock industry to identify the potential demand. This will enable Wales to join in the bidding process and further inform the size of the bid. On the basis of the anticipated demand livestock keepers in Wales will be offered the opportunity to purchase vaccine from the bank. Presently there is no dead vaccine authorised for use.

GB Administrations are at present working on a strategy for the prioritised use of available vaccine for next year in anticipation of the possible resurgence of the disease. Meanwhile, in the absence of vaccine, the disease must continue to be controlled by means of restrictions.

Nicholas Bourne (Mid and West Wales): What measures has the Welsh Assembly Government introduced to increase the stringency of controls over puppy farming in Wales since the introduction of the National Assembly? (WAQ50608)

Elin Jones: Both the the Breeding and Sale of Dogs (Welfare) Act 1999 and most recently the Animal Welfare Act 2006 raise standards and controls on such activities.

In addition to the above legislation we are working closely with interested organisations and Local Authorities across Wales with a view to developing codes of practise for the welfare of dogs and if necessary relevant secondary legislation. The codes will set out minimum standards of welfare as allowed under Section 14 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006.

Nicholas Bourne (Mid and West Wales): Is the Welsh Assembly Government currently issuing grant funding to puppy farmers operating in Wales? (WAQ50609)

Elin Jones: The Welsh Assembly Government previously offered grant funding as part of the FIG/FEG scheme which operated under the EAGGF programme. The breeding of dogs was eligible under the scheme for capital works such as kennelling and exercise yards. Support was not available for the purchase of animals. Applications for this scheme have now closed and funding is currently not available.

Questions to the Minister for Social Justice and Local Government

Alun Cairns (South Wales West): Will the Minister list the estimated numbers of class A drug abusers per local authority in Wales? (WAQ50493)

The Minister for Social Justice and Local Government (Brian Gibbons): The Welsh National Database for Substance Misuse records information about those people engaging in treatment. The first report was published in September 2006 and can be found at www.wales.gov.uk/substancemisuse. This report only reported on referrals for drugs and alcohol. The second annual report will be published shortly and will contain a detailed breakdown of referrals by Community safety Partnership and by identified problem.

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