National Assembly for Wales

Substantive response

Substantive response

The Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 (the Act) provides for a legally-binding common purpose – the seven well-being goals – for national government, local government, local health boards and other specified public bodies. It details the ways in which specified public bodies must work and work together to improve the well-being of Wales and carry out sustainable development.

The Act was specifically designed to strengthen existing governance systems for improving the well-being of Wales. It does this by requiring public bodies to do things in pursuit of the economic, social, environmental, and cultural well-being of Wales by acting in accordance with the sustainable development principle.

The Act brings public bodies together at the local level through Public Services Boards to assess and plan for the well-being of their area. Through the Act we have in place 50 national well-being indicators and 17 national milestones and an annual Well-being of Wales report assessing progress towards the well-being goals. The independent Future Generations Commissioner, established by the Act, has a general duty is to promote the sustainable development principle, to act as a guardian of the ability of future generations to meet their needs and encourage public bodies to take greater account of the long-term impacts of the things they do.

Welsh Ministers are subject to the requirements of the Act and it therefore affects how Welsh Government develops policy and legislation. Our guidance on policy and legislation development (including the Legislation Handbook on Bills and Subordinate Legislation) was updated following the Act to ensure that policy officials consider the requirements of the Act, including how policies can advance the achievement of the well-being goals.

Since the Act was passed in 2015, Welsh law has used the Act in several ways, both drawing on the purpose of the Act and by supplementing it, by adding new specified public bodies or tapping into its operational and reporting mechanisms.

To give an example, the Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Act 2023 (SPPP Act) provides for a framework to enhance the well-being of the people of Wales by improving public services through social partnership working, promoting fair work, and socially responsible public procurement. The social partnership duties within the SPPP Act apply when a public body is carrying out sustainable development in accordance with the Act.

Most recently, on 21 May the Cabinet Secretary for Culture and Social Justice laid the Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 (Public Bodies) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 which will, if made, require that eight further public bodies will be subject to the well-being duty (under Part 2 of the Act).

There are up to 80 places available for students to commence studying medicine at Bangor this September.

So far 61 offers have been issued to Welsh domiciled students, however not all students will accept their offers, as students make multiple applications to different schools. However, the offer holders have until 5 June to accept.  Ultimately the exact breakdown will not be known until sometime after A level results day, as offers are on condition of academic attainment.

No International student applications were permitted, however any gaps remaining in terms of student numbers will be filled via clearing and a breakdown of UK nationalities/domicile status will not be known until after this process has concluded.

Health boards are responsible for the planning and commissioning of services to meet the needs of their population. They provide a range of information to help individuals to access support, including helplines, services and community groups.

The Welsh Government has published the National Framework for Social Prescribing which provides guidance to how social prescribing can link people, whatever their age or background, to community-based, non-clinical support. We will be working with stakeholders, including health boards, to further promote this work.

At a national level, we continue to invest in a range of support across Wales with the aim of preventing those with a mental health related needs requiring specialist care. This includes support in schools, online therapeutic support and cognitive behavioural therapy, a prescriptive reading service called Reading Well, the BEAT eating disorders helpline and the CALL Mental Health adviceline for Wales. Our CALL adviceline also helps signpost people to support available in their local area.

We have also provided funding for health boards to commission sanctuary services for children and young people experiencing emotional distress as an alternative to specialist mental health services. These are facilities that offer young people the right support, in an appropriate environment and at a time where they need it most.

Our draft Mental Health and Well-being Strategy, which is currently out for consultation, sets out our longer-term vision for mental health and well-being in Wales.

Primary and secondary care clinicians within Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board have had access to faecal immunochemical testing (FIT testing) for symptomatic patients since 2020. The Health Board advises that the number of tests requested each year is increasing, with the majority being requested in primary care in line with NICE recommendations and the national optimal pathway for colorectal cancer.

We provide £12m to Regional Partnership Boards every year to support the implementation of the Dementia Action Plan and to develop a joint health and social care approach to dementia support. Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board’s allocation is £2.831m, which includes funding for memory assessment services, dementia connector services and support for staff /learning and development.

Improvement Cymru has been commissioned to deliver a dementia programme which provides support to health and social care, through the established Regional Partnership Boards. The dementia programme has had five work streams, which are aimed at supporting consistent practice and where appropriate a once-for-Wales approach.  Improvement Cymru also hosts a number of resources, including its work plan, on its webpages.

A key component of the dementia programme is the establishment of the All Wales Dementia Care Pathway of Standards. The pathway standards were published by Improvement Cymru in 2021, following extensive engagement with people living with dementia, carers, voluntary organisations and health and care professionals. These continue to be implemented through the work streams, with a number focusing on supporting improvements in dementia assessment and diagnosis.

When the medical school was established, a recurrent uplift would have been applied to the then health board’s core allocation to support it. Finance colleagues no longer have access to the ledgers as the previous system has been replaced. However, this now equates to £2.98m per annum, due to subsequent inflationary uplifts.

The above figures do not include any contributions provided by Education and Welsh Language and do not include the additional annual payments of Service Increment for Teaching (SIFT). SIFT recognises the additional costs incurred by NHS organisations for teaching/hosting medical and dental students as part of their undergraduate studies across Wales.

Denbighshire County Council is responsible for understanding and determining its local housing requirements through its Local Housing Market Assessment (LHMA) and its Local Development Plan (LDP).

As delivering social housing is a key priority for this Government, we work with the council by providing grant in the form of either Social Housing Grant (SHG) or Transitional Accommodation Capital Programme (TACP). These can be used to convert non-residential buildings into housing, to demolish properties to build newbuild housing, or to bring back existing social homes into use.   Using these grants, unused properties can either be sold to their Registered Social Landlords (RSL) partners or retained by the council.

Selling properties to the private sector is a commercial decision and a matter for the council based on the specific needs of the area.

The Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964 requires all local authorities to provide a ‘comprehensive and efficient’ library service. It is the responsibility of individual authorities to determine how that requirement is met. Local authorities report on their performance annually against the Welsh Public Library Standards and I expect each authority to consider and respond to the feedback report which is provided.

Welsh Government support for public libraries is primarily through the local government settlement. In 2024-25, Denbighshire Council will receive £200.8m in core revenue funding and non-domestic rates to spend on delivering key services. This is an increase of 3.8% which is above the Welsh average.

However, the Welsh Government also supports the development of local libraries across Wales. We have just announced an investment of over £900,000 to fund a shared digital library platform for our local library services.  This investment will ensure that in the future all library users across Wales are able to access a more consistent and improved service.  The Welsh Government also invests in schemes delivered by local libraries including the Summer Reading Challenge to support reading by children, and the ‘Reading Well’ Scheme which provides free access to books chosen by health professionals, along with people and their carers’ with lived experience of mental health conditions.

Air quality monitoring for 20mph was contracted by TfW. Between 2021-2022 and 2023-24, £204,475 was paid to TfW for this work. The funding covered the development of the monitoring methodology, the procurement strategy to ensure the best value route to market, the acquisition of monitoring sensors, technical input, and subsequent analysis and report production.

The cost of the 20mpm Review undertaken by the Panel to date is £11,830.

I am aware that the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (RWCMD) wrote to the Cabinet Secretary for Education in advance of the announcement of the proposal to close these courses. The Cabinet Secretary for Education will continue engagement with the College.

Details of ministerial meetings are published regularly on the Welsh Government website via this link - https://www.gov.wales/ministerial-meetings-and-engagements.

These courses are not funded by the Welsh Government or the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales.  

RWCMD has stated that it remains fully committed to providing opportunities in music for young people, and to creating pathways into professional training. It will be continuing to deliver a number of areas of project work, including a series of weekend immersive workshops in music, the National Open Youth Orchestra residency, and holiday courses in production arts.

As an autonomous body, the RWCMD is responsible for its own academic affairs, including delivery of their courses, staffing, and decisions on financial management. It would not be appropriate for the Welsh Government to intervene in such matters.

We recognise the financial pressure for Higher education Institutions in Wales and across the UK are under and Ministers have been engaging regularly and constructively with sector leaders on this.

This government continues to demonstrate its commitment to high-quality music education for all, including through £13 million of funding for the National Music Service between 2022 and 2025 as part of the Programme for Government. The Welsh Government recognises the social, cultural and economic value of the arts sector in Wales and their role in enriching our communities and inspiring future generations.

I am aware that the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (RWCMD) wrote to the Cabinet Secretary for Education in advance of the announcement of the proposal to close these courses. The Cabinet Secretary for Education will continue engagement with the College.

Details of ministerial meetings are published regularly on the Welsh Government website via this link - https://www.gov.wales/ministerial-meetings-and-engagements.

These courses are not funded by the Welsh Government or the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales.  

RWCMD has stated that it remains fully committed to providing opportunities in music for young people, and to creating pathways into professional training. It will be continuing to deliver a number of areas of project work, including a series of weekend immersive workshops in music, the National Open Youth Orchestra residency, and holiday courses in production arts.

As an autonomous body, the RWCMD is responsible for its own academic affairs, including delivery of their courses, staffing, and decisions on financial management. It would not be appropriate for the Welsh Government to intervene in such matters.

We recognise the financial pressure for Higher education Institutions in Wales and across the UK are under and Ministers have been engaging regularly and constructively with sector leaders on this.

This government continues to demonstrate its commitment to high-quality music education for all, including through £13 million of funding for the National Music Service between 2022 and 2025 as part of the Programme for Government. The Welsh Government recognises the social, cultural and economic value of the arts sector in Wales and their role in enriching our communities and inspiring future generations.

The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (RWCMD) are an autonomous body and are responsible for its own academic affairs, including the delivery of courses, staffing, and decisions on financial management. Assessments into the impacts of decision-making at organisations outside the scope of Government have not been undertaken.