National Assembly for Wales

Substantive response

Substantive response

Substantive response

Substantive response

While policing is currently a reserved matter, the Welsh Government work closely with our Police and Crime Commissioners and Police Forces in Wales. Details of ministerial meetings are published regularly on the Welsh Government website via the link below: https://www.gov.wales/ministerial-meetings-and-engagements 

While policing is currently a reserved matter, the Welsh Government work closely with our Police and Crime Commissioners and Police Forces in Wales. Details of ministerial meetings are published regularly on the Welsh Government website via the link below: https://www.gov.wales/ministerial-meetings-and-engagements

Substantive response

Substantive response

Substantive response

Substantive response

Substantive response

Substantive response

Members of the Senedd, including those who are members of the Welsh Government, are provided, individually, with the same information with regard to the use of Senedd Commission resources, which includes the use of phones.

Records indicate the following:

*Members of the Welsh Government, the Presiding Officer and Deputy Presiding Officer do not traditionally table questions.

***based a 3 monthly average (November 2023 - January 2024) of 410 WQ per month

Records indicate the following:

*Members of the Welsh Government, the Presiding Officer and Deputy Presiding Officer do not traditionally table questions.

***based a 3 monthly average (November 2023 - January 2024) of 410 WQ per month

Records indicate the following:

*Members of the Welsh Government, the Presiding Officer and Deputy Presiding Officer do not traditionally table questions.

***based a 3 monthly average (November 2023 - January 2024) of 410 WQ per month

Records indicate the following:

*Members of the Welsh Government, the Presiding Officer and Deputy Presiding Officer do not traditionally table questions.

***based a 3 monthly average (November 2023 - January 2024) of 410 WQ per month

The recent fall in the headline UK inflation rate will be welcome news for households across Wales, especially the fall in food price inflation, which has hit struggling families particularly hard. According to a recent House of Commons research briefing, over the past two years, average food prices in the UK have risen by a cumulative 23.9 per cent; in the preceding period, this rate of growth took a total of 12 years to be reached. This significant and rapid increase is of course not mitigated by the recent headline fall.

When looking at international comparators, there is obviously still some cause for concern which highlights the UK’s relatively poor performance in this area. The most recent period for which comparable data is available showed that inflation continued to be noticeably higher in the UK than the Eurozone (2.6 per cent). The OECD have also recently forecast that the UK would see the highest price growth in 2024 and 2025 in the G7.

The floating offshore wind industry, and the Crown Estate’s leasing round for 4.5 Gigawatts (GW) of floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea, has the potential to contribute to Wales targets to meet the equivalent of 100% of our annual electricity consumption from renewable sources by 2035, and to continue to keep pace with consumption thereafter.

The industry has the potential to contribute positively to our supply chains, our ports and create new jobs. However, without certainty on delivery timelines of the additional 12GW that the Chancellor announced in the Autumn Statement we will struggle to unlock private investment across the industry’s supply chain. The UK Government needs to provide more certainty to industry, it needs to legislate to provide essential borrowing and investment capabilities to the Crown Estate and devolve the powers of The Crown Estate to Welsh Ministers.

I refer you to the substantive answer given to you to WQ91245 of the 8 March 2024

I refer you to the substantive answer given to you to WG91245 on 8 March 2024.

NHS Wales is already engaged in this matter. As set out in WQ91974: NHS Wales commissions gender identity services for children and young people under the age of 17 from NHS England. The service is commissioned by the Welsh Health Specialised Services Committee (the NHS Wales Joint Commissioning Committee from 1 April 2024) which represents NHS Wales on the Improvement Programme for Gender Identity Services for children and young people which has been established by NHS England.

NHS England has carefully considered the evidence review conducted by NICE and further published evidence available to date and concluded that there is not enough evidence to support the safety or clinical effectiveness of puberty suppressing hormones to make the treatment routinely available at this time. Therefore, puberty suppressing hormones will not be available as a routine commissioning treatment option for children and young people in Wales who are referred via our gender identity services pathway.

However, NHS England aims to have a study into the use of puberty blockers in place by December 2024. Welsh children and young people referred into the service will also be eligible to participate in the study.

This change will not affect young people from Wales who are already receiving   puberty supressing hormones from the NHS. In this circumstance it will be for each patient’s consultant, together with the young person and their family to consider the continuation of puberty suppressing hormones.

NHS Wales commissions gender identity services for children and young people under the age of 17 from NHS England. The service is commissioned by the Welsh Health Specialised Services Committee (WHSSC) which is evolving into the NHS Wales Joint Commissioning Committee from 1 April. WHSSC which represents NHS Wales on the Improvement Programme for Gender Identity Services for children and young people which has been established by NHS England. Information on the number of children under 18 who are already receiving puberty suppressing hormones is not routinely collected by NHS Wales, or by NHS England.

World Autism Day is a key date to communicate the work that we are doing to increase awareness, understanding and acceptance of autism.   The National Neurodivergence Team, funded by the Welsh Government, will be celebrating this day by promoting their resources across social media.  This will include their eLearning modules, community of practice sessions, advice sheets and their work with the autistic community.

The Welsh Government will be lighting up the Cathays Park office in purple in the evening on 2^nd April to visually show our support for World Autism Awareness Day.

On World Autism Awareness Day we want to highlight and thank all of our stakeholders including lived experience experts for the work they are doing to support and co-produce the Neurodivergence Improvement Programme. From representation at a local level on autism stakeholder groups to the chairing of the Ministerial Advisory Group, the voice of our neurodivergent population is at the heart of our work.

World Bipolar Day, which is on 30th March, encourages understanding about bipolar and aims to banish stigma. The Welsh Government welcomes the opportunity to raise awareness around this condition and are aware that there will be a number of activities throughout the day, supported by Bipolar UK. Where the Welsh Government can continue to highlight this important work, we will do so. The draft Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy, which is out for consultation until the 11 June, provides further detail on our proposed actions to support people with mental health conditions, and we encourage people to respond to this consultation so their views can inform our work.

I refer you to my answer to your previous written question WQ92238.

The growth of the overall waiting list reflects the number of people who are newly referred for tests or treatment.

The headline NHS waiting lists statistics, from which performance measures are derived, are based on patient pathways. Since individual patients can have multiple open pathways, the number of individuals on wating lists is lower. Estimates for individuals waiting are based on management information and are subject to greater uncertainty than the headline statistics.

While the headline pathways-based figures fell slightly in January, the estimate for individuals waiting increased, because more people joined a waiting list than left waiting lists, according to the management information. Though the figures for pathways and individuals waiting tend to follow very similar trends, they are both affected by data validations and revisions. This means we should not expect to see precisely the same change in these measures from one month to the next.

For both measures, it is important to consider the trends over time rather than focusing on individual data points. Recent months have seen falls in both patient pathways and the number of individuals on NHS waiting lists in Wales.

A total of 1917 people on the suspected cancer pathway started their first definitive treatment in January 2024, an increase of almost 20% compared to December 2023. Of these, 1049 people started their treatment within 62 days of the first suspicion of cancer.  Over the same period, 14,012 people were informed they do not have cancer, a 15% increase compared to December 2023.

Health boards have reported increasing numbers of cancer referrals, with an increase of almost 30% in the number of people referred onto the suspected cancer pathway in January 2024 compared to the previous month.  They have also reported reduced capacity due to a range of factors, including the impact of recent industrial action.  Plans have been put in place by health boards to prioritise cancer services and minimise impact during periods of industrial action, however capacity lost during these periods has unfortunately resulted in some delays in the pathway. 

Health boards continue to work to reduce the number of patients who have waited beyond the 62-day target and have actions in place including additional waiting list initiatives, weekend working, and moving staff and patients around where possible to minimise waiting times across the pathway.

The Welsh Government continues to invest in cancer services to build new facilities; increase the number of training places for specialists in cancer diagnosis, treatment and palliative care; and provide earlier diagnosis and rapid access to high quality cancer care to ensure people receive the right treatment as quickly as possible. In January 2023, I announced £86m for new cancer diagnostic and treatment facilities and in December 2023, I approved a £2m allocation, for three consecutive years, to support the planned care programme of the NHS Executive to recover cancer waiting times.

The December 2023 data showed that 96.9% of pathways in Wales were waiting under two years. Five health boards exceeded the target with Swansea Bay showing a continued improvement and Betsi Cadwallader remaining the same. January data showed a continued improvement, with more than 97% waiting less than two years in six out of the seven health boards, and all Wales figure standing at 96.9%

Many factors are contributing to make it difficult to achieve the national ambulance response time performance target, including increasing demand, ambulance patient handover delays which reduce available capacity, and higher-than-normal levels of staff sickness absence.

February saw the fourth highest daily number of red calls on record, and the third highest volume of red calls as a proportion of all calls.

We want to ensure that everyone in Wales can access GP services in Wales as quickly as possible, based on need.

In 2019, we invested £3.7m in digital telephone systems to make it easier for people to contact their practice. We have also provided £12 million in funding over three years from 2022 to support practices to increase their staff and capacity to improve access.

In line with our General Medical Services Access Commitment, practices should be adopting a blended model of access, where available appointments must be a mix of remote, face to face, urgent, on the day and pre-bookable.

95% of practices across Wales have said they are now providing the blended model of access. This will make it easier for older people to access appointments or be signposted to another service if appropriate.

To ensure that all those who need to see a GP – including older people or those with more complex health conditions – can do so, we have invested across primary and community services in order reduce demand on GPs. This includes Investment in Urgent Primary Care Centres and the 111 Press 2 for Mental Health service, as well as growing clinical community pharmacy services to create additional capacity for GPs. In 2022-23 pharmacies delivered almost 600,000 consultations and we estimate further growth this financial year equal to an additional 107,000 consultations taking place with a pharmacist, where 80% of people would otherwise have visited their GP.

The experiences of older people are extremely valuable as we consider how to further improve access to primary care in Wales. The findings in the 2023 report from Age Cymru – as well as the recent report on GP Access by the Older People’s Commissioner for Wales – show that there is still work to be done to improve primary care services for older people.

In line with our Strategy for an Ageing Society, we are working with a range of stakeholders and older people to ensure ageism does not limit potential or affect the quality of services older people receive. The Ministerial Advisory Forum on Ageing is leading this work and a working group is being established to advise on the steps we can take to achieve this.

We want to ensure that people can access GP services in Wales as quickly as possible, based on need. Our General Medical Services Access Commitment requires practices to collect patient feedback and take action in response, to ensure that GP services can continue to improve to meet the needs of their patients.

We welcome the support of the Older People’s Commissioner in engaging with people across Wales on the model for primary care services, and where people can go to access help and advice. This engagement will help us further improve the experience of older people accessing their GP surgeries.

The headline measures for NHS waiting lists are based on patient pathways, with some patients having multiple pathways open simultaneously.

Estimates for the number of individual patients on NHS Referral to Treatment (RTT) waiting lists have been available since June 2022 and are available in the NHS activity and performance summaries published every month.

The letting thresholds apply nationally and consistently to every self-catering property across Wales to define a key aspect of the local tax system: whether a property is classified as domestic or non-domestic for local taxation purposes. There are no exemptions to the application of the letting criteria and this is not a new principle.

This work is being carried out in collaboration with Siân Gwenllian MS, the Plaid Cymru designated lead member, as part of the Cooperation Agreement between the Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru.

I set out my response to this question in WQ92115.

The Welsh Government has not received an outline business case for the proposed development at Coleg Sir Gâr’s Pibwrlwyd Campus.

Religion, Values and Ethics (RVE) is mandatory in the Curriculum for Wales for all learners aged 3-16 and agreed syllabuses must reflect the fact that religious traditions in Wales are in the main Christian while taking account of the teaching and practices of the other principal religions represented in Wales.

Earlier this month the Welsh Government issued a Hwb article celebrating Easter Sunday. This included a range of activities, ideas, and learning resources available for all schools to learn all about Easter.

In order to ensure that schools in Wales will be able to choose from the full range of new, Made-for-Wales GCSEs, Qualifications Wales decided to require any awarding body offering them to offer the full range of GCSE subjects. As the primary provider of GCSEs in Wales, only WJEC has committed to this requirement. Qualifications Wales and the Welsh Government are working closely with WJEC on the development and successful introduction of these qualifications for first teaching from September 2025.

We recognise that the pandemic has had a detrimental impact.  The attainment of our learners, in particular our disadvantaged learners, is a key priority for me and I will set out what more we will do to address this over the course of this term.

We will provide support for disadvantaged learners and young people doing GCSEs and moving to post-16 pathways.  We have protected the Pupil Development Grant budget for 2024/25 with £127.8m ring-fenced for schools and local authorities to support low income and care-experienced learners.

Over 17 million additional free school meals have been served since the launch of the Universal Primary Free School Meals offer. This is part of the Co-operation Agreement with Plaid Cymru, and the policy will be evaluated.

As part of the 2024/25 budget process Ministers had to take very difficult decisions about the Welsh Government’s commitments and priorities, with a focus on protecting front-line services and saving lives. That informed the challenging decision to withdraw Welsh Government funding for the Wales Police Schools Programme in 2024-25.

The impact of this decision on the current programme, and areas such as safeguarding, drug awareness and social behaviour problems is difficult to predict. This is because the programme is mainly measured in terms of outputs of lessons as opposed to outcomes.

You will be aware that the budget from the UK Government was received later than expected, so the Welsh Government had to issue our draft budget as late as possible in order to give due consideration to the difficult decisions that had to be made. Ministers were working to a tight timescale and making decisions on the 2024/25 budget during December. However, that meant we didn’t have the luxury of rounded, open engagement that we have typically undertaken when time has allowed. So we informed trusted partners, including the Police, of our decision to withdraw funding as soon as possible prior to the budget publication.

Officials attended a meeting with Education Unions in February to discuss their concerns and we are continuing to work with the Police on the implications of the withdrawal of the Welsh Government’s match funding for the programme.

The Integrated Impact Assessment for this decision currently focuses on the Welsh Government’s withdrawal of match funding. However, as you will be aware, the programme has been a partnership approach with the Police so the document will need to be updated and revised once we are aware of what the Police are planning with their match funding for the programme and what role they see the Police playing in schools in the future. Officials are currently going through the process to enable the publication of the relevant parts of the Integrated Impact Assessment, and this will be done once they are aware of the Police’s position. 

As part of the 2024/25 budget process Ministers had to take very difficult decisions about the Welsh Government’s commitments and priorities, with a focus on protecting front-line services and saving lives. That informed the challenging decision to withdraw Welsh Government funding for the Wales Police Schools Programme in 2024-25.

The impact of this decision on the current programme, and areas such as safeguarding, drug awareness and social behaviour problems is difficult to predict. This is because the programme is mainly measured in terms of outputs of lessons as opposed to outcomes.

You will be aware that the budget from the UK Government was received later than expected, so the Welsh Government had to issue our draft budget as late as possible in order to give due consideration to the difficult decisions that had to be made. Ministers were working to a tight timescale and making decisions on the 2024/25 budget during December. However, that meant we didn’t have the luxury of rounded, open engagement that we have typically undertaken when time has allowed. So we informed trusted partners, including the Police, of our decision to withdraw funding as soon as possible prior to the budget publication.

Officials attended a meeting with Education Unions in February to discuss their concerns and we are continuing to work with the Police on the implications of the withdrawal of the Welsh Government’s match funding for the programme.

The Integrated Impact Assessment for this decision currently focuses on the Welsh Government’s withdrawal of match funding. However, as you will be aware, the programme has been a partnership approach with the Police so the document will need to be updated and revised once we are aware of what the Police are planning with their match funding for the programme and what role they see the Police playing in schools in the future. Officials are currently going through the process to enable the publication of the relevant parts of the Integrated Impact Assessment, and this will be done once they are aware of the Police’s position. 

As part of the 2024/25 budget process Ministers had to take very difficult decisions about the Welsh Government’s commitments and priorities, with a focus on protecting front-line services and saving lives. That informed the challenging decision to withdraw Welsh Government funding for the Wales Police Schools Programme in 2024-25.

The impact of this decision on the current programme, and areas such as safeguarding, drug awareness and social behaviour problems is difficult to predict. This is because the programme is mainly measured in terms of outputs of lessons as opposed to outcomes.

You will be aware that the budget from the UK Government was received later than expected, so the Welsh Government had to issue our draft budget as late as possible in order to give due consideration to the difficult decisions that had to be made. Ministers were working to a tight timescale and making decisions on the 2024/25 budget during December. However, that meant we didn’t have the luxury of rounded, open engagement that we have typically undertaken when time has allowed. So we informed trusted partners, including the Police, of our decision to withdraw funding as soon as possible prior to the budget publication.

Officials attended a meeting with Education Unions in February to discuss their concerns and we are continuing to work with the Police on the implications of the withdrawal of the Welsh Government’s match funding for the programme.

The Integrated Impact Assessment for this decision currently focuses on the Welsh Government’s withdrawal of match funding. However, as you will be aware, the programme has been a partnership approach with the Police so the document will need to be updated and revised once we are aware of what the Police are planning with their match funding for the programme and what role they see the Police playing in schools in the future. Officials are currently going through the process to enable the publication of the relevant parts of the Integrated Impact Assessment, and this will be done once they are aware of the Police’s position. 

As part of the 2024/25 budget process Ministers had to take very difficult decisions about the Welsh Government’s commitments and priorities, with a focus on protecting front-line services and saving lives. That informed the challenging decision to withdraw Welsh Government funding for the Wales Police Schools Programme in 2024-25.

The impact of this decision on the current programme, and areas such as safeguarding, drug awareness and social behaviour problems is difficult to predict. This is because the programme is mainly measured in terms of outputs of lessons as opposed to outcomes.

You will be aware that the budget from the UK Government was received later than expected, so the Welsh Government had to issue our draft budget as late as possible in order to give due consideration to the difficult decisions that had to be made. Ministers were working to a tight timescale and making decisions on the 2024/25 budget during December. However, that meant we didn’t have the luxury of rounded, open engagement that we have typically undertaken when time has allowed. So we informed trusted partners, including the Police, of our decision to withdraw funding as soon as possible prior to the budget publication.

Officials attended a meeting with Education Unions in February to discuss their concerns and we are continuing to work with the Police on the implications of the withdrawal of the Welsh Government’s match funding for the programme.

The Integrated Impact Assessment for this decision currently focuses on the Welsh Government’s withdrawal of match funding. However, as you will be aware, the programme has been a partnership approach with the Police so the document will need to be updated and revised once we are aware of what the Police are planning with their match funding for the programme and what role they see the Police playing in schools in the future. Officials are currently going through the process to enable the publication of the relevant parts of the Integrated Impact Assessment, and this will be done once they are aware of the Police’s position. 

Officials within Welsh Government have not had any discussions with the South Wales Police and Crime Commissioner about the local road closures following this match.

The Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO) for Wales has written to slaughterhouse operators to advise them that the Mandatory Use of Closed-Circuit Television in Slaughterhouses (Wales) Regulations 2024 (“the Regulations”) have been laid. The CVO will write with a further update following the plenary debate on the Regulations, which is scheduled for 23 April. We are developing guidance to help slaughterhouse operators to comply with the Regulations. The guidance will be sent to slaughterhouse operators and published online.

The Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO) for Wales has written to slaughterhouse operators to advise them that the Mandatory Use of Closed-Circuit Television in Slaughterhouses (Wales) Regulations 2024 (“the Regulations”) have been laid. The CVO will write with a further update following the plenary debate on the Regulations, which is scheduled for 23 April. We are developing guidance to help slaughterhouse operators to comply with the Regulations. The guidance will be sent to slaughterhouse operators and published online.

The Welsh Government does not collate this information.

As advised in the reply to your written question last week, my predecessor has written to Chief Constables in all Welsh police forces and to Local Authorities highlighting the latest guidance and regulations to work to, and the importance of robust reporting of incidents in Wales.

The Dangerous Dogs Act is non-devolved. The recent amendments to the Act banning XL Bullies were made by the UK Government. Welsh Government has not made any assessment of the impact of the changes.

I am not aware of a review of the policy by Defra as yet; however, officials are in weekly contact with our Defra counterparts.

The theft of a pet is a criminal offence under the non-devolved Theft Act 1968 and the maximum penalty is seven years’ imprisonment.  I appreciate the loss of a pet can be distressing and officials are in dialogue with Local Authorities and the police regarding a range of matters around dog ownership. We are working to provide education for owners to help them protect their animals.  For example, ensuring microchipping data is current, not tying pets up outside shops, not leaving them unattended in gardens if not secure and not letting pets roam out of sight when out walking, all of which will feature in the ongoing work on Responsible Dog Ownership.

After careful consideration it has been decided to prioritise resources to existing commitments for animal welfare in Wales at this time and therefore Wales will not be included in the UK Government Private Members’ Bill on Animal Abduction.

The Welsh Government retains the right to legislate on this area in future, should this be necessary, but at present our ambitious plans for animal welfare in Wales must take precedence.

The bovine TB Technical Advisory Group is being established to consider evidence and provide advice to inform future decisions.

The bovine TB Technical Advisory Group is being established to consider evidence and provide advice to inform future decisions.

Protecting our environment is a priority for this government. We have provided the environmental regulator, Natural Resources Wales, with stringent powers to take action to regulate and enforce environmental controls at polluting activities.

The Interim Environmental Protection Assessor for Wales (IEPAW) oversees the functioning of environmental law in Wales. A White Paper consultation was launched in January 2024 which set out proposals to introduce a Bill into the Senedd which will embed environmental principles into Welsh law, establish a new governance body to ensure robust oversight of environmental law by Welsh public authorities as well as introduce a strategic nature recovery framework.

We want as many people as possible to become involved in tree planting and plant “the right tree in the right place”. We offer support through our Small Grants Woodland Creation scheme for smaller areas such as field edges and corners. Applications for funding are assessed individually to ensure they meet eligibility criteria.

Our Local Places for Nature programme may also provide clubs and societies with support for native and fruit tree planting. Some sites may have restrictions placed on them so anyone considering planting trees must check whether permission needs to be obtained from the relevant authorities for their project.

Whilst inflation is falling, meaning the rate at which prices are increasing is now decreasing, the level of prices remain higher than they were. According to the Consumer Price Index, the level of prices is now 21% higher than three years ago.

The Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts Real Household Disposable Income (RHDI) per person, the single most important economic measure of living standards, is forecast to be 3.5 per cent lower in 2024-25 than the pre-pandemic level, representing the largest reduction in real living standards since ONS records began in the 1950s. RHDI per person is not forecast to recover its pre-pandemic level until 2027-28.

Following the March budget the Resolution Foundation has said, after adjusting for inflation, household disposable incomes are poised to fall by 0.9% between 2019 and the end of 2024.