£22m to support vulnerable children, adults and older people

Nearly £22m of grant funding has been awarded to organisations and projects which support vulnerable children, adults and older people by the Welsh Government, the Health and Social Services Minister Mark Drakeford has announced. The funding has been awarded over three years to a number of organisations supporting children, young people and their families, looked after children and care leavers, older people, people with learning disabilities and autism, people with physical and/or sensory disabilities, carers. It will also help prevent and protect children and adults from abuse or neglect. The Minister said: “The £22m grant funding will support a range of projects which in turn will support people right across Wales. The funding will help third sector organisations deliver our ambitious agenda for social services in Wales.”

2015 golfing success gives confidence for exciting 2016

2015 ended on a high note for Golf in Wales and with many exciting tournaments and developments in 2016, Wales is set to continue to sell itself as a golf destination with big ambitions. The Wales Senior Open will be an event to look forward to in 2016 and before Christmas the event received a significant boost with the news that SSE Enterprise will again be title sponsor when the tournament, supported by Welsh Government, returns to the Celtic Manor Resort from 3-5 June. The event will be closely followed by the prestigious Amateur Championship returning to Royal Porthcawl Golf Club from 13–18 June. Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism, Ken Skates, said: “Golf tourism in Wales has seen an increase of 40% in the number of golf visitors to Wales in the last decade. The total value of Golf Tourism in 2014 was nearly £38m, which demonstrates golf tourism’s importance to the Welsh economy.”

Consultation launched on proposals for All Wales Bus Quality Standards

The Welsh Government is consulting on proposals to introduce voluntary All-Wales Quality Standards for local scheduled bus services. Transport Minister Edwina Hart said: “Bus services provide vital access to employment and services for many people across Wales. Every day, 63,000 people rely on the bus to get to work and about 350,000 trips are made in total. The Welsh Government is committed to improving the quality and accessibility of local bus services. We want to see improved standards across the country to encourage more people to use buses and provide a sustainable future for services.” The consultation can be found at www.gov.wales/consultations/transport/160107-bus-quality-standard

UK Government Courts closure proposals ‘will damage access to justice’

Public Services Minister Leighton Andrews has set out his concerns over the UK Government’s proposed programme of further court closures in Wales in a letter sent to the Ministry of Justice. Accompanying the letter is a paper detailing analysis carried out by the Welsh Government into the impact on travel times should the proposed closures go ahead. The analysis supports the Welsh Government’s significant concerns about the adverse impact of the reforms on access to justice, and also raises concerns about the UK Government’s own analysis on which the proposals are based. The Minister wrote: “Our analysis of public transport journeys shows that, if the closures were implemented, more than 30,000 additional households in Wales would face journeys of over two hours each way to access their nearest alternative court.”

Specialist eye care to be provided closer to homes

Assessment and treatment services for people with wet-AMD, which can cause swift sight loss, will be moved out of hospitals closer to people’s homes in some parts of Wales following a £400,000 investment by the Welsh Government. Four pilot projects will be set up in Gwent, Cwm Taf, West Wales and Powys, to move assessment and treatment services out of hospitals – doctor-led services in outpatient departments and operating theatres – and into local communities, where they will be delivered by optometrists and nurses, overseen by an ophthalmologist. The pilots will ensure people are seen more quickly closer to home and free up time for hospital-based ophthalmologists to manage patients with the most complex conditions. Deputy Minister for Health Vaughan Gething has also approved a £105,000 funding package to up-skill eye care professionals to deliver these and other new services. He said: “The investment I’m announcing will, over time, see a significant transfer of services away from hospitals into local communities, making them more convenient for people to access and better able to provide the right care, in the right place, at the right time.”

£1.5m to improve energy performance

Natural Resources Minister Carl Sargeant has announced that he has secured an additional £1.5m from the European Investment Bank’s ELENA programme to improve the energy performance of public bodies in Wales. Giving an update on the lead the Welsh Government has taken in delivering local energy generation, Carl Sargeant said the wider public sector also has an important leadership role to play in this area. “I am already providing support for public bodies in Wales to accelerate energy generation and efficiency projects,” said the Minister. “We are working with local authorities to develop smart, innovative solutions to support local homes, businesses and communities through effective and sustainable use of our resources.”

Extensive trade programme for 2016-17

An extensive programme of overseas events has been announced by Economy Minister Edwina Hart for 2016 -17 designed to put Wales firmly on the international trade and tourism map. The programme includes up to 44 events in 16 different countries. Covering export, inward investment, tourism and marketing activities it will raise the profile of Wales as a business and tourism destination and support Welsh businesses to trade internationally. Economy Minister Edwina Hart said: “We want companies to take full advantage of the opportunities that trading internationally can offer and the 2016-17 programme builds on the substantial investment made over the current term of this government.”

Summer 2015 success for Wales’ tourism industry

Figures published by the Welsh Government show the tourism industry in Wales had a successful summer with figures for the first nine months of 2015 showing an increase on 2014, which was a record breaking year for Wales. The Great Britain Tourism Survey shows that from January- September 2015, the total volume of domestic overnight trips to Wales increased by 1.8 percent in comparison with the January – September 2014. Expenditure on visits to Wales for the period January – September 2015 has risen by 12.0 percent compared to the same period in 2014. The comparable figure for GB as a whole is 10.3 percent. Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism, Ken Skates, said: “We’ve had positive signs and feedback from the industry that summer 2015 was successful despite the weather and these figures show that the first nine months, including the peak season, was excellent for Wales – even compared to a record breaking 2014. It’s excellent news for the wider economy that more people visited Wales last year – and also spent significantly more while here on holiday.”