Welsh Government Annual Report 2019 - Annex · 2020-01-31 · Welsh Government Annual Report 2019 -...

Welsh Government Annual Report 2019 - A More Prosperous, Equal and Greener Wales: Annex

A More Prosperous, Equal and Greener Wales

Welsh Government Annual Report 2019 - Annex


No.Prosperity for All commitment

First Minister’s leadership manifesto commitments

Progress up to 30th September 2019

Completed / Not Started / In Progress

Objective 1: Support people and businesses to drive prosperity

1 Commit to a new Economic Contract between business and government to stimulate growth, increase productivity, and make Wales fairer and more competitive.

1.1 Redesign the way in which government invests in economic growth, so that public investment has a social purpose and a commitment to equality, and so provides a return to the public purse.

1.2 Use whatever new flexibilities are derived from leaving the European Union to help Welsh-based companies to compete successfully for contracts.

1.3 Institute an annual review of existing PFI contracts across the Welsh public sector, to buy out those contracts where that provides a better outcome for the public purse.

1.4 Using a social partnership model, work with business to identify where new methods and technology can improve public services.

1.5 Use a social partnership model to support common capabilities and standards for future innovation.

1.6 ‘Raise the social ask’ of big businesses operating in the foundational economy, through the new Economic Contract.

1.7 Make explicit the extent to which many businesses in the foundational economy belong in the ‘near-public’ sector, because without very significant sums of public money they would cease to trade.

1.8 Provide our social partnership model with the strength of a statutory foundation. We will develop a Social Partnership Act, building on the last Labour Government’s Equality Act, to put ethical standards of employment and the pursuit of equality at the core of Welsh Government economic and social policy and public service delivery.

Over 200 Economic Contracts have been agreed with individual businesses. We are widening this work further by extending the principles of the Economic Contract into other government activity. We are delivering the Foundational Economy Challenge Fund, which is finding ways to make local communities more prosperous with a specific focus on public procurement.

1.1 The Economic Contract is being reviewed to evolve, and expand it further, bringing it in line with the recommendations from the Fair Work Commission.

1.2 To provide continuity to Welsh businesses and public sector bodies, EU procurement legislation will continue to operate in a no deal and during a transition period. Work is underway with the UK Government and other Devolved Administrations to explore the scale and scope of possible flexibilities, but this will ultimately be dependent on commitments within Trade Deals.

1.3 In February 2019, we asked all contracting local authorities in Wales to review their PFI schemes. Work is being undertaken by several authorities to make savings on annual payments, while at least two local authorities have confirmed that PFI contracts have been terminated.

1.4 Following publication of the report from Lee Waters AM, System Reboot: Transforming Public Services Through Better Use of Digital, we are exploring opportunities to enhance digital leadership in Wales. The Brown Review of Digital Innovation for the Economy and the Future of Work was published in September 2019. We are considering its findings and have established a cross-Government Delivery Group for AI and Data Driven Innovation to ensure that their evidence feeds into future work.

1.5 We have increased the Foundational Economy Challenge Fund from £1.5 million to £4.5 million. The Fund will support a series of projects that will enable us to test how we can best support the foundational economy. This includes funding for the Bevan Foundation for a community regeneration think tank, in partnership with the Wales TUC, to help increase fair work in foundational sector businesses.

1.6 The Economic Contract requires businesses seeking investment to demonstrate that they meet the four pillars of social purpose: growth potential, fair work, promoting good health and reducing their carbon footprint.

1.7 Work to define the ‘near-public’ sector continues. Through our Foundational Economy Challenge Fund we have supported 52 experimental projects across Wales, including 12 with a private sector lead, and a number of projects in the social care sector.

1.8 A consultation on the Social Partnership Bill was launched in November 2019. The First Minister announced the inclusion of Social Partnership legislation in the Legislative Programme and set out his priorities for social partnership in July 2019.

Prosperity for All Commitment:

1. Completed

Supporting/Additional Commitments:

1.1 In Progress

1.2 In Progress

1.3 In Progress

1.4 In Progress

1.5 In Progress

1.6 In Progress

1.7 In Progress

1.8 In Progress






2 Simplify and rationalise the range of financial support we offer to companies, ensuring it is clear, easily understood and responsive.

2.1 Simplify the system of providing financial support for business, including start-ups, micro-businesses and small and medium size enterprises, ensuring that applications for help are allocated to a named individual, and resolved in a timely fashion.

We launched the Economic Futures Fund in May 2018. Additionally, the Development Bank of Wales provides loans from £1,000 through to £5 million to help Welsh businesses start-up, strengthen and grow. The Bank is working closely with Business Wales to integrate the advice and support to businesses.

2.1 Business Wales, our bilingual business support service, was refreshed in January 2016 to make it easier for Welsh micro-businesses, social enterprises, small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and aspiring entrepreneurs of all ages to access advice and support. An independent review of Business Wales highlights how well this is working: 85% of start-ups supported by Business Wales are still operating four years later, compared to 41% for non-supported start-ups. 20% of jobs created by Business Wales are filled by people who were previously unemployed, increasing to 40% for self-employed enterprises.

[This commitment is cross-referenced with 6 and 12 and should be read as a whole]


2. Completed


2.1 Completed

3 Develop a modern, regulatory framework, through smarter regulation to ensure competitiveness and the right economic environment for them to grow.

We are continuing our work to modernise the regulatory environment, particularly in the context of wider work on the UK’s internal market and common frameworks. We have reviewed the implementation of the Welsh Ministers Business Scheme, and the lessons are feeding into our work to place social partnership on a statutory footing. These lessons include the importance of taking a consistent approach and engaging as early as possible with a broad range of firms.


3. In progress

4 Establish the new Development Bank of Wales, improving access to finance for businesses, alongside high quality support services and management advice.

4.1 Use the Development Bank for Wales to deliver ‘patient capital’, building sustainable firms in Wales.

We have established the Development Bank of Wales, which has a remit to help small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) access finance in order to start-up, strengthen and grow. In 2019/20, the Bank managed over £1.1 billion of Welsh Government funds, including over £0.5 billion of support for Welsh businesses and £450 million for Help to Buy Wales. In 2018/19 the Bank invested £80 million into Welsh SMEs, achieving this milestone ahead of a 2022 target.

4.1 The Development Bank of Wales has a range of levers to build sustainable firms. In response to the Patient Capital Review, the Bank can now make investments over 10 years, up from 5, to support longer term growth. Additionally, the Bank’s £25 million Wales Succession Fund helps management teams keep Welsh businesses in Wales when there is a risk that they may be relocated elsewhere.


4. Completed


4.1 In Progress






5 Maximise the value of Welsh public service procurement to Wales, while ensuring that employees get a fair deal for the work they undertake funded by public money.

5.1 Invest in a new pan-Wales public sector training programme for ethical procurement, making sure that skill levels of existing staff meet today’s needs and creating the professionals of the future.

5.2 Raise the status of the procurement profession by addressing the skills deficit and greater regional working.

5.3 Use any new freedoms created through Brexit to make greater use of procurement to build local foundational capacity. And train staff in procurement skills to maximise current potential.

5.4 Use the power of procurement and public investment to secure quality services in, for example, the care sector by linking that investment to fair pay and career development.

We are developing a Procurement Skills and Capability Plan to improve capability and resilience. The plan will set out priorities for raising the profile of procurement, embedding professional development and commercial awareness.

5.1 The Plan has a particular focus on ethical procurement. We will offer training and tools developed with universities and public sector partners, and we are working with the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply to make greater use of their ethical procurement training. We have commissioned on-line training on the Code of Practice of Ethical Procurement in Supply Chains, available to all Welsh public sector staff. Our Code of Practice Community of Best Practice includes a broad spectrum of membership, including all local authorities.

5.2 We have developed on-line courses, including procurement planning and contract management, and launched a stakeholder consultation on our short term priorities. Our Procurex event in March 2020 will focus on skills development, with best practice examples to demonstrate the value procurement can bring.

5.3 Negotiations with the EU in 2020 will provide the future legislative framework for procurement, and we are working on how this could change procurement in Wales. Within the current system, we are supporting local procurement by working with regional teams and revising tender documents to make it easier for local suppliers to bid.

5.4 We launched a consultation on social partnerships and fair work in November 2019, in which we propose using public sector procurement to drive fair work by placing a duty on public bodies to produce a procurement strategy.


5. In Progress


5.1 In Progress

5.2 In Progress

5.3 In Progress

5.4 In Progress

6 Use our business support to build capacity and innovation within our home grown businesses including local supply chains, to enable more to be procured from businesses in Wales.

6.1 Focus on promoting continuity of ownership for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), keeping successful firms locally rooted and building a firm base of medium sized Welsh firms.

6.2 Ask each local authority to identify local ‘anchor institutions’ and work with them to audit their contracts to increase the value and volume of procurement from regionally-based SMEs.

Our Business Wales programmes support innovative and promising Welsh firms. The SMART Innovation programme has worked with over 2,200 companies and encouraged 305 to apply for funding from national and international sources. The SMART Cymru investment programme has funded 307 businesses, supporting 398 research and development projects worth in excess of £32 million. The SMART Expertise programme worked with 139 academic and industrial partners.

6.1 The Business Wales Accelerated Growth Programme supports our network of small and medium enterprises. A recent independent impact study showed that every £1 invested in the Accelerated Growth Programme helps generate a net Gross Value Added up-lift of £17 through the high quality jobs created.

6.2 Public Service Boards have identified their local ‘anchor institutions’ which can boost local procurement from small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and have shared this information with the Foundational Economy Ministerial Advisory Board. We have completed detailed data analysis to understand whether these anchor institutions are procuring from local SMEs.



6. In Progress


6.1 In Progress

6.2 In Progress






7 Further develop engagement between universities, industry and the NHS and social care to drive economic growth through applied research and innovation.

We are investing £33 million in health innovation engagement to encourage collaborative working across sectors and link economic development with improvements to health and care services. This includes a programme of Health Innovation Centres across Wales, building on the successful model pioneered by the Welsh Wound Innovation Centre. We fund a wide range of schemes bringing together innovation, care and economic growth including the Technology Enabled Care Programme, Health Technology Wales, the Life Sciences Hub and Digital Health Ecosystem Wales. Engagement with academic institutions, industry and local partners is supported through our continued support of the SAIL programme for anonymised data for research and programmes such as the Torfaen Medi Park and the smart cities funds.


7. In Progress

8 Develop a new employability plan for Wales, focusing on the diverse needs of individuals, and responsive to the particular skills needs of each part of the country.

We have implemented a cross-government strategy to support people into work, and prepare the workforce for the challenges of the future. Working Wales, the new employability advice service for Wales, was launched in 2019 to simplify access to employability support.

In September 2019 we published Action on Disability, our framework and action plan to help everyone in Wales live independently.


8. Completed

9 Implement our 30 hours of free education and childcare to support working families across Wales and make it easier for people to take up and retain jobs.

9.1 We will maintain and protect our current investment in childcare support and early year’s education. We will commit to a mid-term review of the Childcare Offer to extend to women in training/returning to work.

We have completed the rollout of our Childcare Offer and in July 2019 over 16,000 children accessed funded childcare under the Offer, with 29% in Welsh language or bilingual settings. Over 2,000 childcare providers are delivering the Offer. In an evaluation published in December 2019, 84% of parents receiving the Offer reported having more disposable income and 62% of childcare providers said their businesses had become more sustainable under the Offer.

9.1 We have maintained and protected our current investment in childcare support and early year’s education. We are reviewing the Childcare Offer as planned to consider extending it to parents in training or returning to work.


9. Completed


9.1 In Progress

Objective 2: Tackle regional inequality and promote fair work

10 Introduce a new regionally-focused model of economic development, working with each region to determine and drive its own sectors according to its strengths and opportunities.

10.1 Accelerate the Better Jobs Closer to Home programme, in continued partnership with the Wales TUC.

10.2 Retain the 22 local authorities we have in Wales as the basic building block of local democracy. Where voluntary merger proposals come forward, we will act to support them. In the meantime, the Welsh Government will take powers to intervene more decisively in those authorities where pressures of austerity have become unsustainable.

Our Economic Action Plan takes a regional approach to economic development. Chief Regional Officers are working with partners, stakeholders and communities to develop Regional Economic Frameworks. We have reorganised our business-facing teams along regional footprints to facilitate greater collaboration and alignment.

10.1 Better Jobs Closer to Home is delivering two pilots which have helped 60 disadvantaged people into employment. The projects aim to support 100 people into work by April 2020.

10.2 The Local Government Working Group concluded its work in May 2019. We are taking forward work to meet recommendations, including on shared services, voluntary mergers, powers and flexibilities and the mutual respect agenda.


10. In Progress


10.1 In Progress

10.2 In Progress

10.3 In Progress

10.4 In Progress

10.5 In Progress






10.3 Legislate to provide local authorities in Wales with new powers and freedoms to organise their own affairs.

10.4 Accelerate regional working between authorities, building from the city region footprints, to make services under pressure more resilient and to share back office services such as payroll and digital capacity.

10.5 Strengthen the capacity and capability of community councils in Wales, raising the ambition of the sector and providing new powers where community councils can demonstrate the ability and appetite to use them.

10.6 Create more opportunities for the Cabinet, to identify issues of long-term significance earlier in their gestation and to discuss their resolution, in line with the requirements of the Well-being of Future Generations Act (Wales) 2015.

10.3 Provisions for democratically accountable regional working, voluntary mergers and a new performance and governance framework are included in the Local Government and Elections Bill. The Bill, which was introduced in November 2019, also includes the general power of competence and various flexibilities in the requirements it places on local authorities.

10.4 We have adopted a regional delivery model led by the three Chief Regional Officers and are working with partners to identify strengths and opportunities, co-produce a Regional Economic Framework and consider joint delivery for each region.

10.5 Community councils which meet the criteria will be able to use the general power of competence included in the Local Government and Elections Bill. We set out our approach to strengthening and supporting the Community and Town Council sector in November 2018.

10.6 Cabinet meets weekly to collectively discuss key issues, which are grouped around themes. Every other week the agenda focuses on resolving long-term issues.

11 Focus on a smaller number of national sectors where there are particular challenges or opportunities across Wales.

11.1 Establish trials in the Welsh Government’s ‘foundation sectors’ to test different approaches to local wealth building, working with all Welsh Government and sponsored bodies.

11.2 Take the lead in specific experimental action in particular foundational services, beginning with new action to promote cooperative provision in social care and building on our work in community owned energy.

We have moved from delivery based on nine priority sectors to a focus on national thematic sectors and supporting the Foundational Economy.

11.1-11.2 We are taking forward work to support the Foundational Economy, including our Foundational Economy Challenge Fund which is supporting 52 experimental projects across Wales. This includes 12 projects in the social care sector. We are encouraging Community Wealth Building using procurement and by working with Public Service Boards.


11. Completed


11.1 In Progress

11.2 In Progress

12 Support rural businesses to diversify and take advantage of supply chains, including the need to increase their processing capacity and add greater value.

Our programmes offer a wide range of support to rural businesses, including: the Development Bank of Wales, Business Wales, ICT and transport improvements and support provided through the Rural Development Plan. The regional economic frameworks for mid-Wales and the Swansea Bay City Region will further underpin collaborative working and business growth.



12. In Progress






13 Ensure the new ‘made in Wales’ successor to EU structural funds is fully integrated with our overall approach and delivers maximum added value for individuals, regions and Wales as a whole.

13.1 Honour commitments already provided that any funding received for regional economic development and rural development will continue to be used for those purposes.

We have continued to work with stakeholders on a new model for regional investment after Brexit, which will replace the EU structural funding we currently receive. We have established a Regional Investment in Wales Steering Group and started a project with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development to learn from international best practice. In July 2019, Ministers agreed on four regional investment priority areas and a mix of national, regional and local delivery approaches to help steer further discussions. We will launch a formal consultation in March 2020. This action also supports commitment 13.1.


13. In Progress


13.1 In Progress

14 Design major Welsh Government infrastructure projects to join up public services and other developments, to maximise regional benefits.

14.1 Work with Chief Digital Officers across Welsh public services to ensure best practice is shared.

14.2 Support a new generation of smart infrastructure through major combined procurements.

Our ten-year Wales Infrastructure Investment Plan sets the core principles that drive effective infrastructure planning and investment in Wales. The Plan emphasises the importance of collaboration between delivery partners and maximising the local benefits of infrastructure investment. Our updated project pipeline, published in November 2019, demonstrates how we are delivering this. This action also supports commitment 14.2.

14.1 We have engaged with stakeholders through events including co-hosting Sprint 19 with the UK Government Digital Service in Cardiff. We supported the Society of IT Managers Welsh Conference, which showcased the work of Welsh digital leaders, and good practice case studies.

14.2 We have supported the development of Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre Cymru which as a flagship infrastructure project (£26 million) for Deeside is pivotal for the North region. The centre will promote regional growth and employment by supporting global manufacturing and small and medium sized enterprises.


14. In Progress


14.1 In Progress

14.2 In Progress






15 Harness the opportunities of major infrastructure projects, such as Wylfa Newydd and Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon.

15.1 That is why continued commitment to tidal lagoon technology in Wales is so important, making a further contribution to renewable energy, and creating an industry for the future.

15.2 In North Wales, the plans to develop a new nuclear plant at Wylfa on Ynys Mon must not be taken forward at the expense of the long-term prosperity of the Island. The Welsh Government should insist on the necessary protections for the Island’s tourism industry, the workforce it needs for social care, the impact on housing for local people during construction of the plant, the need for additional health services during construction and the future strength of the Welsh language. Wylfa is regarded by many local people as a vital new opportunity to invest in the local economy. The job of the Welsh Government must be to ensure that those responsible for the new development do not seize all the opportunities for themselves, leaving the local population to carry all the short and long-term costs.

Our ten year Wales Infrastructure Investment Plan sets the core principles that drive effective infrastructure planning and investment. Decisions will be based on “achieving the best value for the investment we make, recognising that different parts of Wales have different needs which change over time”. Our updated project pipeline was published in November 2019.

We are identifying low carbon energy opportunities for Wales by developing evidence on energy needs and how they could be met in each of the Regional Deals. We are developing our policy on ownership of energy generation to help us make the most of Welsh energy, keep more of the income generated in Wales and create more good jobs locally in installation and maintenance.

15.1 We have developed the Wales Marine Plan, which directs our activity in respect of tidal lagoon power. This was published in November 2019.

15.2 The deadline for the Secretary of State decision on the Wylfa Newydd development consent order application has been delayed until March 2020.


15. In Progress


15.1 In Progress

15.2 In Progress

16 Provide more effective support for the development of local supply chains and clusters, so that economic value is retained locally, and more employment opportunities are created closer to home.

Our Foundational Economy work is supporting this commitment. We are working with stakeholders and academics to progress the commercial elements of our Foundational Economy approach, using data from several sectors. We have launched a tendering exercise to identify a partner to work with Public Service Boards and their anchor institutions on community wellbeing. In particular, we are harnessing the opportunity offered by long term funding for offshore wind, working with the industry to develop supply chain opportunities for Welsh businesses.

Prosperity for All Commitment

16. In Progress






17 Take the steps needed to make Wales a fair work nation, building on the work of our Fair Work Commission.

17.1 Take forward the Fair Work Commission and the steps we need to take to make Wales a fair work nation – payment of the real living wage in all companies receiving public funds as a first step.

17.2 Safeguard and enhance those employment rights secured through our membership of the European Union.

17.3 Promoting equality through the fair work agenda of the real living wage and closing the gender pay gap.

17.4 Invest new resources, from within the Welsh Government, to eradicate false self-employment and gig economy devices that threaten ethical standards of employment.

17.5 Support proper worker participation and representation through recognised trades unions and collective bargaining.

17.6 Take forward the Fair Work Commission to help shape the new model social partnership we need to manage the social and economic challenges of the 21st Century.

17.7 Work in partnership to help promote awareness of race inequalities, the rights of asylum seekers and migrant people and in partnership monitor the workings of the Equality Act devolved in the 2017 Wales Act, relating to integration, race equality and justice.

17.8 Work with trade unions and other partners in Wales to bring an end to homophobic and transphobic discrimination and bullying in the workplace, making the most of the levers at our disposal through procurement and our social partnership approach.

The Fair Work Commission published its report Fair Work Wales in May 2019. The report made 48 recommendations including proposals for promoting the Real Living Wage and ensuring we take collective responsibility for fair work across all of our policies and activity. We have formally accepted the six priority recommendations, and accepted the remaining 42 in principle. The report makes specific recommendations on social partnerships, and we will ensure that our model for social partnership meets these recommendations. This activity also supports commitment 17.1 and 17.6.

17.2 Fair Work Wales recommends that we should try to ensure that employment rights are not weakened following withdrawal from the EU. We are calling for the UK Government to commit to dynamic alignment to EU employment standards when the UK leaves the EU, and we continue to maintain contact with UK Government officials to discuss employment-related subjects.

17.3 Fair Work Wales states that equality and inclusion, including gender equality, are integral to the definition of fair work. We propose that the gender pay gap should be a national milestone with regular monitoring; Fair Work Wales endorsed this approach.

17.4 We are developing proposals to embed fair work in the public sector, and will use a range of measures, including ethical procurement and the Economic Contract, to improve private sector employment standards where companies receive public funding. We will develop our full plan to address this commitment in 2020, ensuring that fair work in the private sector is fully considered.

17.5 We have accepted the Fair Work Commission’s recommendations to take all measures possible to support and promote trade unions and collective bargaining. We will consider arrangements for delivering this in 2020 as we develop a Fair Work Strategy.

17.7 The EU Citizens Rights project provides advice to UK, EU and European Economic Area citizens where exploitation in the workplace may have taken place. The service, delivered by Citizens Advice Cymru on our behalf, also provides support through mediation processes with employers or Tribunal cases. The project will improve workplace standards for everyone and raise awareness of employment rights amongst migrant communities.

17.8 Fair Work Wales highlights that equality and inclusion are integral to the definition of fair work, and that employers must take responsibility for preventing discrimination, bullying, harassment and other forms of ill-treatment. Our plan to address the Fair Work Wales recommendations will ensure that we use all applicable levers to tackle homophobic and transphobic discrimination and bullying in the workplace.


17. In Progress


17.1 In Progress

17.2 In Progress

17.3 In Progress

17.4 In Progress

17.5 In Progress

17.6 In Progress

17.7 In Progress

17.8 In Progress

18 Ensure commitment to ethical employment from every business supplying the public service.

Approximately 200 organisations have signed up to the Code of Ethical Employment in Supply Chains. Our Economic Contract framework reaffirms that all organisations which receive government funding should sign up to the Code. Following recommendations made by the Fair Work Commission, we will require organisations which receive public funding to demonstrate how they will pay the Real Living Wage.


18. In Progress






Objective 3: Drive sustainable growth and combat climate change

19 Introduce a new National Development Framework, setting out a 20-year land use plan for Wales, guiding strategic development and supported by the National Infrastructure Commission for Wales.

19.1 We must continue to take resolute action against those technologies which threaten the environment here in Wales, maintaining and where necessary strengthening our ban on fracking.

We consulted on a draft National Development Framework in August 2019. The framework sets out where we think Wales should try to grow and the types of development needed over the next twenty years to help Wales be a sustainable and prosperous society.

19.1 Our current licensing and planning powers ensure we can prevent any fracking activity or other process for petroleum extraction on Welsh land. Welsh Ministers will not support applications for hydraulic fracturing petroleum licence consents.


19. In Progress


19.1 In Progress

20 Set out a low carbon pathway providing clarity and certainty for action and investment around the low carbon economy through setting targets for 2020, 2030 and 2040.

20.1 The Welsh Government should make investment in renewable energy a cornerstone of its strategy for the Welsh economy. We have in abundance the raw material for the sustainable energy of the future: wind, water and waves.

20.2 We must continue to invest in the technologies which will shape the future of the world in an era of energy shortage.

20.3 We must go beyond technological breakthrough, to equip ourselves to create the industries which these technologies will then produce. This is where the long term jobs for Wales are to be found and in parts of Wales where such employment has been in short supply.

20.4 Seek imaginative ways to use heat produced as a by-product of existing activities, such as the large amount of low grade waste heat created by the Tata plant at Port Talbot and the gas fired power station in Milford Haven.

While it remains the policy of our Party that nuclear energy has a part to play in the future energy mix of the United Kingdom, I believe that we must be hard headed about the risks which nuclear brings. Establish an Expert Committee to advise the Welsh Government on the implications for Wales of the development of a nuclear power plant at Hinckley Point in Somerset.

In March 2019 we set out a low carbon pathway in Prosperity for All: A Low Carbon Wales and have been monitoring delivery against the 100 policies and proposals it contains. We have set targets to make a 27% reduction in carbon emissions by 2020, a 45% reduction by 2030 and a 67% reduction in by 2040.

20.1-20.3 We are supporting innovative projects to invest in new energy technologies, including the Tidal Stream Demonstration Zone off the coast of Anglesey, offshore wind projects off the North Wales coast and an offshore wind extension project at Gwynt y Mor. We have made the development of renewable energy a central element of the North Wales Growth Deal.

20.4 The UK Government carried out mapping of heat demand and potential opportunities on behalf of the Welsh Government in 2015. This mapping will be updated in 2020 and we are working with the UK Government to scope this work. Our Welsh Government Energy Service is carrying out regional energy planning for power, heat and transport, which will feed into Growth Deals and help develop the energy system of the future.

Mapping shapes our spatial policy, with Priority Areas for District Heat Networks identified in the draft National Development Framework. The heat map data has been incorporated into Lle, our geo portal digital resource. This will make it available to support regional and local energy planning activity.

20.5 Our draft Fuel Poverty Plan includes proposals to improve the availability and co-ordination of advice and support to people living on lower incomes.


20. Completed


20.1 In Progress

20.2 In Progress

20.3 In Progress

20.4 In Progress

20.5 In Progress






20.5 Using the mutual model of Dwr Cymru, we will examine the case for a new Welsh Energy mutual that can encourage energy efficiency measures and help tackle fuel poverty, help consumers be aware of best tariffs, help promote local energy generation, and advise on strategic energy investment, innovation and inclusive growth.

21 Accelerate the decarbonisation of our public services, creating new opportunities for businesses in Wales in the transition to a low carbon economy.

The Welsh Government Energy Service supports the public sector and community groups in Wales to decarbonise and bring forward renewable schemes, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and enabling locally owned, renewable energy. The Service has committed over £25 million to 26 energy efficiency projects and 16 renewable energy projects. These projects are projected to save the public sector in excess of £61 million over their lifetime, and will generate over £1.4 million of income for the community sector.


21. In Progress

22 Establish a bespoke infrastructure consenting process which is responsive to business and community needs, to support sustainable economic growth, and to decarbonise our energy supply.

We have issued a response to our consultation on the bespoke infrastructure consenting process. We are working with the UK Government to transfer procedural functions to Wales which relate to energy consenting, and have published further research into the costs of infrastructure development. These activities support the introduction of a future Bill.


22. In Progress

23 Set out a route map for a more resource efficient economy, building on our success in recycling and reducing the environmental impacts of production and consumption.

23.1 Develop an Environmental Growth Plan for Wales, halting and reversing the damage already caused to our natural environment.

23.2 Promote green industries which enhance, rather than damage, the environment.

23.3 Maximise the impact which the Plan can make on flood alleviation and tackling coastal erosion.

23.4 New national forest and One Planet developments.

23.5 Do more to take advantage of the All Wales Coastal Path. Reward system for completion. Stimulate businesses to attract more walkers. Create a new series of circular routes, based around the coastal path.

We are moving towards a circular economy where we keep resources in use for as long as possible and achieve zero waste in production and consumption. This builds upon our world leading record on recycling. We are developing a Circular Economy Strategy which will we consult on in January 2020.

23.1 We are developing an Environmental Growth Plan with an External Reference Group which will start in early 2020.

23.2 This year we launched the £6.5 million Circular Economy Fund, which will make businesses more resilient, support our recycling infrastructure and help businesses incorporate more recycled materials into their products.

23.3 We have consulted on a new national strategy to reduce the risk of flooding and coastal erosion across Wales and published guidance to streamline the development of schemes and encourage natural flood management. We have invested over £44 million to tackle flood and coastal erosion risk and started our £150 million Coastal Risk Management Programme.


23. In Progress


23.1 In Progress

23.2 In Progress

23.3 In Progress

23.4 In Progress

23.5 In Progress






23.4 We are scoping the National Forest Programme for Wales, working with stakeholders to maximise the social, economic and environmental benefits and identify potential sites for planting and demonstrator projects in 2020-2021.

23.5 The Wales Coast Path website has been revised to make it more user friendly, include new circular walking routes and incorporate new photography and drone footage of the Path. We have produced a toolkit for coastal businesses help them realise the benefits of the Path and promote it locally. Over 200 businesses have access to the toolkit and receive a regular newsletter.

24 Deliver a post-EU agricultural and fisheries policy for Wales, designed with stakeholders to reflect the needs of the modern Welsh agricultural and fisheries sectors and to manage the impact on the environment.

24.1 Precision agriculture offers a significant opportunity to reshape farming and food production post-Brexit. Develop a strategy with Universities and Further Education colleges to develop the application and production of new approaches that we can apply and export.

The Brexit and our Seas consultation was published in May 2019 and was the first phase of a conversation to shape a Future Fisheries Policy for Wales. The consultation closed in August 2019 and responses are being considered.

24.1 Sustainable Farming and our Land was published in July 2019 with refined proposals for sustainable land management. These proposals include a refreshed focus on precision agriculture, knowledge transfer, and working with the wider supply chain and academia.


24. In Progress


24.1 In Progress

25 Work with everyone affected to prepare for a world outside of the European Union and for a resilient agricultural sector.

We provide support to the agriculture sector through the Rural Development Programme, including £23.5 million of grants for new equipment and performance improvements which attracted over 1,800 applications. Additionally, over 700 farms sent expressions of interest for the £4 million Glastir Woodland Creation and Restoration schemes which support farm diversification and tree planting. Three application windows were available with a total budget of £4 million available to support farm diversification while also responding to the Welsh Governments tree planting commitments.

1,582 businesses participated in the £2.15 million Red Meat Benchmarking project which launched in July 2018. Each farm received a bespoke assessment of their data which includes anonymous comparisons with other similar businesses, with the option of discussing and analysing the results with agricultural consultants.


25. In Progress

26 As part of our new economic contract, expect those businesses which receive our support to commit to reduce their environmental impact.

We have embedded a new operating model based on the Economic Contract, which tests a business’ attitude to managing and lowering its carbon footprint before we make an investment decision. We have included decarbonisation, innovation and research and development in our five Calls to Action, which help us focus on the long-term when we invest in Welsh businesses. We are assessing the impact of the Economic Contract with a view to embedding it across other areas of government business.


26. Completed






Objective 4: Deliver quality health and care services fit for the future

27 Continue the drive to improve further the standard, quality and timeliness of treatment across the NHS, ensuring access to the services people need, delivering good health outcomes for all.

27.1 Promote MedTech innovation in the NHS and social care to improve treatment and patient outcomes. We can build on some of the leading work in Wales applying artificial intelligence to diagnostics and treatment.

27.2 Invest more in digital technologies (including in local communities) to reduce waiting times and help speed up diagnosis and treatment.

27.3 Bring together the way we plan the diverse workforce of the future, making best use of scarce clinical skills.

27.4 Improve the roll-out and uptake of electronic assessment for all cancer patients to help identify their most significant concerns, whether physical, emotional or financial.

27.5 Continue to take a progressive stance on the medical use of cannabis, leading the way where the clinical evidence is there to support it.

1000 Lives Improvement has evolved into Improvement Cymru, a programme based on the six quality areas in our 10-year A Healthier Wales strategy. We are embedding the Value Based Health Care approach which will help health boards focus on unwarranted variation in outcomes and quality of care. We have launched the Single Cancer Pathway to drive improvement in cancer services.

27.1 We are funding a range of schemes to develop Welsh health and care processes and products, including ground-breaking artificial intelligence work led by Digital Health Ecosystem Wales. We are encouraging more University Health Boards to investigate applications for artificial intelligence in the health sector and to learn from innovation in other sectors and countries. We fund Health Technology Wales, which assesses and approves new health technology solutions for use in NHS Wales. We fund Health Technology Wales, which assesses and approves new health technology solutions for use in NHS Wales.

27.2 From September 2019, we will invest a further £50 million in digital, data and technology in health and social care. Increased availability and use of digital solutions and diagnostic tools will help reduce waiting times and speed up diagnosis and treatment.

27.3 A Healthier Wales sets ambitions for the prudent deployment of multi-disciplinary teams to make the best use of skills across the health and social care workforce. Health Education and Improvement Wales and Social Care Wales have developed a draft joint workforce strategy which was completed in December 2019. Through the Technology Enabled Care programme, we are creating frameworks and partnerships for remote treatment, enabling best use of the limited, geographically diverse clinical resource available.

27.4 During 2018/19 we oversaw a continued improvement in the 26 week Referral to Treatment waiting times and our national planned care programme is enabling further improvements in how we diagnose and treat patients across numerous specialty areas, such as self-care management and collection of patient outcome information. In 2019 we published new performance statistics on the new eye care measures and the single cancer pathway target. These measures incorporate and clinically prioritise patients on these pathways, enabling those identified with the most need to be seen and treated first. As part of the new digital priorities fund from September 2019 we are funding an overhaul of the CaNISC digital service. This will enable more targeted and timely assessment and treatment of all those affected by cancer in Wales. We supported development of a chatbot called RITTA through the Bevan technology exemplars, which provides advice and support to cancer patients on the most frequent concerns.


27. In Progress


27.1 In Progress

27.2 In Progress

27.3 In Progress

27.4 In Progress

27.5 In Progress

27.5 The Chief Pharmaceutical Officer and Chief Medical Officer have ensured that clinicians in Wales are aware of the latest evidence-based guidance to help them decide when to prescribe cannabis products, The Chief Pharmaceutical Officer is a member of the UK-wide Cannabis Short Life Working Group, which is working to set up an observational study and a randomised controlled trial. Patients in Wales will be eligible to take part in this research. The All Wales Medicines Strategy Group recommended using Sativex™ to treat spasticity in multiple sclerosis, five years ahead of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) making the same recommendation in November 2019, meaning that Welsh patients received this treatment far sooner.






28 Further integrate health and social care, building on the work of the Parliamentary Review into Health and Social Care, and publish a long term plan for the NHS and social care in Wales.

£192 million of additional investment has been made in 2019-20 to support A Healthier Wales; this includes £25 million for digital priorities, and an additional £30 million for the Integrated Care Fund. This takes the total investment in the Integrated Care Fund up to £89 million revenue and £35 million capital in 2019-2020. The Transformation Fund was launched in the summer of 2018, with a budget of £100 million across two years. So far, £89 million has been approved to support the scaling up of new models of health and social care across Wales, with proposals underway in each Regional Partnership area. A series of fourteen regional workforce engagement events were undertaken between September 2019 and January 2020. The first national mid-point evaluation report will be published by March 2020.


28. In Progress

29 Deliver a tangible shift in the provision of health and care services into communities, and away from hospitals, and shift the emphasis from treating illness to well-being.

29.1 Drive forward the development of the integrated gender identity service in Wales, so that trans people can receive more of their health and care needs closer to home as they transition.

For the first time, primary care clusters have produced local Integrated Medium Term Plans that will drive strategic and local service provision. The Primary Care Model for Wales supports the delivery of A Healthier Wales. The 64 clusters are a mechanism for collaboration at a very local level between health boards, local authorities and third and independent sector service providers. This enables them to plan and deliver the care and support needed for their local population, generating innovative solutions for providing services closer to home. New optometry service models have been introduced across all health boards and new audiology service models have been introduced across four health boards. These improve access and care for patients while reducing demand on secondary care ophthalmology and ear, nose and throat services. New service models have been developed for school hearing and sight screening for children aged 4 and 5.

29.1 The integrated Gender Identity Service for Wales commenced in September 2019. This multidisciplinary service provides specialist assessment, management plans and liaison with other services. There are local gender teams in each health board, providing intermediate care following assessment. Additionally, directed enhanced services in primary care support patients who require ongoing support and long-term hormone therapy.


29. In Progress


29.1 Completed

30 Invest in a new generation of integrated Community Health and Care Centres, building on the success of the 64 primary care clusters across Wales, which focus on the specific needs of their local areas.

Positive progress continues with 19 projects to build integrated Community Health and Care Centres. Three projects are completed with two more completing in 2020. All 19 projects will be delivered by December 2021. We will work with local health boards to ensure they are developing integrated primary and community care schemes, to support delivery of our 10-year strategy A Healthier Wales, providing integrated care closer to home.


30. In Progress






31 Ensure that organisations delivering health and care services pool budgets and commission jointly, delivering a genuinely seamless service for those who need it.

31.1 Strengthen regional working arrangements, so that joint decisions and pooled budgets between aligned health and social care become the normal way of working across Wales.

We have amended the Partnership regulations to make it clear that funding should be pooled jointly for care homes for older people. All Regional Partnership Boards (RPBs) have confirmed that they have pooled fund arrangements in place. The Association of Directors of Social Services Cymru has published a toolkit to help RPBs with pooled funding. We are also reviewing how widely pooled funds are being used and how well they are working. We continue to work with Regional Partnership Boards to develop wider joint commissioning approaches such as common regional specifications, contracts and quality frameworks.

This activity also supports commitment 31.1.


31. In Progress

Objective 5: Promote good health and well-being for everyone

32 Support and encourage a substantial increase in people’s physical activity, adopting a collaborative approach from all agencies involved in the promotion of healthier lifestyles, and drawing on Wales’ significant natural resources.

We published our ten-year obesity strategy Healthy Weight: Healthy Wales in October 2019 and an implementation plan will be published in February 2020.

Our Healthy and Active Fund is providing £5.4 million over three years for 17 projects across Wales that will help an estimated 20,000 people become more physically active. We are developing a physical activity action plan involving Sport Wales, Natural Resources Wales and Public Health Wales that will promote engagement in physical activity which can support mental health and wellbeing.


32. In Progress

33 Develop innovative, community approaches to encouraging more active lifestyles and improving nutrition through the Well-being Bond.

The wellbeing bond is being delivered under the Healthy and Active Fund, launched in July 2019.

[This commitment is cross-referenced with 32 and should be read as a whole]


33. In Progress

34 Deliver an integrated public transport network which supports our aim to enable people to travel more actively, by combining different types of transport with walking and cycling.

34.1 We will work closely with partners in local government to overcome barriers to everyday walking and cycling, such as pavement parking, disjointed cycle paths, speeding traffic and road safety. Together we will develop and deliver ambitious plans for local networks for active travel.

34.2 We will work with local authorities and other public bodies in Wales to encourage active travel by the public sector workforce, including allowing more flexibility for staff who make the choice to travel by public transport.

We support the creation of integrated active travel networks across Wales, connecting where people live with where they need to go, through the Active Travel Fund. In May 2019 we allocated £30 million for local authority active travel projects under the Active Travel Fund, the Local Transport Fund and Safe Routes in Communities Grant. This includes a share of £6.3 million core allocation for all authorities for minor improvements and pre-works.

34.1 We have set up a 20mph taskforce to recommend by July 2020 on how to introduce a default 20mph limit in built-up areas across Wales, a key step to making our communities safer and more liveable. We have set up a taskforce to tackle pavement parking. We have allocated £4 million to local authorities for schemes preventing collisions, and a further £1.9 million for training and education, including cycle training and child pedestrian training.

34.2 We are working with Public Health Wales to promote the example of Cardiff Public Services Board’s Healthy Travel Charter, which asks signatory employers to make firm commitments to enable and encourage their workforce to use sustainable and active travel.


34. In Progress


34.1 In Progress

34.2 In Progress






35 Introduce a step-change in public health campaign work, with measurable outcomes and targets, focusing on avoidable diseases, and building awareness of the positive benefits to people of healthier lifestyles.

35.1 Promote an action plan to support period dignity and maintain current investment in schools.

35.2 Do the small things which help promote public health across our nation, such as making drinking fountains available in every town and village in Wales.

35.3 Drinking fountains all over Wales.

Public Health Wales are running a campaign to improve uptake of cervical screening. The #LoveYourCervix social marketing campaign launched in March 2019 and is being evaluated with 25–30 year olds.

35.1 The Period Dignity Grant has been distributed to provide free sanitary products in all schools in Wales. We are evaluating the impact of funding and developing a strategy for Period Dignity which will consider education, health, environment, poverty and equalities. The strategy will ensure that women and girls have access to period products which is not dependent on their ability to pay.

35.2 and 35.3 Our Refill campaign is facilitating access to tap water in public places through participating businesses. We aim to increase the number of Refill Stations across Wales from 1,600 to 4,000 by the end of 2020.


35. In Progress


35.1 In Progress

35.2 In Progress

36 Work with and support the business community to improve the health and wellbeing of workers and help people to remain in employment, with a specific focus on mental health and musculoskeletal conditions, including through the economic contract.

Our Healthy Working Wales programme provides employers with support and guidance to keep their staff healthy, and runs a prestigious workplace award scheme for employers. 481 employers have engaged with the programme, of which 72 large employers achieved the Corporate Health Standard and 123 smaller employers achieved the Small Workplace Health Award.

Our In Work Support Service provides interventions to people in work including physiotherapy, psychological therapy and occupational therapy. The Service has supported nearly 6,000 people including 3,200 with musculoskeletal issues and 2,800 with mental health conditions. In January 2019, we extended the service to include free training to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) on health and wellbeing in the workplace, which 300 SMEs have accessed.

The Time to Change Wales communications campaign aims to challenge negative attitudes towards mental health problems. Over 140 employers have signed the Time To Change Employer Pledge, a public commitment to challenge mental health stigma and discrimination in the work place. Since April 2018, over 50 new Time to Change Wales champions have been trained, volunteers with experience of mental health problems who share their story with employers and community groups.


36. In Progress

37 Work with NHS Wales to provide people with digital ways of accessing health and care services and information, helping empower patients and carers to take greater control of their health and wellbeing.

We launched a Health and Well-being App in June 2019 in collaboration with Local Government, Third Sector Support Wales and the NHS in Wales. This combines information from Dewis Cymru, Infoengine and NHS Direct Wales to form a virtual Directory of Service covering over 10,000 national and local organisations and services.


37. In Progress

38 Deliver an In Work Scheme with rapid access to early, work-focused interventions for a range of conditions, helping people to stay in work or return to work more quickly from long-term sickness absence.

In January 2019 £7 million of funding to deliver the In-Work Support Service through to 2022, taking the total investment in the service up to £14.2 million. The Service has supported 6,000 people, helping 4,000 remain in work and a further 2,000 return to work.

We invested over £17 million to deliver the Out of Work Peer Mentoring Service, which helps long-term unemployed people with health conditions to find work. The service has worked with over 10,500 people, helping 1,500 people to achieve a work related qualification and a further 700 people into employment.


38. In Progress






39 Agree new 10 year priorities for Public Health Wales based on the most recent evidence of the burden of ill health.

Public Health Wales published its long-term strategy setting out its priorities through to 2030, and established a new multi-agency Building a Healthier Wales programme focusing on prevention and early intervention.


39. In Progress

40 Invest in homes to improve their warmth and energy efficiency, to improve health and reduce the costs of fuel.

In 2018/19, more than 3,800 homes received a home energy improvement package and 15,600 received free and impartial energy saving advice through the Warm Homes scheme. Each improvement package delivered an average estimated annual energy bill saving of £409.

The independent Decarbonising of Homes Advisory Group published a report in July 2019 on the key components of a new energy efficiency retrofit programme for the next term of Government. The programme is for all tenures and there are specific and challenging targets for social homes and for those living in fuel poverty. The report’s recommendations were accepted in principle and work has now started to deliver this new programme.


40. In Progress

Objective 6: Build healthier communities and better environments

41 Work to tackle health inequalities both in terms of individual wellbeing and access to services.

41.1 Apply the ‘something for something’ principle in health and social care, so that employers, schools and third sector organisations supported by government are challenged to play their part in creating a healthier Wales.

Last September, the World Health Organisation European Office published its Health Equity Status Report a comprehensive review of trends in health inequities and of the essential conditions needed to live a healthy life. We have committed to be one of the first countries in the world to produce its own Health Equity Status Report, with a view to sharing our learning to help advance local, national and European solutions for health wellbeing and prosperity.

41.1 We are exploring options to align Healthy Working Wales with the Economic Contract.


41. In Progress


41.1 In Progress

42 Build on the emerging primary care clusters working across service providers to tailor public services to local needs, and improve access to a full range of health services

It was agreed that every GP practice must be a member of a primary care cluster under the 2019-20 General Medical Services contract. Each cluster has produced its own integrated medium term plan for 2020-23 outlining how they will provide tailored local services in line with the Primary Care Model for Wales.

GP practices are improving access to health services as they implement the Primary Care Model for Wales and the national standards for access to general medical services. They are introducing systems to measure improvements in access for their patients.


42. In Progress

43 Co-ordinate housing, health and social care capital programmes to provide innovative, affordable, accommodation and nursing care, building on the Integrated Care Fund approach.

The £105 million Integrated Care Fund is halfway through its three year capital funding programme, which will end in March 2021. This and other housing and health related funding streams are co-ordinated to make the best use of public funding.

This year the fund supported a number of projects which combine housing, primary care, and community based health and social care services, such as 12 specialised bungalows in a wellbeing hub at Penygroes in Gwynedd. The programme is currently funding £46 million of accommodation-led solutions to health and social care, supporting a total of 66 projects across Wales. Most are expected to complete by March 2021. We are undertaking an interim evaluation of the programme to help inform future investment.


43. In Progress






44 Expand the community health and social care workforce, with innovative new roles, such as ‘community connectors’ that support social prescribing and more formal partnerships with volunteers and the third sector.

Our Integrated Care Fund projects support new and innovative health and social care roles, including community connector/navigator roles across Wales. These staff help isolated people reconnect with their communities by helping them find suitable activities and groups, linking people with similar interests and encouraging participation within the community. We have co-hosted a conference to bring together community connectors across Wales to share learning and best practice.


44. In Progress

45 Through planning, infrastructure, regulation, and health communication measures, we will reduce emissions and deliver vital improvements in air quality.

45.1 Focus on the small things which can create local, accessible green spaces: wild flower planting; changes to mowing practices by local authorities; creating meadow areas on sloping land.

45.2 Extend smoking ban to outdoor areas of cafes and restaurants and city and town centres.

45.3 Better management of rights of way, more open access to land and water.

45.4 Develop a new Clean Air Act to ensure that our children can go to school, be active and play outside safely without fear of respiratory problems, such as asthma, because of pollution levels in some of our towns and cities.

We have set new permanent 50mph speed restrictions on some Welsh trunk roads to reduce nitrogen dioxide emissions, and initial data suggests that nitrogen dioxide levels reduced at all five sites. We are working with local authorities to identify opportunities for further reductions. We delivered our first Clean Air Day Wales campaign and published our Noise and Soundscape Action Plan, which won the Noise Abatement Society’s John Connell Award for soundscapes.

45.1 Our 2020-2021 capital allocation of £5 million to support Environmental Growth in Wales will target actions people can see ‘from their doorstep’.

45.2 Evidence is being collected on extending the smoking ban to further outdoor areas. Options will be discussed in early 2020.

45.3 We have set out reforms on access to the countryside which will reduce costly processes for administering public rights of way. We have created an Access Reform Advisory Group to develop these reform proposals, including a project looking at improving access to inland water.

45.4 We have agreed the strategic direction for our Clean Air Plan and consulted on the Plan in December 2019. We are investigating provisions to include in a potential Clean Air Bill in the next Senedd term.


45. In Progress


45.1 In Progress

45.2 In Progress

45.3 In Progress

45.4 In Progress

Objective 7: Support young people to make the most of their potential

46 Focus relentlessly on driving up every pupil’s attainment, transforming the standards teachers must achieve, and reducing the variations between schools – particularly the gap between higher and lower performing schools.

We have published draft evaluation and improvement arrangements aligned to the new curriculum and changed Key Stage 4 school performance measures to better capture progress for all learners. We have made target-setting less prescriptive and discouraged use of aggregate performance measures to hold schools to account. We have worked with Qualification Wales to maintain rigorous standards for GCSE and A-level qualifications. Our system of qualifications at GCSE and A-level has been reformed, particularly GCSE entry practices and the 9 reformed qualifications examined for the first time this year.

The rate of learners achieving A*-C in their GCSEs has improved, particularly in all individual Sciences. In just two years we have seen entries for Science GCSEs increase by over 50%. At A-level, the overall pass rates at A* and A*-A achieved a historic high, with 9.1% of grades awarded at A* and 27% awarded at A*-A.

PISA results published in December 2019 show Wales to be the only country in the UK to improve in all three PISA domains, while also reducing the attainment gap between more disadvantaged learners and their peers.


46. In Progress






47 Establish a National Leadership Academy to support the school leaders of the future who will be the driving force behind our reforms.

The National Academy for Educational Leadership (NAEL) launched in May 2018 and has endorsed nine different training programmes to help school leaders succeed. These cover a wide range of provision from aspiring leaders through to experienced head-teachers. In its first 18 months NAEL has engaged with over 1,500 professionals.


47. Completed

48 Ensure more effective workforce planning systems to deliver a sufficient supply of teachers to work through the medium of Welsh which will be a key contributor to our target of one million Welsh speakers over the coming decades.

48.1 Prioritise teaching workforce development to ensure sufficient Welsh teachers to strengthen Welsh language teaching in all schools, and to expand Welsh medium provision.

48.2 A renewed focus on encouraging teachers with some ability to speak Welsh to develop their skills to teach through the medium of Welsh and to develop 'pools' of Welsh teaching staff to be shared between neighbouring schools.

The Welsh in Education-Action Plan (2017-2021) was published in December 2017 and sets out how we will deliver more effective workforce planning systems.

48.1 A programme of Welsh language professional learning is being delivered in accordance with the National Approach to Professional Learning. We have developed a framework for Welsh language skills which supports Welsh language training from Initial Teacher Education onwards. The framework will be used in the workforce census, giving us a better understanding of the Welsh skills of the teaching workforce.

48.2 The Iaith Athrawon Yfory incentive continues to be available for secondary PGCE student teachers who are training to teach secondary subjects through the medium of Welsh or bilingually. We are developing a pilot conversion programme targeting primary-level teachers with Qualified Teacher Status.


48. In Progress


48.1 In Progress

48.2 In Progress

49 Enrich the learning experience for every child through changes to our curriculum that will incorporate the right range of subjects, flexibility for teachers and develop the wider resilience and wellbeing of young people, helping young people develop into healthy, confident individuals.

49.1 We will develop teacher education so that we can be sure that our young people leave school with high levels of digital and financial literacy and ensure that these areas are fully integrated into the school curriculum.

The refined Curriculum for Wales guidance, which was developed by practitioners and informed by a range of experts, will be published in January 2020.

49.1 The new Curriculum for Wales will include digital competence as one of three statutory cross-curricular skills, alongside literacy and numeracy. Financial literacy will be developed across the curriculum, including in the Mathematics and Numeracy Area of Learning and Experience. In April 2019 we ran phase 2 of its ‘National Approach to Professional Learning Available’ to ensure that teachers will have the tools to deliver the new curriculum.


49. In Progress


49.1 In Progress






50 Support every learner to overcome the barriers to reaching their full potential.

50.1 We will double the extended School Uniform Grant, making sure it provides the greatest impact for families who are unable to access the full curriculum, including, for example, school trips because of their financial circumstances.

50.2 We will require specialist educational support services, including the Educational Psychology Services and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, to work more strategically across Wales to improve access to such services.

50.3 Identify funding to extend the new education access grant, so that it is available more regularly during a child’s education.

50.4 Re-engineer existing funding programmes to ensure that they have the maximum impact on the lives of children living in poverty.

50.5 Ensure teacher and school staff training to address LGBT+ bullying in schools, roll out current plans to ensure LGBT+ inclusive relationships and sexuality education and ensure young LGBT people and those at risk of homophobic and transphobic bullying have access to good mental health support.

We continue to invest in the Pupil Development Grant (PDG) and we have announced a significant increase in funding through our Pupil Development Grant – Access scheme.

50.1 and 50.3 We have more than doubled funding for school uniforms to over £5 million in 2019-20. PDG – Access supports families to buy school uniforms and the right clothing or equipment for young people to take part in sport and activities inside or outside of school.

50.2 In September 2018 we launched the whole school approach to address the emotional and mental health needs of children and young people. The work is being overseen by a Joint Ministerial Task and Finish Group of experts from across education, health, social care and the third sector. A detailed programme of activity has developed guidance and supporting resources for schools. £2.5 million of funding has been used to enable local authorities to improve the school counselling service; support training of teachers and other school staff in their own wellbeing and that of students; and to expand the reach of the CAMHS school in-reach pilots, enabling specialist mental health staff to work with more schools in the pilot areas. In 2017/18, the service was accessed by 11,365 young people.

50.4 All of our programmes aimed at supporting children and families in poverty were maintained or extended this year. Tackling poverty is a priority in our 2020/21 budget.

50.5 We published new statutory guidance for schools in November 2019. This includes guidance on bullying related to protected characteristics, including LGBT+ bullying.


50. In Progress


50.1 Complete

50.2 In Progress

50.3 Complete

50.4 In Progress

50.5 In Progress






51 Introduce a new model of Community Learning Centres, providing extended services with childcare, parenting support, family learning and community access to facilities built around the school day.

51.1 We will extend our new Community Focused Schools Initiative to offer additional support to schools, colleges and others in order to help parents and children learn together. Arrangements under this initiative will include improving the home learning environment where needed and engaging parents in their children’s education.

51.2 Invest new money in extending free school meals to a wider range of families, to mitigate the impact of Universal Credit on the poorest children.

51.3 Extend the School Holiday Fun and Food programme, so that it becomes a permanent scheme, reaching more children across Wales.

We have launched a £15 million capital grant for Community Learning Centre pilots across Wales. 21 bids have been supported, including projects to enable community use of school facilities and co-locate services.

51.1 The 21st Century Schools and Colleges programme is helping link schools with the community. For instance, we are re-locating the East Bridgend multi-service hub directly into Brnyteg School, allowing hub staff in areas like safeguarding and counselling to work more closely with Brynteg and other local schools.

51.2 We have made an additional £7 million available through the Local Government Settlement in 2019-20 to fund the estimated increase in the number of children eligible for free school meals and the transitional protection offer. This is in addition to funding of £5 million to local authorities in 2018-19, to meet the additional free school meal costs associated with the rollout of Universal Credit.

51.3 The school Holiday Fun and Food programme made available up to 3,700 places to pupils as part of 77 schemes across Wales during the school summer holidays in 2019. This programme gives children 7-11 years olds in the most disadvantaged areas an opportunity to be more active, eat healthy and make friendships during the school holidays. This year we expanded the scheme, offering 4,000 extra places to children throughout Wales. Alongside this we funded other ways of tackling holiday hunger, with our playwork pilot running in 92 settings and providing 13,000 meals.


51. In Progress


51.1 In Progress

51.2 Completed

51.3 Completed

52 Provide targeted careers advice to help young people to access jobs, particularly in new and growth sectors and also entrepreneurial opportunities. Fast track the introduction of a new Education Business Exchange Service and account executives who will work with schools and colleges in the Valleys.

In 2017/18 Careers Wales introduced the Education Business Exchange (EBE), a database which helps employers work with schools to develop curriculum enhancing programmes for pupils. In 2018/19 EBE helped to facilitate over 750 activities and there are currently over 13,000 employers on the database, of these 3,650 employers have confirmed the activities they are prepared to support within schools. 193 schools have been trained on the EBE, this includes 177 mainstream secondary schools, 11 special schools and 5 Pupil Referral Units.

An Account Executive (qualified Careers Adviser) is linked to every secondary school in Wales, providing schools with digital and face to face advice to support young people in their future career decisions.


52. In Progress

53 Reform our approach to additional learning provision, to place learners, parents and carers at the centre of support and develop the skills of the workforce to deliver effective, specialist support for learners at key stages in their lives.

The Additional Learning Needs and Educational Tribunal (Wales) Act 2018 received Royal Assent in January 2018. We are consulting on a draft Additional Learning Needs (ALN) Code, which will set out statutory guidance on how to implement the Act and effectively support learners with additional needs. The Act is part of a wider ALN Transformation programme, which aims to transform the expectations, experiences and outcomes for children and young people with ALN. Workforce development is a key feature and we are implementing an extensive package of training, core skills development and professional development for all practitioners, including Additional Learning Need Co-ordinators.


53. In Progress






Objective 8: Build ambition and encourage learning for life

54 Introduce a new strategic planning system for post 16 education, which plans the provision across sectors and responds to the economic needs of Wales.

54.1 Reassert the right to life-long learning, investing in the skills which people need throughout their working lives.

54.2 We will incentivise FE providers to engage more with their communities in order to widen access to further education for young people in particularly economically disadvantaged areas and to ensure that young people living in such areas have access to appropriate forms of work experience.

54.3 We will engage closely with our university sector to help protect it from the consequences of Brexit and identify those new technology sectors where government can work best in partnership with university researchers to help build the high skill high productivity industries we urgently need for Wales.

Following two consultations, we have included a Bill to establish the Commission for Tertiary Education and Research in our legislative programme. Responses to the consultation documents Public Good and a Prosperous Wales and Public Good and a Prosperous Wales – next Steps have been taken into account when developing policy.

54.1 In September 2019 we launched the Personal Learning Account pilot, which supports employed people earning less than the Welsh median income to gain new higher level skills and qualifications. It is being piloted by Coleg Gwent in the south east and Grwp Llandrillo Menai in the north and offers the chance to access free and flexible courses within priority sectors such as IT and engineering. We are also working on a Lifelong Learning package of support for individuals.

54.2 The current funding mechanism includes an uplift worth £14 million allocated to Further Education Colleges to recognise the costs of delivering education to those learners in the most educationally deprived areas in Wales. We are reviewing this uplift to ensure that is being used effectively.

54.3 We have finalised the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre Cymru which will open in December 2019. The centre will focus on advanced manufacturing sectors and includes a 2000 square metre open access research area. Airbus will be the first major tenant and will use the centre to develop its next generation wing technologies.


54. In Progress


54.1 In Progress

54.2 In Progress

54.3 In Progress

55 Deliver coherent progression through and between the different post 16 education sectors, so that the individual’s learning pathway meets their needs and aspirations and is not defined by artificial boundaries between academic and vocational routes.

We have engaged with key stakeholders to determine how to better align the skills systems for 16-18 year olds and post 19 years old to support progression through learning and within employment. There is consensus that a clearer curriculum and qualification offer for 16-19 year olds will improve transition at 16 from GCSE to post-GCSE study in school, college or the workplace and will also smooth the path from A-level to employment, further study or university, however the infrastructure to secure this is fractured and inconsistent across Wales.

We have commissioned Estyn to undertake a Thematic Review into effective post-16 partnership working to optimise provision, learning experiences and care, support and guidance for learners. This will report in draft in July 2020.

We have engaged with Qualifications Wales and Department for Education on the impact of Technical Education reform in England at Level 3 in Wales. Options are being considered in line with Qualifications Wales Sector Reviews.

All work in this area is aligned to 16-18 policy thinking being taken forward by the PCET Bill Team.


55. In Progress






56 Significantly increase the maintenance grants available to Welsh higher education students, breaking down barriers to university and ensure that across grants and loans all students have the equivalent of the National Minimum Wage.

We have put in place legislation which improves maintenance support for full time and part time undergraduate and post-graduate students. As a result all Welsh students, whether studying full or part time, now receive support for their living costs equivalent to the UK national living wage. Approximately 50,000 students are currently benefitting from access to enhanced maintenance support.


56. Completed

57 Bring together all research funding and ensure that funding decisions reflect Welsh priorities, including the needs of the national and regional economic sectors.

In response to Professor Reid’s review, and in line with Welsh Government’s commitment to increase Quality-related Research recommended in Professor Diamond’s review, an additional £6.6 million was provided to help strengthen the Welsh research base. The Welsh Government Office in London is being used as a platform to help promote research, innovation and skills activity being undertaken in Wales and to forge stronger links with Whitehall Departments.

The Chief Scientific Advisor for Wales has established the Research and Innovation Strategic Engagement Group a non-executive advisory forum to ensure cross-division engagement and intelligence sharing on strategic Research and innovation issues to inform policy development.


57. In Progress

58 Ensure closer working between industry, schools, universities, colleges and the NHS to raise ambition and increase investment in research, developing the jobs and technologies of the future.

Since 2017, Wales has successfully attracted approximately £14 million of Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund monies, including the 3 innovation areas of health, advanced materials and manufacturing and energy.

To support the development of a skills continuum between formal education and professional pathways, every mainstream secondary and special school in Wales now has a Careers Wales account executive. The Careers Wales team also includes business engagement advisers who facilitate employer engagement activities and the careers and world of work co-ordinators who provide school teachers with curriculum support.

In 2017/18 Careers Wales introduced the Education Business Exchange (EBE), a database which helps employers work with schools to develop curriculum enhancing programmes for pupils. EBE helped to facilitate over 750 activities in 2018/19 and there are currently over 13,000 employers on the database.


58. In Progress

59 Draw on Wales’ assets to develop a population based approach to health and care research through Healthwise Wales.

Our national research initiative HealthWise Wales is open to everyone in Wales aged 16 and above, shaping research into a range of health and social care issues. More than 30,000 people are now taking part and over 9,000 people have joined new studies as a result of their participation in HealthWise Wales.


59. In Progress






60 Focus our business support schemes on building an entrepreneurial culture in Wales, and establish targets for the numbers of school, college and university leavers starting companies, as well as targets for their sustainability and growth.

We launched our £2.5 million Youth Entrepreneurship Grant in April 2019. This three year grant covers all Further and Higher Education institutions in Wales, building their capacity to encourage entrepreneurship and providing support for students and graduates looking to start businesses.

To develop entrepreneurial culture, BeTheSpark delivered the inaugural PitchIt Wales event linking private investors to entrepreneurs via a pitching competition to win up to £50,000 equity investment. 2 investments were offered totalling £100,000. PitchIt Valleys launched in November 2019. Be the Spark will be embedded across Wales via our 5 enterprise hubs.


60. In Progress

Objective 9: Equip everyone with the right skills for a changing world

61 Work with the regional education consortia, universities, business, industry and the third sector to expand the network of code clubs in every part of Wales.

61.1 Support computing skills and the digital talent pipeline from early years onwards.

Since launching Cracking the Code, 738 active clubs (an additional 218 clubs since last year) registered with Code Club UK. This involves 11,070 learners and 350 teachers.

Swansea University has been awarded over £1.5 million this Senedd term to deliver computer coding workshops to schools in Wales via the Technocamps programme.

61.1 The new Curriculum for Wales, includes computational skills as one of the 27 What Matters statements which will form the basis of learning and teaching.


61. In progress


61.1 In Progress

62 Enhance our support for part-time and postgraduate students to make it easier to obtain the higher level skills our economy needs.

We have put legislation in place that improves maintenance support for undergraduate and post-graduate students. The new approach brings support for part-time study in line with that for full-time study. The number of Welsh post-graduates receiving support in 2018/19 is 55% higher than in 2017/18, and that the number of part-time Welsh undergraduates receiving support is up by 28%.


62. Completed

63 Work with the Regional Skills Partnerships to anticipate future skills needs, focusing on priority growth sectors identified within regions and aligning our programmes to those needs.

63.1 Develop workforce digital capability, building on the work on skills currently being undertaken by Professor Phil Brown for the Welsh Government.

63.2 Commission an analysis of where Wales has the opportunity to lead innovation in the application of artificial intelligence.

63 and 63.1 The Regional Skills Partnerships have produced three year employment and skills plans which include analysis on the digital capability and skills of people in Wales. We have assessed the digital skills needed to support the cluster of compound semi-conductor, cyber security and digital skills companies in South East Wales.

63.2 The Brown Review of Digital Innovation published its report on how the fourth industrial revolution is likely to impact on the economy and the future of work in Wales. To underpin the ongoing implementation of the Brown Review, including the formal response to be issued by the Welsh Government, we have established a Ministerial Group on Artificial Intelligence & Digital Innovation to bring together existing activity on AI, look for opportunities to undertake new activity and develop a vision for AI and data driven innovation in Wales.


63. In Progress


63.1 In Progress

63.2 In Progress

64 Deliver 100,000 all-age apprenticeships aligned to economic requirements and use them to raise overall levels of skills in the workplace.

64.1 We will maintain our commitment to apprenticeships. We will seek ways to connect schools with local enterprises in order that they can prepare better for the world of work, vocations and training they will seek in later years.

64 and 64.1 We have delivered over 74,000 apprenticeships and are on target to exceed the target of 100,000 new employed status apprentices during this administration, with an increasing focus on higher level skills.


64. In Progress


64.1 In Progress






65 Review all existing skills and work-based learning programmes to ensure they meet the current needs of the economy and can respond flexibly to emerging requirements.

We have established the Welsh Apprenticeship Advisory Board to provide us with advice on Apprenticeship developments. Qualifications Wales has reviewed Care qualifications to strengthen learning elements and is currently reviewing their construction programme.


65. In Progress

Objective 10: Build resilient communities, culture, and language

66 Work with communities to help maintain local facilities that bring people together, including pubs, libraries, museums, green spaces, arts centres and leisure centres, helping communities take ownership of assets in their local area.

66.1 Recognise the role of cultural institutions engaging citizens in the digital world.

66.2 Doubling allotments: change planning regulations about sheds. Community orchards.

66.3 Working with Transport for Wales, we will examine how we can turn stations into vibrant community hubs, providing essential local services, and space for small business to flourish.

66.4 Encourage a culture of co-production in local services, liberating and making real the contribution of school students, parents, tenants, careers and volunteers.

66.5 Establish a Community Bank of Wales to be owned by its members, on a one-member one- vote basis.

66.6 The Bank will offer current accounts to all local residents, regardless of income or wealth, tackling the poverty premium.

66.7 The Bank headquarters, as well as its branches, will be located in Wales. It will become an anchor Welsh institution, here today, and here for the long term.

66.8 The Bank will offer face-to-face banking to local customers and small businesses. Loan decisions will be made by skilled and experienced staff, not a computer-driven formula.

Research has been undertaken on the barriers community groups face when considering taking on a community asset, and the gaps in support. This builds on previous research carried out in 2017 with town and community councils. Our Community Facilities Programme provides capital grants of up to £250,000 for community-led projects seeking to improve and/or purchase community facilities. Between September 2018 and September 2019 the programme provided £5.1 million in grant funding to 35 projects across Wales. These grants have enabled community groups to protect and improve assets that support people to forge social connections and enrich community life.

We continue to support the local museum, archive and library sector through the Capital Transformation Grant Fund. In 2019/20, eight awards were made to organisations across Wales.

66.1 The National Library of Wales and Amgueddfa Cymru are digitising elements of their collections and developing initiatives to facilitate public engagement with digital content. The People’s Collection Wales provides a means for individuals to digitise and share collections via its website. We support the National Digital Library which provides all-Wales access to e-resources via local libraries.

66.2 We have launched a baseline study on allotments and community growing activities which will be available in 2020. We are making our guidance on allotments more accessible, and exploring whether surplus public sector land could be made available for allotments/community growing. We have published a consultation on introducing permitted development rights for the development of sheds and glasshouses on allotments. We have developed a £250,000 programme to support orchards which will plant 3,600 new fruit trees and bushes across Wales, increasing coverage by 28 acres.

66.3 Transport for Wales (TfW) began its £194 million station investment programme in September 2019. This investment into all 247 railway stations will improve the way they look, make them safer and provide more commercial and community opportunities. TfW has held events and workshops aimed at small and medium enterprises in Wales, providing opportunities for them to bid for work linked to its Station Improvement Vision.

TfW have a plan for creating community hubs across Wales. A prioritisation plan has been developed across the first 3 years of the grant agreement and work will commence on the first locations shortly.






66.9 The Bank will begin to operate before the end of this Assembly term, spreading to the whole of Wales after the next Assembly election.

66.10 The Community Bank of Wales will be a living wage employer, with a fixed maximum ratio between the highest and lowest paid workers.

66.4 We have set up a £15 million capital grant to fund Community Learning Centre pilots across Wales. 21 bids have been supported to enable community use of school facilities, promote parental engagement and co-locate services into integrated hubs.

66.5-66.10 We are in early stage dialogue with a number of stakeholders who are keen to test the feasibility of establishing a Community Bank in Wales. This work will be led by the stakeholders who will prepare a full market assessment and business plan with the intention of submitting an application to the Bank of England. We are committed to doing everything possible to support the community bank.


66. In Progress


66.1 In Progress

66.2 In Progress

66.3 In Progress

66.4 In Progress

66.5-66.10 In Progress

67 Identify opportunities for more people to volunteer, including working with the WCVA and the third sector on the roll-out of a unified volunteer programme, Volunteering Wales.

We are working with a cross-sector Task and Finish Group to co-develop a more sustainable model for supporting volunteering in Wales.


67. In Progress

68 Work with communities across Wales to promote and facilitate the use of Welsh in a positive and inclusive manner, improve systematic planning of Welsh language provision, and provide a robust regulatory framework.

68.1 Ensure the delivery of our strategy Cymraeg 2050 – a million Welsh speakers.

68.2 Mainstream the promotion and development of Welsh through all government activity, at a Welsh Government and local government level.

68.3 Ensure that the Welsh language is an essential consideration in our Economic Action Plan and that an appreciation of the value of bilingualism is integrated into our economic development activities, including in skills development, support for the foundational economy and in expanding our digital and export services sectors.

68.4 Drive forward the Welsh Language Technology Action Plan.

68.1 The long term Welsh Language Strategy, Cymraeg 2050: a million Welsh speakers, is supported by a Work Programme that sets out activity from 2017 to 2021. The Cymraeg 2050 Programme Board monitors progress and provides challenge and accountability. The externally appointed Welsh Language Partnership Council provides independent advice to the Minister on the delivery of the strategy.

68.2 We are working across government to ensure that all policy areas consider Cymraeg 2050 and refer to it as necessary. We are developing an internal Welsh strategy that will set out how Welsh will be promoted and facilitated by our staff, with a view to becoming an exemplar organisation for Welsh in the next five years.

68.3 The Economic Action Plan highlights the aim of ensuring that the Welsh language thrives in all communities. Two year funding for the Arfor Innovation Pilot Programme, which supports economic development in West Wales that also benefits the Welsh language, was announced in February 2019.

68.4 The Welsh Language Technology Action Plan identifies 27 Work Packages. Of these, 16 have either started or been completed this year, with a number commencing in 2020.


68. In Progress


68.1 In Progress

68.2 In Progress

68.3 In Progress

68.4 In Progress






69 Build the capacity of communities as places which support better health and wellbeing using approaches such as social prescribing.

We have launched two social prescribing pilots with Mind Cymru and the British Red Cross, using different models to explore how social prescribing can create healthier communities.

[This commitment is cross-referenced with 126 and should be read as a whole].

We have also invested over £17 million, including £11.6 million from the European Social Fund, to deliver the Out of Work Peer Mentoring Service, which helps long-term unemployed people with significant health conditions to find work. The service has worked with 10,500 people from across Wales, helping 1,500 people to achieve a work related qualification and a further 700 people into employment.

Communities were considered in our consultation for the forthcoming Loneliness and Isolation strategy. A number of actions including steps to increase ‘social prescribing’ will be included in the strategy, which will be published in 2020.


69. In Progress

70 Ensure schools take on a more wide-ranging role as community hubs, offering not just education but a much wider array of community activities, helping to join up their communities and the services people need.

We have set up a £15 million capital grant to fund a range of Community Learning Centre pilots across Wales. 21 bids have been supported, including projects to enable community use of school facilities, and promote parental engagement and co-location of services.


70. In Progress

71 Build a sustainable relationship with the Voluntary Sector, based on the outcomes we all want to achieve for communities and the right funding model to deliver them.

We are delivering a joint action plan with the Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA) and the Third Sector Partnership Council to improve the implementation of the Third Sector Scheme, which underpins our relationship with the Third Sector. The action plan includes our shared aims of creating stronger communities, better policy and better public services.

We have continued to provide core funding for WCVA and County Voluntary Councils through our Third Sector Support Wales grant.


71. In Progress

72 Develop a transformational approach to the learning, teaching and assessment of Welsh with the aim of ensuring that, in future, all learners will be able to use the Welsh language when they leave school.

The Curriculum for Wales guidance, which was developed by practitioners and informed by a range of experts, will be published in January 2020. Welsh forms part of Languages, Literacy and Communication Area of Learning and Experience in the curriculum The pace and depth of learning in different contexts is reflected in the documents. Schools will design their school curriculum to reflect the Curriculum for Wales framework to enable all learners aged 3-16 to progress towards proficiency in Welsh.


72. In Progress






73 Trial reforms to the democratic process, modernising the elections process and backing votes for those aged 16 and over.

73.1 Explore new civic platforms to engage citizens and communities better.

73.2 Lead the debate across the United Kingdom about our collective futures, designing new institutional arrangements, based on the principle of parity of participation.

73.3 We will enact the socio-economic duty under Part 1 of the Equality Act.

73.4 Support an action plan to get more Black and Minority Ethnic women into political and public life.

73.5 Back the Welsh Labour Charter for Women for Westminster, the Welsh Assembly and local government.

73.6 Modernise the conduct of elections to bring them into line with 21st century conditions, including extending the franchise to 16 and 17 year olds and to all those living and working in Wales.

73.7 Liberalise the way in which elections are conducted, bringing them into line with contemporary practice, and implementing the proposals set out for local authority elections in Wales.

73.8 Award time credits for participation in Welsh Government consultation exercises, to recognise the effort which citizens make in providing such a contribution and to encourage responses from a wider range of interests.

73.9 Implement a more visibly collective leadership within the Welsh Government, for example, by holding events across Wales where citizens are able to discuss issues of concern with a range of Cabinet colleagues.

73.1 and 73.2 A project has commenced on a potential new civic involvement platform, scoping out how people could use this platform, how it would support involvement of people and communities and how much it might cost.

73.3 We will commence section 2 of the Socio-Economic Duty in November 2019, followed by sections 1 and 3 in 2020. In November 2019 launched a consultation on Part 1, Section 1 of the Duty which will close in January 2020.

73.4 Welsh Government Cabinet is 57% female; 43% male. Welsh Assembly Members are 47% female; 53% male.

73.5 We have initiated the next phase of the Diversity in Democracy Project, which aims to increase the diversity of candidates standing for election to councils, including those from the BAME community.

73.6 and 73.7 The Senedd and Elections Act 2020 has enfranchised 16 and 17 year olds and legally resident foreign citizens for Senedd Cymru elections. The Local Government and Elections (Wales) Bill will also extend the local government franchise to 16 and 17 year olds and qualifying foreign citizens. In addition, It will provide extended powers for Welsh Ministers to pilot new ways of running elections. We have also consulted on new ways of undertaking the annual canvass to modernise and streamline the process and make it easier for people to register to vote. We have developed secondary legislation on canvass reform which was laid in November 2019 and which will be made in January 2020.

73.8 We are developing a proposal for a national time credits offer which will establish 24 hubs across Wales. These hubs will engage with local communities to increase the opportunities for both earning and spending time credits. The proposal will also allow citizens to earn time credits for participation in consultation exercises, and commits us to exploring opportunities to use time credits to support people with pressures such as fuel poverty. The programme is aiming to launch in April 2020.

73.9 The visibility of collective leadership within Welsh Government has been increased in a number of ways across this Senedd term. This includes shared, jointly accountable leadership of our cross-cutting Budget priorities such as decarbonisation and mental health and the Cabinet Committee on North Wales, which met for the first time in June 2019. We have also encouraged citizens to raise issues with Cabinet members in a variety of ways, such as hosting question and answer sessions on Twitter and Facebook and undertaking a public engagement tour.

73.10 All vacant Special Adviser posts were filled through an open recruitment exercise in early 2019. This included a public advertisement and interview process.

73.11 The First Minister and Deputy Minister & Chief Whip have agreed the pre-appointment scrutiny guidance setting out arrangements for the Senedd to undertake pre-appointment hearings for some Welsh Government Ministerial chair public appointments. The guidance was prepared in partnership with Senedd officials.


73. In Progress


73.1 In Progress

73.2 In Progress

73.3 In Progress

73.4 In Progress

73.5 In Progress

73.6 In Progress

73.7 In Progress

73.8 In Progress

73.9 In Progress

73.10 In Progress

73.11 Completed

73.12 Completed






73.10 As opportunities arise, appoint future special advisers through open advertisement and interview.

73.11 Make pre-appointment hearings a routine part of the appointment of chairs of public bodies in Wales.

73.12 Confirm long-term independent oversight of the Ministerial Code.

73.12 The Ministerial Code was amended in December 2017 to say that “the First Minister will refer complaints regarding Ministerial conduct to an Independent Adviser for consideration and advice, unless he is satisfied that the complaints can be responded to more immediately or routinely.” We have identified suitable independent advisors and prepared a methodology for them.

74 Improve the way we work with community groups and the police to develop safer communities.

74.1 Build on a Wales-wide cyber security strategy to coordinate responses to cyber-threats to businesses, public services and citizens.

74.2 Seek devolution of those aspects of criminal justice which fit most directly into the Welsh context, beginning with youth justice and the Probation Service. Devolution of budgets sufficient to discharge these responsibilities would be a non-negotiable essential, as would be the case in any further devolution of police or prisons.

74.3 Make Wales a custody-free area for women offenders. Oppose the creation of new prisons for women, and support the development of small-scale, rehabilitation facilities for those women whose needs are best met in that way.

74.4 Maximise diversion from the formal criminal justice system, actively deploying the skills and capacity of the voluntary sector.

74.5 Bring a devolved Probation Service back into the public sector.

The Safer Communities Programme Board is progressing the recommendations set out in the December 2017 report Working Together for Safer Communities. We held an all-Wales community safety conference in July 2019 to inform a Wales-wide approach to community safety and a business case for a network to support the development of appropriate skills and knowledge.

74.1 We have agreed a cyber-incident management response process with the National Cyber Security Centre and established an internal board with responsibility for the oversight of cyber action plans. We funded Tarian, the Regional Cyber Crime Unit, to give cyber security advice to more than 400 businesses and 1,500 people.

74.2 We are developing a work programme to take forward the recommendations from the Commission on Justice that can be delivered in the current devolution settlement. The youth justice and female offending blueprints published in September 2019 sets out the ambition of Welsh Government and Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service for a distinctly Welsh approach to justice. Work is now underway to deliver the short term actions by May 2020.

74.3 We welcome the Ministry of Justice’s plans to trial five new residential centres as announced as part of the Female Offending Strategy published in June 2018. We are working with the Ministry on the location of the centres and have made a strong case for ensuring that at least one of these proposed centres is located in Wales.

74.4 The North Wales and Dyfed-Powys Checkpoint Diversion Models for women will go live in December 2019. From January 2020 diversion services will be in place for women across the South Wales and Gwent force areas.

74.5 From December 2019 all offenders will be monitored by the National Probation Service Wales rather than under private sector contracts, ensuring that all offenders in Wales are monitored by public service staff.


74. In Progress


74.1 In Progress

74.2 In Progress

74.3 In Progress

74.4 In Progress

74.5 In Progress






75 Work with communities, the voluntary sector and local services to counter the threat of extremism and hate crime in communities.

75.1 Work in partnership with appropriate bodies to promote integration, community cohesion, eliminate racial discrimination, hate crime, modern slavery, champion justice and race equality in our institutions and in society as a whole.

75.2 Participate in channels of communication with minority ethnic and grassroots communities throughout Wales with primary stakeholders, public bodies and other relevant parties in regard to government, UK and European policies, strategies, measures and initiatives that impact the lives of minority ethnic communities.

75.3 Implement guidance and roll out training for all public-facing employees in our public services to ensure our services are always LGBT+ inclusive.

75.4 Maintain the Welsh Government’s support for self-identification of gender identity and reform of the Gender Recognition Act.

75.5 Press the UK government to recognise LGBT+ hate crime as an aggravated offence (in line with race and faith hate crime).

We are working with all local authorities and a range of stakeholders as part of our community cohesion work. We are developing a Wales-wide anti-hate crime communications campaign which will be launched next year. National Survey for Wales data for 2018-19 suggests that people from different backgrounds get on well together (76%); and that people in the local area treat each other with respect and consideration (76%).

75.1 We are funding a range of measures, such as £350,000 for the Hate Crime in Schools project, to build children’s critical thinking skills and recognise and challenge hate speech online or offline. Our £480,000 Hate Crime Minority Communities Grant funds third sector organisations which support people affected by hate crime.

75.2 We are working collaboratively with our partners including seven lead agencies to provide support to individuals and communities across Wales in relation to gender, disability, gypsies, Roma and travellers, refugees and asylum seekers, sexual orientation and gender identity, race and hate crime. This work is also supported by eight Regional Community Cohesion Coordinators, funded by Welsh Government, who are embedded in local authorities.

75.3 We are consulting with Stonewall to consider options for delivery of LGBT+ inclusive guidance and training in the next financial year.

75.4 We are still awaiting the outcome of the UK Government’s consultation on the Gender Recognition Act, which closed in October 2018. We are funding a dedicated Stonewall post until March 2020 to support transgender people.

75.5 We wrote to the Home Secretary in July 2019 pressing the UK Government to recognise LGBT+ hate crime as an aggravated offence. The Law Commission is undertaking a review on behalf of the UK Government on Hate Crime legislation, which will look at whether categories including LGBT+ and disability hate crime could be put on the same footing as race and faith hate crime. The Commission is expected to report on this review in 2020.


75. In Progress


75.1 In Progress

75.2 In Progress

75.3 In Progress

75.4 In Progress

75.5 In Progress

Objective 11: Deliver modern and connected infrastructure

76 Introduce the new National Infrastructure Commission for Wales to strengthen the governance and strategic planning of major infrastructure investments.

The National Infrastructure Commission for Wales was established and will publish its first Annual Report in November 2019.


76. Completed

77 Require co-ordinated planning of new homes, facilities and infrastructure by local authorities, health bodies, housing associations and other key partners.

The draft National Development Framework (NDF) was published for public consultation, closing in November 2019. It will be submitted formally to the Senedd in April 2020 and published in September 2020.


77. In progress






78 Deliver a single National Transport Plan supporting improvements to all the transport infrastructure for Wales, balancing travel needs with the aim of reducing emissions.

78.1 We will maintain our commitment to tackle congestion, particularly in areas such as on the A55 in North Wales, the A40 in Mid and West Wales and the M4 in South Wales.

78.2 We will revise Planning Policy Wales to make provision of sustainable transport infrastructure a fundamental requirement for new development and to encourage a presumption of 20mph speed limits in residential areas.

We have published an interim update on the National Transport Finance Plan for 2018. Planning Policy Wales (PPW) was also updated last year to put place-making at the heart of the planning system in Wales. PPW includes a transport hierarchy to prioritise sustainable transport options. This activity also addresses commitments 78.1 and 78.2.


78. In Progress


78.1 In Progress

78.2 In Progress

79 Create an integrated public transport network, covering the rail and bus networks, which is safe, reliable, affordable and low carbon.

79.1 We will empower Transport for Wales to deliver a public transport system that aims to give everyone easier access to bus, train and active travel for everyday journeys. We will ensure it works closely with local authorities and operates in an open and accountable way.

79.2 We will develop plans to use our new bus franchising powers to repair the damage of Tory bus privatisation. This will allow us to plan a properly integrated bus and train network that would make public transport a reliable and attractive option for more people.

79.3 We will pilot the use of smartphones to access a network of smaller buses in rural areas so that public transport can be more accessible on demand. We will consider how this can be applied to the community transport sector to widen access to the services they provide.

79.4 We will work with local authorities to help them make full use of borrowing powers to bring forward improvements in public transport infrastructure.

79.5 We will enrol all young people aged 16-18 in a youth concessionary travel scheme.

Transport for Wales (TfW) has started work on the South Wales Metro (SWM) and the North Wales Metro (NWM). Construction commenced on a £100 million depot and SWM Control Centre in Taff’s Well. A £194 million investment in railway stations across Wales is underway.

A new Liverpool to Wrexham service via the Halton Curve was launched, improving links between Liverpool and North Wales. TfW undertook studies on how the Swansea Bay metro scheme could provide better connectivity within South West Wales. We allocated £115,000 to Swansea Council to develop their vision and further funding of £700,000 from the Local Transport Fund for a more detailed business case.

79.1 Development of Bow Street Station has received Planning Consent and contractors have mobilised to deliver the new station and park and ride, to provide greater connectivity for communities in West Wales.

79.2 We have committed to introduce a public transport bill in this Senedd term. We are addressing the negative impacts of bus privatisation by creating tools which would enable local authorities to intervene should they chose to do so.

79.3 TfW is working with local authorities to develop demand-responsive transport solutions. Pembrokeshire commenced a partial service in September 2019, while Conwy and Blaenau Gwent expect to be live by mid-2020.

79.4 We are building on the successful local government borrowing initiative and local transport grant to identify new opportunities for local authorities to finance investment in public transport projects. We are progressing Cardiff Bus station and Cardiff Parkway and exploring a Wrexham gateway, a civic and economic plan to redevelop a large area near the Mold Road corridor, a major route into the town. We are funding £88 million of supported borrowing for local government, providing support for authorities to borrow to meet local priorities, including local transport infrastructure improvements, and provided £60 million of additional capital from 2018-19 to 2020-21 to improve highways infrastructure.

79.5 Our MyTravelPass (MTP) scheme that provides one-third fare discounts to pass-holders was extended to 19-21 year olds. We are exploring options to auto-enrol people onto the scheme on their 16th birthday with young people’s representatives.


79. In Progress


79.1 In Progress

79.2 In Progress

79.3 In Progress

79.4 In Progress

79.5 In Progress






80 Deliver the South Wales Metro, underpinning the region’s economic development, and spreading jobs and prosperity through more rapid transport, and ensuring that all new and significant developments in the region are sited within easy reach of a station.

Transport for Wales (TfW) Rail Services commenced detailed design work of the metro infrastructure. The new Taff’s Well Depot has commenced construction. We have worked towards our new £738 million metro infrastructure hub, which opened in Treforest in January 2020. This facility will operate a key material distribution centre for the next 5 years of the metro project.


80. In Progress

81 Continue to develop the North Wales Metro and deliver transport improvements that complement it.

We have provided Metro programme funding to Flintshire County Council, who have delivered bus and active travel improvements in and around Deeside Industrial Park in order to improve access to employment sites. Transport for Wales is developing schemes for an integrated Shotton railway station and a new Deeside railway station.


81. In Progress

82 Deliver a significant improvement to the M4 around Newport, as well as enhancements to the A55, the A40 in West Wales and other trunk roads.

In June 2019, we decided against making the Orders for an M4 relief road. The independent South East Wales Transport Commission will consider the problems, opportunities, challenges, and objectives for tackling congestion on the M4 in South East Wales, and recommend solutions. Construction commenced on the Caernarfon to Bontnewydd bypass and a Public Local Inquiry is programmed for the A40 Llanddewi Velfre to Penblewin scheme in March 2020. The preferred route for A55 improvements was announced for the Flintshire corridor.


82. In Progress

83 Deliver fast reliable broadband to those parts of Wales not currently served by the market.

83.1 Ensure access to quality digital infrastructure in Wales’ social housing.

83.2 Working with Local Government to enhance public Wi-Fi to assist those who live, work and visit Wales.

We are working with Openreach to roll out superfast fibre broadband to a further 26,000 premises using almost £26 million of Welsh Government and EU funding, helping us reach the remaining 5% of premises without access to fast broadband.

83.1 We continue to use Building Regulations to ensure all new homes, including social housing, have the infrastructure to be broadband-ready.

83.2 We launched a community Wi-Fi pilot using the Public Sector Broadband Aggregation Network at a primary school and community centre in Barry. The pilot is being evaluated to inform decisions on any future expansion.


83. In Progress


83.1 In Progress

83.2 In Progress






84 Work with the mobile industry and OFCOM to deliver usable and reliable mobile phone connectivity across Wales.

84.1 Building on the successes of Superfast Cymru, launch a new programme to coordinate connectivity and 5G projects.

84.2 Consider planning powers, like requiring full fibre to the home for all new developments, to enhance connectivity in the future.

We introduced changes to permitted development rights for mobile infrastructure and are establishing a working group to update the code of best practice on planning for mobile telecommunications infrastructure. The mobile industry has submitted proposals to the UK Government to introduce a shared rural network to improve connectivity.

84.1 Innovation Point submitted a bid for funding under the UK Government Rural Connected Communities programme for a 5G project focused on Ebbw Vale and Monmouthshire. We have worked with the mobile industry to bring 5G connectivity to the Royal Welsh Showground in Builth Wells as part of delivering our Mobile Action Plan.

84.2 Planning Policy Wales was updated in December 2018 to recognise full fibre as an essential service. New development proposals should include provision of broadband services and planning authorities should include broadband infrastructure in their development plans. The UK Government are developing legislative proposals to mandate broadband connectivity at new developments where a commercial agreement cannot be agreed between the developer and telecommunications provider.


84. In Progress


84.1 In Progress

84.2 In Progress

85 Help people and businesses make the most of digital connectivity by investing in digital skills and through our business support programmes.

85.1 Promote more diversity in tech to address inequality.

85.2 Leadership in design and common digital standards to put users at the heart of what public services do.

85.3 Strengthen data rights and accountability to build trust in how public data is used.

85.4 Enhance digital and data leadership to make public services more open to innovation.

85.5 Work to ensure that no citizen is left behind as we embrace a digital first approach. Digital inclusion will be at the heart of all we deliver.

85.6 Set up a Big Data unit to work in partnership with Welsh Universities and public services to use data analysis to improve performance.

85.7 Launch a programme to increase data sharing and collaboration between public services, for the good of Welsh citizens.

The Superfast Business Wales programme has already supported approximately 5,000 SME’s. Providing online material, masterclasses and 1:1’s with Digital Advisors, the support aids businesses to adopt digital technologies enabled through superfast connectivity. Businesses are upskilled in a variety of technologies, reporting on average the adoption of three digital technologies per business into their operations.

85.1 Our Digital Inclusion Strategic Framework features a range of programmes and activities, including a £2 million per annum joint digital inclusion and health programme.

85.2 Welsh Government and the NHS in Wales has adopted UK Government Digital Service standards and promotes these, as best practice, to public bodies in Wales.

85.3 We invited representatives from the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation to meet with Welsh Ministers to begin discussions on improving accountability and building trust.

85.4 A discovery project is underway to establish the needs and benefits of a digital transformation centre to support the Welsh public sector. Emerging findings are positive and work continues.

85.5 We launched the Digital Communities Wales: Digital Confidence, Health and Well-being 3-year programme in July 2019. The programme has a £2 million annual budget to work across sectors to reach digitally excluded people and improves the digital capabilities of both citizens and health and care staff. We are also providing £250,000 funding towards the translation of Learn My Way, an online digital skills platform.

85.6 We have developed a business case to establish a Welsh Government data science function, which could support a wider Wales Data Science Partnership. The Partnership would work across the public sector, private sector and academia to place Wales at the forefront of data capability and use.

85.7 We have started work to establish a Wales Data Sharing Review Board, which would consider proposals for data-sharing between devolved public authorities in Wales under the UK Digital Economy Act (2017). Discussions on potential data sharing proposals are ongoing.


85. In Progress


85.1 In Progress

85.2 In Progress

85.3 In Progress

85.4 In Progress

85.5 In Progress

85.6 In Progress

85.7 In Progress






86 Support increased use of low emissions vehicles, through investing in a network of charging points.

We are developing an Electric Vehicle (EV) charging strategy for Wales which will launch in 2020. We have expanded our EV charging approach to include charging points at railway stations and public car parks, allowing us to deliver more EV charging points than originally planned.

We are encouraging the take-up of Office of Low Emission Vehicles grants for EV charging and will continue to support organisations in developing their applications.


86. In Progress

Objective 12: Promote and protect Wales’ place in the world

87 Build on the successful Wales brand to reinforce a contemporary, compelling and engaging identity for Wales that drives the nation forward as a place to do business and study and that inspires the people of Wales to create their future with confidence.

87.1 Collaborate with other nations and regions in the UK and globally to adopt and share what works.

87.2 Promote Wales as a bilingual nation in all our international engagement strategies.

We consulted on our draft International Strategy. The draft Strategy sets out proposals for building on the award-winning Cymru Wales brand and identity, including greater use of social media and digital communications. This will enable Welsh businesses to use the Cymru Wales brand more widely. The consultation responses will inform our approach to reinforcing an engaging identity for Wales. The strategy was published in January 2020.

We have used the Cymru Wales brand in a range of contexts including tourism, trade and marketing. Visit Wales has influenced more than £350 million additional spend a year in the Welsh economy. We have worked with partner nations and regions, including hosting Ambassadors and working with European networks like the Four Motors Group, to promote Wales. We developed an innovative jointly-owned Action Plan with the Basque Country to jointly pursue our goals.

87.1 The International Strategy sets out three overarching goals to guide our international relations approach: to raise Wales’ international profile, to increase exports and inward investment, and to demonstrate that Wales is a globally responsible nation. The Strategy sets out commitments to develop innovative partnerships with other UK and international country brands, to deepen economic collaboration and to further invest in joint co-operation on research. This includes initiatives in Asia, America and Europe.

87.2 The International Strategy outlines how we will promote Wales as a bilingual nation in years to come. This includes using the 2019 UNESCO Year of Indigenous Languages to showcase our plans to increase the numbers of Welsh speakers and taking on a leadership role for other European nations with dual and minority languages.


87. In Progress


87.1 In Progress

87.2 In Progress

88 Take a strategic approach to the expansion of our international offices, based on an assessment of economic opportunity for Welsh businesses.

New offices in Paris and Dusseldorf became fully functional in 2018/19, completing our strategic plan for international office expansion. This extends our robust and expansive network of international offices, leaving us well-placed to take advantage of global economic opportunities. Future progress and plans will be captured in our International Relations strategy, to be published in 2020.


88. Completed

89 Modernise our global digital presence through a new digital gateway at wales.com, comprising of a network of integrated, international websites that promote a consistent story about Wales.

New versions of Wales.com and VisitWales.com were launched. We are supporting a project to develop a new portal to promote studying in Wales and a refreshed Trade and Invest Wales will launch on the new platform in 2020.


89. In Progress






90 Work with the Department for International Trade to support our exporters to find new markets globally.

We are working with the Department for International Trade (DIT) to ensure Welsh exporters can access global trade opportunities. This includes a Wales presence at key international conferences, such as the MEDICA health trade fair in Germany. The DIT has supported our trade missions in markets, for example helping us run business receptions at Ambassador’s residences. In 2019, our support for exporters generated £30 million in new orders.


90. In Progress

91 Continue to press the UK Government to prioritise full and unfettered access to the EU Single Market and work with the UK Government to promote Wales’ interests as new international Free Trade Agreements are prepared.

91.1 Remain part of a customs union, with full and unfettered participation in the single market.

91.2 Continue to press for an approach to migration which allows Welsh businesses, public services and Universities to attract essential workers from the European Union to Wales.

91.3 Require stronger conditions to ensure that people coming to Wales have a job waiting for them, and new action is required to enforce existing labour protections for those who are so recruited.

91.4 Work with other devolved nations, new pressure must be applied to the UK Government to secure the funds which flow to Wales today from the European Union. Decisions about the use of those funds must continue to be made in Wales.

We are promoting an evidence-based Welsh approach to future trade policy that serves the interests of businesses and citizens in Wales. This is best achieved by full unfettered access to the EU Single Market. We are promoting Wales’ interests in the development of positions on future Free Trade Agreements, but this cannot be at the expense of maintaining as close as possible a relationship with the EU.

91.1 We are supporting Welsh Ministers in pressing the UK Government to agree a future relationship with the EU that includes a customs union with the EU and participation in the Single Market. We continue to develop the evidence base on the implications of leaving the Single Market and Customs Union to strengthen our case.

91.2 The UK Government published an Immigration White Paper in December 2018, which we fundamentally disagreed with. In February 2019 we published a report from the Welsh Centre for Public Policy on the likely impact of the proposed approach on the Welsh economy. The report recommended that the salary threshold for immigration should be well below the £30,000 level proposed in the UK White Paper, and we believe this significantly contributed to the UK Government’s decision to ask the Home Office’s Migration Advisory Committee to reconsider their proposal.

91.3 We continue to work closely with UK Government to progress our priorities in relation to the UK leaving the EU.

91.4 We are pressing the UK Government to commit to replacing funding that will be unavailable to Wales once the UK leaves the EU and that there can be no dilution of devolved responsibilities in managing replacement funding. Officials continue to engage with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on proposals for the Shared Prosperity Fund.


91. In Progress


91.1 In Progress

91.2 In Progress

91.3 In Progress

91.4 In Progress

92 Develop new ways to build and maintain European partnerships through investing in networks and bi-lateral co-operation with partner countries and regions, especially neighbours such as Ireland and Brittany.

92.1 Identify those key EU regions and partnerships with whom future governmental relationships must be secured and prioritised. Working with partners across all sectors we will develop a comprehensive international strategy to go on giving Wales a powerful voice in Europe and beyond.

We consulted on our draft International Strategy, which identifies the key countries and regional partnerships where we will focus our activity, including Ireland, Germany, France and Brittany and Flanders. We opened new offices in France and Germany to bolster these relationships and Ministers visited key partner nations including Germany and Ireland. We hosted a meeting of the Four Motors Group which brings together European regions representing 36 million people. This activity also addresses commitment 92.1.


92. In Progress


92.1 Completed






Early Years

93 Build on our current early years programmes and create a more joined-up, responsive system that puts the unique needs of each child at its heart.

93.1 Maintain the investments we currently make in services aimed at children in poverty.

93.2 Pilot the ‘baby bundle’ scheme of essential items and guidance to help them and their parents in the first weeks and months of life, a ‘welcome to the world’ gift from Welsh Government.

We have established a programme to explore how we could reconfigure the early years system. We are testing a co-construction approach in partnership with nine Public Sector Boards to develop a seamless early years system, and made £2.5 million of funding available in 2019/20 to pilot new multi-agency delivery models.

93.1 All of our programmes aimed at supporting children and families in poverty were either maintained or extended this year. Poverty will be a new priority area in our 2020/21 budget.

93.2 We have agreed the content of the baby bundles and are developing a specification to procure the products. The bundles will be piloted in the Swansea Bay University Health Board area.


93. In Progress


93.1 In Progress

93.2 In Progress

94 Ensure that the early years provision in the new curriculum builds strong key skills, and embeds health awareness, well-being and resilience in children from the earliest stage.

The new Curriculum for Wales will include Health and Well-being as one of six Areas of Learning and Experience, enabling learners to develop awareness of their health and well-being from age 3. The Curriculum is designed to embed wider skills like resilience and creativity. Literacy, numeracy and digital will be statutory requirements as part of the new Curriculum framework. The Curriculum for Wales guidance was published for feedback and we have analysed the responses.


94. In Progress

95 Ensure consistent regulation and delivery of pre-school provision.

We have committed £80 million to support the co-location of pre-school early education and childcare provision across Wales.

We have commenced work to scope a single Quality Framework integrated with Early Childhood Education and Care that will align with the new curriculum for Wales. This is an important step towards a single delivery mechanism, supported by the education and childcare sectors.


95. In Progress

96 Deliver extended, coherent support for parenting, drawing together family support programmes, focused on positive parenting and early intervention.

We committed £325,000 for the Parenting: Give it Time campaign in 2019/20. This campaign, now in its fourth year, promotes positive parenting messages through social, print, and digital advertising. Website engagement figures are on track to meet targets and our Facebook campaign has reached 609,200 people.

Our Parenting in Wales: Guidance on Engagement and Support service provides information and advice, including parenting programmes, to help parents, carers and anyone else providing direct or indirect parenting support.


96. In Progress

97 Provide working parents of 3 and 4 year olds with 30 hours of free education and childcare for up to 48 weeks a year, delivered in a way that works for parents and children.

We completed the rollout of our Childcare Offer and over 16,000 families are benefiting from up to 30 hours of free childcare support. In its first year, 60% of all parents using the Offer earned the equivalent or less than the median population earnings in Wales; meaning the offer benefitted low and middle income families most. A typical parent whose child is benefitting from 20 hours of childcare per week is getting the equivalent of an extra £90 per week in their pockets.


97. Completed






98 Legislate to ban the physical punishment of children.

The Children (Abolition of Defence of Reasonable Punishment) (Wales) Bill was introduced to the National Assembly in March 2019. Stage 1 ended with a debate on the general principles of the Bill. This Bill will prevent ‘reasonable punishment’ being used as a defence for physically punishing children. We have established a Strategic Implementation Group to support the Bill, with four task and finish groups focussed on key implementation elements.


98. In Progress

99 Create ‘ACE aware’ public services which take a more preventative approach to avoid ACEs and improve the resilience of children and young people.

99.1 Establish Local Justice Panels in each youth justice area. The Panels should discharge an accountability remit, including holding to account those services provided by adults which have an impact on the lives of young people.

99.2 Direct urgent new attention to the point where children in care are at risk of becoming children in the youth justice system. The hugely disproportionate representation of care leavers in the prison system is highly expensive to the public purse and deeply damaging to those individuals.

The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Hub has continued to support ACE-aware public services that build children and young people’s resilience. Key activities included a TV and social media public awareness campaign #TimeToBeKind and ACE awareness training delivered to a range of public services.

We are seeing early positive outcomes in services such as education, housing and policing. For example, some schools reported that adopting trauma informed approaches helped reduce the number of exclusions, improved behaviours, and increased attendance.

99.1 We are working with the Integrated Offender Management Cymru Board to review all current justice fora (local, regional and national) to see if Local Justice Panels would be beneficial or not. This work is ongoing.

99.2 Young People and Care Leavers are a priority group in our Framework to provide positive support to those at risk of offending in Wales, the Ministerial Advisory Group on Improving Outcomes for Looked After Children is also helping to deliver this commitment.


99. In Progress


99.1 In Progress

99.2 In Progress

100 Pilot Children First areas, to support the better integration of services to reduce the numbers of ACEs and improve the resilience of children and young people.

Our five ‘Pioneer’ Children First areas continue to make good progress and are reporting good examples of trauma informed practices in schools, engagement work and community hub activity. We are working with three other areas (Newtown, Sandfields and the borough of Conwy) to consider extending Pioneer status to these areas.


100. In Progress






Housing

101 Deliver our target of 20,000 new affordable homes by 2021, and make more homes available at affordable rent in every part of Wales.

101.1 Appoint a Cabinet Secretary with responsibility for housing and allied matters, so that housing is represented directly at the Cabinet table where key decisions are taken.

101.2 Press ahead with plans for a vacant land tax, to tackle land banking and release land for housing and regeneration. Use financial transaction capital to bring forward supplies of land in the right places for housing.

101.3 Deliver legislation to ban tenant fees in the private rented sector.

101.4 Align housing and planning responsibilities, allowing councils to work together more flexibly across boundaries to provide housing for local populations.

101.5 Provide a place for housing associations on Regional Partnership Boards, to raise the profile of housing in health and social care and secure the investments needed for the future.

101.6 Legislate to provide greater security for tenants in the private rented sector.

101.7 Strengthen Compulsory Purchase Order powers to enable acquisition of land and redundant buildings.

101.8 Examine the case for a ‘new land agency’ to undertake land assembly for public purposes in Wales.

We are on track to deliver 20,000 affordable homes by 2021. 2,592 affordable housing units were delivered across Wales in 2018/19, 12% higher than 2017/18 and the highest annual total to date. We have delivered a total of 13,143 homes so far against the 20,000 target.

101.1 The posts of Minister and Deputy Minister for Housing and Local Government were created, ensuring housing is directly represented at Cabinet.

101.2 We put forward a proposal to the UK Government to grant the Assembly powers to introduce a vacant land tax. While the UK Government considers the proposal, we have commissioned further research on the nature and extent of land identified for development yet not being developed.

101.3 The Renting Homes (Fees Etc.) (Wales) Act 2019 received Royal Assent and came into force. The Act makes it an offence for a landlord or agent to require a person to make a payment that is prohibited, or to enter into a contract for services, or to require the grant of a loan in consideration of the grant, renewal or continuance of a tenancy.

101.4 The Minister for Housing and Local Government is responsible for planning, ensuring policies and objectives are aligned. We are working with local authorities to improve how they assess housing need, finding ways to focus on housing markets rather than being constrained by local authority boundaries. The Local Government and Elections Bill was introduced to the Senedd, and includes provisions to provide Ministers with the power to establish Corporate Joint Committees for strategic planning for the development and use of land. The new committees will help local authorities improve collaboration to plan more effectively at a strategic regional level, supporting the work of City Regions and the National Development Framework.

101.5 Housing associations are now on Regional Partnership Boards.

101.6 We have consulted on a set of proposals to restrict ‘no fault evictions’. These would give tenants and licensees a minimum notice period of six months (rather than two months) where they are not in breach of their contract, with a moratorium on issuing such a notice in the first six months of a tenancy.

101.7 We consulted on revisions to national planning policy which would strengthen support for local authorities to use their compulsory purchase powers.

101.8 We have established a new Welsh Government Land Division to accelerate the development of public sector land for public policy benefit and increase the number of social and affordable homes built across Wales. The Division will explore a range of ways in which a pan-Welsh public sector approach could pursue the land assembly agenda, including examining the case for a new arms-length body.


101. In Progress


101.1 Completed

101.2 In Progress

101.3 Completed

101.4 In Progress

101.5 Completed

101.6 In Progress

101.7 In Progress

101.8 In Progress






102 Make buying a home more affordable through the Help to Buy scheme and Rent to Own scheme and bring buying a home in high cost rural areas within reach of local people through Homebuy.

Help to Buy Wales has exceeded its 6,000 target for this term of government, achieving over 6,500 completions as of 30 September 2019. Rent to Own and Shared Ownership schemes continue to help more people to buy their own homes and we funded 325 homes through these programmes.


102. In Progress

103 Accelerate our support for new and innovative housing designs to meet challenges including pressing housing need, fuel poverty, climate change and demographic change.

103.1 Encourage the development of modular housing, building the manufacturing capacity to do so, here in Wales and remove constraints on local council housing building.

The Innovative Housing Programme supports affordable housing projects which use new technologies, materials and methodologies. We have committed £90 million over three years to deliver 1,440 homes using innovative methods and materials under the Programme. We are now funding 49 schemes across Wales, delivered by a mixture of social landlords and their SME partners. The average size of the scheme in the third year has increased six-fold from the first year, and we are working on increasing scale and pace of our housebuilding capacity.

103.1 We have seen a real appetite for modular homes and Modern Methods of Construction, which are nearly zero carbon with low fuel bills for future tenants. A new round of the Innovative Homes Programme in 2020/21 will focus on bringing forward more modular homes and is complemented by £10 million of investment for indigenous Welsh modular factories and £10 million to support modular producer cash flow.


103. In Progress


103.1 In Progress

104 End Right To Buy and Right to Acquire in order to protect social rented housing for those in need, and give councils and housing associations the confidence to build.

The Abolition of the Right to Buy and Associated Rights (Wales) Act 2018 received Royal Assent in January 2018 allowing for a one-year period for eligible tenants to exercise existing rights. Complete abolition took effect in January 2019.


104. Completed

105 Work with local authorities to begin council house building at pace and scale for the first time in decades.

We completed an analysis of local authorities’ capacity and ambition to build new housing and created a partnership with the Chartered Institute of Housing Cymru to increase council house building. We are reviewing how local authorities can best use their enforcement powers to free up unused land, and established a new Land Division which is considering how our public land could provide more council houses.

Cardiff, Carmarthenshire and Anglesey councils are among those building council homes again – in some areas these are the first new council houses built in decades. Local authorities are collectively aiming to deliver 1,750 new homes by the end of 2022.


105. In Progress






106 Significantly reduce the number of people forced to sleep on the streets by focusing on the individual support needs of rough sleepers, and deliver earlier and more effective interventions for those at risk of becoming homeless.

We provided £8.8 million to local authorities to enhance the statutory homelessness provision available in each area and to support homelessness prevention. We allocated £1.6 million to seven Housing First projects across Wales, which provide intensive support to people with a history of repeated rough sleeping. This includes an innovative Housing First project at Cardiff prison.

Additionally, we provided £10 million for young people in or facing homelessness. This includes a £4.8 million Innovation Fund supporting 25 youth homelessness projects, £1 million additional for the St David’s Day Fund which supports care leavers, 3.7 million for youth services to identify and support those at risk of becoming homeless, £250,000 funding for Shelter Cymru to help young people maintain tenancies and £250,000 for a communications campaign to raise awareness of homelessness and the support available.

We established an expert Homelessness Action group which will work over 9 months to advise on actions to end homelessness. This group has published its first report on rough sleeping and the actions are being taken forward in four local authority areas particularly affected by homelessness.


106. In Progress

107 Unlock the potential of SMEs to build homes and deliver local skilled jobs in all parts of Wales.

107.1 Empower small housebuilders to enter the market, and where necessary deliver a new generation of social housing.

107.2 Develop a programme of home retrofit, delivered by SMEs, developing local skills and making us warmer, healthier and wealthier.

Our Property Development Fund provides loan funding for small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to build homes. The Fund has invested over £23 million in 38 SMEs, across 16 local authority areas, delivering 383 homes.

We launched the Stalled Sites Fund (SSF) to progress housing sites which are not being developed. The SSF has invested over £7 million in 9 SMEs, across 8 local authority areas, and delivered 112 homes.

107.1 Beyond the Property Development Fund and SSF, we have developed the Self Build Wales programme to help people build homes themselves. This will benefit micro-builders working with self-builders and will launch in 2020.

107.2 The independent Decarbonising of Homes Advisory Group published a report on home retrofit, making seven major recommendations for the next term of Government. Ministers accepted all the recommendations in principle and work has commenced to deliver them.


107. In Progress


107.1 In Progress

107.2 In Progress

108 Incentivise housing providers to build homes which respond to the challenges of an ageing population and which enable people to live independently and safely in their own homes for longer.

Our Social Housing Grant programme invests in a range of affordable housing, including housing specifically to support older people to live independently, and Extra Care housing with round-the-clock care support to people who need it. We have already supported five Extra Care schemes with £13 million of funding, providing 208 homes for people with care needs. In 2019/20 we identified six potential Extra Care schemes across Wales which could provide 295 units using £18 million of Grant funding.

Regional Partnership Boards use capital funding from our Integrated Care Fund to provide accommodation-led solutions to health and social care delivery. The Fund is supporting 24 housing-led projects for older people, which will be delivered by March 2021. We are undertaking an interim evaluation of the programme to inform future investment.


108. In Progress






109 Link new housing with major new infrastructure developments, for example the Metro and Wylfa Newydd.

We are exploring how land can be used to support integrated housing and infrastructure developments, including how public sector land could be used for homes close to planned Metro hubs.

We have worked with partners to develop Place-making Plans for key Metro locations such as Pontypridd, Caerphilly and Merthyr Tydfil. These Plans link together improvements to transport, housing and town centres.


109. In Progress

Social Care

110 Invest in a new innovative care delivery model in the community, building a more diverse sustainable care sector in Wales, working with private and public sector partners.

110.1 Reaffirm prevention, early intervention and coproduction as the underpinning principles of our approach to social care in Wales.

110.2 Recognise that future services will continue to be a mixture of local, regional and national provision, and will continue to draw on public, private and voluntary effort.

110.3 Ensure that the needs of carers and the contribution of the third sector are understood, recognised and supported in our social care system.

110.4 Re-energise efforts to create cooperative suppliers of social care services in Wales, rebalancing the sector, and bring such services back closer to the public realm.

110.5 Support those local authorities in Wales, seeking to bring social care services back under their direct control.

Our £105 million Integrated Care Fund (ICF) supports the development of innovative health and social care models, focussing on prevention and delivering in the community. There is an expectation that at least 20% of ICF investment should go to the social value sector, including cooperatives. The recent Wales Audit Office report into the ICF highlights the important role it has played in supporting health and social care integration. This activity also supports commitments 110.1 and 110.2.

110.3 Carers are identified as a priority group within the ICF guidance. We are working with local government to inform what support would be most effective in helping them to rebalance the social care sector.

110.4 and 110.5 We are developing options to show the potential ‘routes to rebalancing’ the social care sector in Wales.


110. In Progress


110.1 In Progress

110.2 In Progress

110.3 In Progress

110.4 In Progress

110.5 In Progress

111 Establish centres to co-locate support, advice and treatment services, taking advantage of innovative new technologies.

Funding of £72.5 million was agreed for 19 new health and care centre schemes to bring community health and social care services together and closer to people’s homes.

Part of our £50 million digital priorities fund is going to the Welsh Community Care Information System, which allows information to be collected and shared by health professionals, care workers and third sector support workers, enabling the hub model. Alongside that, programmes such as 'tech enabled care' with applications like 'Attend Anywhere', will enable scarcer specialists to be digitally available in local and regional hubs across Wales. A Health and Well-being App was launched, combining information from Dewis Cymru, Infoengine and NHS Direct Wales into a virtual Directory of Service covering over 10,000 national and local organisations and services.


111. In Progress






112 Assist care providers to create sustainable business operation models in the heart of our communities, including advice and support from Business Wales and the Development Bank of Wales.

We developed a bespoke support mechanism to help care providers expand their business expertise, supporting both service sustainability and the development of the care market.

A social care pilot in the Valleys Task Force area delivered a specially designed package of business support to adult social care businesses. The pilot supported care providers to create sustainable business operational models through a mix of workshops and one-to-one diagnostic sessions, followed by tailored support. The pilot has helped create 52 jobs in the Valleys and the approach is now being offered across the South East Business Region. Officials are currently reviewing how it could be delivered across Wales.


112. In Progress

113 Develop innovative funding models to ensure that funding is available in the future to meet social care needs.

113.1 Meet our Manifesto commitment to raise the capital limit for people in residential care, so that Welsh citizens keep a far higher proportion of their savings than under the previous system.

113.2 Maintain our policy of a national ‘cap’ on charges for social care services that people receive in their own homes, so that there is fairness in the system across Wales.

113.3 Ensure that any new funding for health and social care services invests across the two systems, making need, not administrative boundaries, the key to spending extra money.

113.4 Take forward the proposals of the Holtham report into funding social care, drawing down new powers from Westminster, as necessary, to support this work.

An Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) is considering how additional funding for social care could be raised and utilised, and what this would mean for the people of Wales. This includes the proposals of the Holtham report. It has agreed a short-list of areas where funding could be spent, and is commissioning research to look at the practicality and costs of these. This research will be available in spring 2020. This activity also addresses commitment 113.4.

113.1 The capital limit used in charging for residential care was raised to £50,000. As a result residents can retain up to this level of their capital without having to spend this on their care.

113.2 A cap on the weekly maximum charge of £90 a week for all non-residential care is in place, and we have committed to raise this to £100 a week in this Senedd term.

113.3 The Integrated Care Fund and Transformation Fund are embedding integrated models of health and social care across Wales. Decisions about these funds are taken jointly by partners on Regional Partnership Boards.


113. In Progress


113.1 Completed

113.2 In Progress

113.3 In Progress

113.4 In Progress

113.5 In Progress

114 Recognise and incentivise high quality care through the development of Inspection ratings and funding for Qualification Credit Framework training for care workers who are over 25, encouraging care providers to share good practice and to be centres of excellence.

We are developing proposals for ratings for care home services and domiciliary support services. Care Inspectorate Wales will pilot these in February 2020 before they come into place formally in July 2021.

Qualifications previously not accessible to workers in the social care sector that were over 25 are now available through the all-age apprenticeship programme. Social Care Wales has also revised the qualifications framework for social care workers to improved practice. A Level 2 or 3 health and social care qualification is one of the primary routes to registration for social care workers.


114. In Progress






115 Raise the profile and status of social care workers, through improving employment conditions and remuneration, so social care becomes a positive career choice, where people are valued and supported responsibly.

115.1 Invest in the social care workforce, lifting the status of such workers through registration, fair employment, including opportunities for training and gaining further qualifications, abolition of compulsory zero hours contracts and taking action to prevent erosion of terms and conditions of employment.

In 2019/20 we provided £30 million to address workforce pressures in core social services (including those in domiciliary care) and support the sustainability of the social care workforce.

We have opened the workforce register to domiciliary care workers on a voluntary basis and registration will be mandatory in April 2020. We consulted on regulations which would open the workforce register on a voluntary basis to workers in adult care home services and residential family centre services by April 2020, ahead of planned mandatory registration in 2022. This activity also supports commitment 115.1.


115. In Progress


115.1 In Progress

116 Implement an accredited qualification for carers.

A new e-learning package based on the Carers UK Learning for Living programme, accredited by City and Guilds, was agreed with representatives from the Carers sector. Carers Wales is developing a marketing plan to promote the new learning package when launched.


116. In Progress

117 Build more purpose built housing developments that would allow people to live independently within a protected and sheltered environment, located close to easily accessible public transport.

117.1 Work with local health boards to utilise land in their ownership for social care and housing.

The £105 million Integrated Care Fund (ICF) allows partners across health, social care and housing sectors to develop accommodation that supports independent living and prevents unnecessary hospital admission.

£40 million of ICF capital has been committed to new accommodation for older people and people with dementia, people with a learning disability, and children with complex needs and their families. This includes £14 million for intermediate care settings, such as step-up/step-down units, and temporary accommodation to help people transitioning to independent living. It also includes £26 million for facilities which integrate health and care services in the community.

117.1 We established an internal Land Division with a lead role in providing clear and concise guidance around public sector land release protocols, engaged across sectors and departments including Health and the NHS in Wales.


117. In Progress


117.1 In Progress






118 Raise the educational attainment and improve life chances of children in care, adopting a child centred approach, through the collaboration of education, social services and others.

118.1 A target for each local authority to reduce the number of children from that locality placed outside Wales.

118.2 A target for each local authority to reduce the number of children from that locality placed outside their own county.

118.3 A target for each local authority to reduce the number of children from that locality removed from the care of their family, including kinship care.

118.4 A specific target for each local authority to reduce the number of children taken away from families on the grounds that parents have a learning disability.

118.5 Legislate to remove children leaving care from paying council tax, making sure that all councils in Wales meet the standard already achieved by the best.

Our three year joint education and social services plan ended in January 2019 and we are now scoping out how to build on this approach, with a particular focus on collaboration. We have embedded a lead co-ordinator within each regional education consortia to manage Pupil Development Grant funding and determine the most effective, strategic interventions to support looked after children.

118.1 Local authorities’ reduction expectation plans have set out a cumulative reduction of 9% in the number of children in care in Wales over the next three years.

118.2 Local authorities’ reduction expectation plans have set out a cumulative reduction of 16% in the number of children placed out of county in care in Wales over the next three years.

118.3 Local authorities’ reduction expectation plans have set out a cumulative reduction of 20% in the number of children placed out of Wales over the next three years.

118.4 Only a small number of authorities offered reduction in the numbers of children removed from parents with a learning disability. Local authorities found this priority challenging as they have different approaches to collecting the information, which has made it difficult to quantify numbers. We will continue to define this priority, informed by research we have commissioned which was published in December 2019.

118.5 Legislation was introduced. Since April 2019, all care leavers are now exempt from paying council tax across the whole of Wales.


118. In Progress


118.1 In Progress

118.2 In Progress

118.3 In Progress

118.4 In Progress

118.5 Completed

119 Strengthen edge of care services to provide families with timely support to reduce the numbers needing care provision and provide assistance in the key transitional phase post 16 to access further education, jobs and housing for those leaving care.

We doubled the St David’s Day fund, which supports young people who have been in care, to £2 million and invested £15 million into the Integrated Care Fund to provide early intervention and therapeutic support for children and families on the edge of care, and for children and young people in care. We re-established our Corporate Parenting Task and Finish Group, which will advise us on how to strengthen our legislative and policy arrangements that support looked after children. We will be consulting on proposals in early 2020.


119. In Progress






Mental Health

120 Continue our programme to improve mental health services for all in Wales, improving the quality and integration of services, addressing mental and physical health needs in tandem and enabling a better transition between different services.

120.1 Renew our focus on tackling the stigma of mental illness, with increased access to talking therapies and action to promote better emotional health in schools.

We have provided additional recurrent funding to deliver improvements in mental health, including increasing access to children and young people services, improving access to psychological therapies, improvements to eating disorder services, developing perinatal mental health services and increasing crisis and ‘out of hours’ services. We provided £1.4 million of funding to improve access to low level intervention and prevention activities for children and young people. A new Mental Health Delivery Plan 2019-22 outlining these actions was published in January 2020.

We invested over £17 million to deliver the Out of Work Peer Mentoring Service, which helps long-term unemployed people with health conditions to find work. The service has worked with over 10,500 people, helping 1,500 people to achieve a work related qualification and a further 700 people into employment.

120.1 In September 2018 we launched the whole school approach to address the emotional and mental health needs of children and young people. The work is being overseen by a Joint Ministerial Task and Finish Group of experts from across education, health, social care and the third sector. A detailed programme of activity has developed guidance and supporting resources for schools. £2.5 million of funding has been used to enable local authorities to improve the school counselling service; support training of teachers and other school staff in their own wellbeing and that of students; and to expand the reach of the CAMHS school in-reach pilots, enabling specialist mental health staff to work with more schools in the pilot areas. In 2017/18, the service was accessed by 11,365 young people.


120. In Progress


120.1 In Progress

121 Build on the work we have done which has enabled nearly 140,000 people to access support from the new mental health services in primary care since the introduction of the Mental Health Measure, by improving access to psychological therapies in both primary and secondary care for both adults and children.

We provided £5.5 million in 2018/19 and a further £3 million each year from 2019/20 to improve access to psychological therapies. The National Psychological Therapies Management Committee has produced an implementation plan that helps health boards make improvements locally. To date, over 200,000 people have accessed support since the introduction of the Mental Health Measure 2010.

Public Health Wales supported the development of Matrics Cymru, a structured guide to assist planning and delivering evidence-based psychological therapies in Wales. It provides guidance to support greater quality and consistency in the delivery of psychological therapy across Wales.


121. In Progress






122 Design our new curriculum and assessment arrangement in schools to place real and meaningful focus on well-being, and developing the mental resilience of children and young people.

The new Curriculum for Wales includes Health and Well-being as one of six Areas of Learning and Experience.


122. In Progress

123 Make sure teachers have the help and support they need to respond to children experiencing difficulties, by ensuring effective links and joint working between schools’ counselling services, education psychologists, children and adolescent mental health services and neurodevelopmental services and designated support for clusters of schools.

In September 2018 we launched the whole school approach to address the emotional and mental health needs of children and young people. The work is being overseen by a Joint Ministerial Task and Finish Group of experts from across education, health, social care and the third sector. A detailed programme of activity has developed guidance and supporting resources for schools. £2.5 million of funding has been used to enable local authorities to improve the school counselling service; support training of teachers and other school staff in their own wellbeing and that of students; and to expand the reach of the CAMHS school in-reach pilots, enabling specialist mental health staff to work with more schools in the pilot areas. In 2017/18, the service was accessed by 11,365 young people.


123. In Progress






124 Deliver a new community perinatal mental health service and review the need for inpatient facilities in Wales, to stop post-natal depression worsening and to allow mothers to form a strong early bond with their child.

Since 2015 we have invested £1.5 million a year in community perinatal mental health services to bring these services to every health board area in Wales. These help identify, treat and manage mental ill health before and after childbirth. We have also committed an additional £1 million a year of recurring funding through health transformation and improvement funds and are committed to establishing a specialised Mother and Baby Unit in Wales.


124. In Progress

125 Help people with dementia and their families and carers to access information, advice and support to maintain their independence by a joint health service/local authority ‘team around the family approach’.

£9 million of investment per annum was allocated to Regional Partnership Boards through the Integrated Care Fund to enable a joint health and social care approach to dementia support. For example, there is now additional support available to increase diagnosis rates and areas are establishing multi-disciplinary ‘teams around the individual’ which provide integrated, person-centred care and support.


125. In Progress

126 Deliver a pilot to explore how social prescribing can help to treat mental health conditions.

We launched two social prescribing pilots based on different models.

Mind Cymru are co-leading a pilot in Taf Ely, South Powys and North Denbighshire, based on referrals from frontline healthcare professionals to a link worker who provides tailored support plans. Provision is enhanced by peer navigators with lived experience of mental health problems. The project works with adults who are isolated, lonely and at risk of poor mental health in Taf Ely, South Powys and North Denbighshire.

The second pilot, run by British Red Cross, is testing social prescribing for adults with low to moderate mental health problems who are frequent attenders of frontline services in Pembrokeshire and Caerphilly. Link co-ordinators are working with service users to develop alternative non-clinical responses to managing mental distress. These pilots include robust evaluations to enable the strengthening of the existing evidence base and inform future policy.


126. In Progress

Skills and Employability

127 Deliver a school curriculum which meets the skills needs of individuals and the wider Welsh economy.

The existing curriculum for Wales continues to provide the skills employers need with a strong focus on literacy, numeracy and digital competence. The Curriculum for Wales guidance, which was developed by practitioners and informed by a range of experts, was published in January.

The Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification was recently redesigned based on feedback from employers and Higher Education to meet the needs of our future workforce. The Enterprise & Employability Challenge within the Welsh Baccalaureate supports learners to become enterprising, creative contributors able to play a full part in life and work.


127. In Progress






128 Ensure that our skills provision through schools, further and higher education and work-based learning reflects current employer needs and keeps pace with the economy of the future.

The current curriculum for Wales provides learners with a broad and balanced education which includes developing the high quality skills required by employers and the Welsh economy. Our new curriculum will build on this, including access to college vocational provision and apprenticeships. The draft curriculum for Wales guidance, developed by practitioners and informed by a range of experts, was published for feedback in 2019. The aim of the curriculum is to equip learners with the experiences, knowledge and skills they will need in life and employment in the future.

Our Regional Skills Partnerships (RSPs) and sector bodies help us align our skills provision to the needs of the economy in each region. RSPs submitted three year regional plans by the end of August 2019, aligning with the new strategic planning system for post-16 education.

The Brown Review of Digital Innovation has made a series of recommendations on developing the skills of the future. We have welcomed the review and are working across departments and with key stakeholders such as skills providers, unions, the regional skills partnerships and others, to address the challenges set by Professor Brown and his Expert Panel.


128. In Progress

129 Promote closer links between schools, colleges, universities and employers and businesses, public services, and the NHS to better anticipate the skills needs over the coming years.

Through our employer-led Wales Employment and Skills Board, closer links are being developed between providers, employers and unions in order to respond more effectively to the skills needs in each region.


129. In Progress

130 Reform our economic development and skills provision to work on a regional basis, building on the three employer-led Regional Skills Partnerships.

The Senedd’s Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee published a report on Regional Skills Partnerships (RSPs) in October 2019. We are considering our response to these recommendations. We have moved from delivery based on nine priority sectors to a model focussed upon three national thematic sectors. RSPs have produced three year strategic regional employment and skills plans based on employer intelligence.


130. In Progress

131 Reconfigure our current offer into a new employability programme that is simpler and more responsive to the needs of individuals and employers.

During 2020 we will develop programmes that will replace our existing employability support programmes in 2021. This will help people into work through flexible and creative individualised support. We anticipate that around 16,000 young people and adults will engage in the new programmes in year one.


131. In Progress






132 Set out a common approach to identifying the needs of the individual as part of a new approach to employability, identifying those with employment support needs at the earliest possible stage and making the referral process more seamless and less daunting.

Working Wales provides guidance services within Further Education Institutions, high streets and communities across Wales. This includes web chats, Skype sessions, e-mail/text support and one-to-one interviews. Since April 2019, advisors have helped 12,008 adults and 3,381 young people access the service.


132. In Progress

133 Provide tailored, community outreach for those who face multiple barriers to work.

Communities for Work (CfW), Communities for Work Plus (CfW+) and Parents, Childcare & Employment (PaCE) programmes are delivering employment support to people furthest from the labour market. To date, CfW has engaged with 23,500 participants, helping over 8,750 into employment. CfW+, has engaged with over 12,700 participants since April 2018, helping 4,250 into employment. PaCE has engaged with over 4,500 participants, with nearly 1,700 entering employment.


133. In Progress

134 Use the Valleys as a test bed for a place-based approach to enhancing employability, including extending the Flexible Skills Programme to drive a focus on engaging employers in deprived areas.

The Flexible Skills Programme (FSP) helps employers develop their workforce. Since April 2019 we have awarded grants to 15 employers in the South Wales Valleys with plans in place to support more than 1,000 individuals to undertake training programmes.

Our Access programme provides vocational training grants to help unemployed people update their skills and improve employment opportunities in the South Wales Valleys area. Since October 2017, Access has supported 1,745 people, 342 of which were in employment four weeks after the intervention – this contributes to the goal in the Valleys Taskforce 5-year plan to support 7,000 people into employment. Our experience delivering Access will inform the delivery of our upcoming new employability programmes.


134. In Progress

135 Improve health and employment outcomes through employers, health services and employment services working together more effectively, including supporting employees at risk of long-term sickness to stay in work through our In Work scheme.

The Healthy Working Wales programme has been reviewed and results have been fed back to Ministers.

The In-Work Support Service was extended to include free business training to help up to 2,800 small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) take positive action on health and wellbeing in the workplace. Over 300 SMEs have benefited from this support, which includes workshops on a wide range of subjects from managing stress to building a resilience workforce.


135. In Progress






Taking Wales Forward

1005 Provide tailored support for co-operatives and mutuals.

Social enterprises, including co-operatives and mutuals, can access business advice through the Social Business Wales (SBW) and Business Wales services. £3 million EU funds have been approved to support a new Social Business Wales New Start service, which launched in November 2019.

Since September 2018 SBW has increased employment by 152 jobs, developed 463 volunteer opportunities and helped 77 businesses adopt or improve equality and diversity strategies and monitoring systems.

In Progress

1014 Establish a Ministerial Taskforce for the Valleys.

The Valleys Taskforce produced a progress report outlining achievements to date. An updated delivery plan was published in November 2019, outlining the key actions to be delivered by March 2021.

Completed

1016 Carry forward our work on financial inclusion, including support for advice services and credit unions.

We are supporting 20 credit union projects until March 2020 as part of our Financial Inclusion Strategy. The advice services we fund have helped over 88,000 people to secure over £52 million of additional welfare benefit income.

In Progress

1019 Explore options for ending land banking.

Plans for a vacant land tax, to tackle land banking and release land for housing and regeneration, continue to move forward. The use of financial transaction capital to bring forward land in the right places for housing are being explored. There are already good examples of partnership working, such as the development of a large public sector site by two housing associations working together to build near zero carbon homes on a genuinely mixed tenure development.

In Progress

1034 Continue to invest in flood defence work and take further action to better manage water in our environment.

We have invested over £44 million in tackling flood and coastal erosion risk and commenced our £150 million Coastal Risk Management Programme which runs to 2022.

We introduced the new Flood and Coastal Erosion Committee in April 2019, and consulted on a new Flood and Coastal Strategy setting out our plans for the next decade.

We introduced mandatory requirements for sustainable drainage systems for new developments. All previously exempt extractions now require a licence to ensure everyone who takes water from the environment does so sustainably.

In Progress

2008 Ensure more nurses, in more settings, through an extended nurse staffing levels law.

Extension of the second duty of the Nurse Staffing Levels (Wales) Act into paediatric inpatients within this Government term looks likely. The evidence-based workforce planning tool developed over the last two years will be fit for purpose by early 2020. We are aiming to lay regulations in the Senedd during autumn 2020.

In Progress

2019 More than double the capital people can keep when entering residential care to £50,000.

The amount of capital residents can retain without having to use this to pay for their residential care was increased to £50,000 in April 2019.

Completed

3028 Explore potential expansion of the remit of the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol to include further education.

Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol’s remit has now expanded to include further education. The Coleg has published its Further Education (FE) and Apprenticeship Welsh-medium Action Plan, which sets out future targeted interventions that will support Welsh Government policy delivery.

Completed






3029 Support the continued growth of the Wales Union Learning Fund.

The Wales Union Learning Fund raises the skills of the Welsh workforce by supporting trade union-led learning activity, helping individuals to stay and progress in rewarding work. This includes support for essential skills, digital literacy and health and wellbeing at work through learning. The Fund supports a number of informal learning courses designed to provide learners with the confidence to return to a formal learning environment. Over 9,000 individual learners have been supported through the project and feedback about the training is very positive.

In Progress

4010 Build a shared understanding of the challenges facing local government and wider public services, and on the need for innovation, to develop a wider conversation about the reform needed, the models and pace of delivery and the pace of change.

An improved approach to local government in Wales was developed through the Local Government Working Group which reported in June 2019. The Group developed a shared agenda for reform which ensures the sustainability of local service provision through appropriate structures and processes – whether collaboration, shared services or voluntary mergers.

In Progress

4011 Change the relationship between Welsh Government, WLGA and local government, slash numbers of performance indicators we collect, cut guidance and reform external audit and inspection.

An improved approach to local government in Wales was developed through the Local Government Working Group which reported in June 2019. The Local Government and Elections (Wales) Bill, which was introduced in November 2019, emphasises self-assessment and peer review rather than external audit and indicators.

In Progress

4012 Provide funding to put in place a floor for future local government settlements.

This is delivered each year through the annual local government settlement and budget planning round. The 2019-20 settlement included a floor arrangement which ensured that no authority faced a reduction of more than 0.3% in its core revenue funding.

In Progress

4013 Reform local government funding to make councils more sustainable and self-sufficient using the findings of the independent commission on local government finance and Welsh Government’s Finance Futures Panel.

The third annual update on Reforming Local Government Finance was published in November 2019. It reports on the delivery of our short and medium term reforms to the local tax systems, and sets out the plans for longer term reform of the local government finance system.

In Progress






4014 Work with local government to review council tax to make it fairer so that people with low and moderately valued properties pay less than they do now.

We have maintained entitlement to support through the council tax reduction scheme, removed the sanction of imprisonment for council tax debt and exempted young care leavers from paying council tax. We have also developed a joint protocol with local government on good practice in council tax collection, launched a national campaign to raise awareness of the range of support available to households and introduced a standardised approach to applying for discounts for people with severe mental impairments.

In Progress

4029 Provide support and services in line with our Armed Forces Covenant

We published our first ever Armed Forces Covenant Annual Report highlighting progress made to date and outlining our future commitments. Support for the community continues through our Armed Forces Expert Group, working with the WLGA Armed Forces Network and Armed Forces Liaison Officers.

In Progress

4030 Work with key partners in Wales to promote best practice in identifying the Armed Forces Community, whilst improving sign-posting and take-up of services.

We have worked with the Armed Forces Expert Group to identify and deliver an ongoing programme of work in collaboration with key partners. Early achievements include a newly designed electronic poster for display in surgeries to remind GPs of Veterans’ Covenant healthcare priority.

In Progress

© Crown copyright 2020 WG39893 Digital ISBN 978-1-80038-080-6Mae’r ddogfen yma hefyd ar gael yn Gymraeg / This document is also available in Welsh

Welsh Government Annual Report 2019 - Annex · 2020-01-31 · Welsh Government Annual Report 2019 -...

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