wales programme for government summary

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Annual ReportMay 2012

Programme forGovernment


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I am pleased to present my frst Annual Report in theAssembly term or 2011-16. It gives you much morein ormation than ever be ore: it sets out the progress the Welsh Government is

making in delivering the actions in my Programmefor Government - actions that we believe will helpto tackle the long-term challenges facing Wales;and

it gives you access to statistics and analysis onthe progress that Wales is making as a country onthose long-term challenges. These are things thatthe Welsh Government is working to in uence butcannot deliver on its own. Progress depends on allo us - organisations and individuals - playing ourpart, and on international and UK-wide factors.

The economic and fnancial climate is very di fcult.This makes my Governments commitment toour Welsh account of sustainable developmentmore important than ever - social, economicand environmental well-being for people andcommunities, embodying our values o airnessand social justice.

Jobs are our priority. We are doing all we can to helpright now, for instance through Jobs Growth Wales,by tackling the barriers acing business, by boostingcapital spending as much as we can and by using theWales Infrastructure Investment Plan for Growth andJobs, which was launched earlier in May, to attractprivate capital investment. Our scope for action wouldbe much greater if the UK Government accepted thecase for the Welsh Government to have the power toborrow for capital investment within de ned limits.

We need to be clear however that the action wecan take on the economy will mainly pay off inthe long-term, by strengthening Wales economic

undamentals: by raising our education and skillslevels and making places in Wales highly attractive

or business and highly-skilled people:

since 1999, the % of working age adults quali edto level 2 and above, and level 3 and above,has risen faster in Wales than in any other countryin the UK; but we were starting from a low

base and are still behind England and Scotland.This Report sets out how we are redoubling oure orts to move ahead.

Our Wales Infrastructure Investment Plan forGrowth and Jobs, and the steps we are takingto secure investment in broadband, transport,energy and science are crucial to making Wales an

attractive business location, allied to the overallenvironment and quality of life we can offer -and will also help us make the transition to a low-carbon economy.

We are transforming our big public services -health, social services and education - to respondto rising expectations, while also coping with nancialconstraints. Our guiding principle is to ensure thedifferent areas of our public services work togetherto meet peoples needs effectively. This is especiallyimportant in our fght to give every child the beststart in life, working with families to tackle healthand educational inequalities. Departments acrossthe Welsh Government are working together on thispriority; and by helping young people into work,we reduce the number of children who grow updisadvantaged by being in workless households.

In all areas, we are working to build con dencein Wales future, because con dence in so manyways is the key to success for us as individuals,communities and as a country. But if we are to moveforward, we also need realism about the challengeswe face, what more needs to be done and how longaction needs to be sustained if we are to achievesuccess. This Annual Report contributes hard evidenceto help in orm discussion and debate on the keyissues. I commend it to you.

Rt Hon Carwyn Jones AMFirst Minister o Wales

Introduction by First Minister


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Contents

Chapter 1: Growth and Sustainable Jobs 2

Chapter 2: Public Services in Wales 6

Chapter 3: Education 8

Chapter 4: 21st Century Healthcare 10

Chapter 5: Supporting People 12

Chapter 6: Welsh Homes 13

Chapter 7: Sa er Communities or All 14

Chapter 8: Equality 15

Chapter 9: Poverty 16

Chapter 10: Rural Communities 17

Chapter 11: Environment 18

Chapter 12: The Culture and Heritage o Wales 19


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Chapter 1: Growth and Sustainable JobsLong term ChallengesMost but not all high-level indicators suggest that over the last decade

Waless economic position relative to the UK has stabilised and mayeven have improved in some respects. This is seen in income indicators,and most clearly in the labour market, where, for example, a gap of5-6 percentage points that once existed between employment ratesin Wales and the UK has been halved over the last few years.

Although Wales decline relative to the UK as a whole on GVA percapita over the last decade is a cause or concern, it is mainly attributableto the part of GVA that comes from pro ts and mixed income.Over the period up to 2007/08, this may be due in part to the strongprofts o fnancial frms located in the South East o England. There isalso evidence that, over the longer term, the gradual restructuring o theeconomy in Wales away from very capital intensive businesses may haveplayed a role. There is a general consensus that this legacy and the e ects o the trans ormationare still being elt.

The picture painted by GVA therefore needs to be seen in the context of the more poperhaps balanced picture painted by other indicators, particularly those which re ect themarket, and which may be more directly linked to peoples well being. Whilst recognisi

term challenges, it is important, or business confdence and or trade and or individual aspiratioto recognise our improved relative position on household income and employment, whicmoved towards the UK average

Since 1999, the % of working age adults quali ed to level 2 and above, and the % qto level 3 and above, have both increased faster in Wales than in any of the other UKBut Wales was starting from a low base and the % of working age adults quali ed tolevels is still below England and Scotland. The greatest skills gap is at level 3 (equivA levels and higher apprenticeships).

Our ActionsThe main in uences on the Welsh economy in the short to medium-term are the global economy andand scal policy set by the UK Government. We have taken clear actions to address some of the refaced as a result of the economic climate and are doing all we can as a devolved Government to:

Support the economy and business - or instance by improving access to fnance, supporting micro-businesses and start ups, priority sectors and Enterprise Zones.

Improve Welsh skills or employment for instance through Jobs Growth Wales and Young RecruitsProgramme.

Improve our in rastructure or instance through next generation broadband and transport.

Create a sustainable, low-carbon economy , through for instance Energy Wales - a Low Carbon Transi


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Supporting the economy and business

Access to fnance

We created a 40m Wales SME InvestmentFund to provide loans and equity investments,from 20,000 to 2m.

The Wales Economic Growth Fund providedimmediate support for investments. 29.8mhas been awarded, levering 91m in capitalinvestment, creating more than 1700 jobsand sa eguarding more than 1500.

We announced the 100m Welsh Life ScienceFund to make Wales an even more attractive placeto invest. It is one o the biggest commitmentsmade by any country in a und o this type.

Economic Stimulus

In November 2011 we announced an economicstimulus package of 38.9m supportingskills, apprenticeships and capital projectsto stimulate demand.

Earlier this month, we announced another 44m ofadditional capital investment in 2012-13 to boostgrowth and jobs.

Procurement The value of contract opportunities advertised

through Sell2Wales rose further last year,helping business sell to the Welsh public sector.

We have implemented the recommendationso the Barriers to Procurement Opportunitiesreport and trained 500 staff across the Welshpublic sector.

The construction sector panel is looking at theissues or procurement in the construction sector.

Business rates

An independent task and nish group on businessrates policy in Wales will complete its work inMay 2012.

Micro-business and business start up

The Micro Business Task & Finish Grouprecommendations are being taken forward.For example, a 6m Micro-Business Loan Fundwill support at least 300 businesses.

Last year, the Business Information Helplinedealt with 24,687 enquiries and the website wasvisited 366,085 times. The Regional Centre Service

Centres provided in ormation to over 16,000businesses/individuals and helped create andsa eguard over 700 jobs. The Business Start UpService provided support to over 4,000 individualsresulting in the creation o 660 enterprisesand 1,752 jobs.

We also made progress on all actions identi edin the Youth Entrepreneurship Strategy Action Plan.

Trade and investment

We made a step-change in our approach to tradeand investment with the establishment of a MajorProjects Team to lead upon high quality inwardinvestment and trade activity.

We have developed an extensive overseas tradeprogramme to boost exports into our key markets.Last year our export gure increased by 13.8%over the previous year, and it is important thatwe continue to build on that momentum.

Sectoral approach We expanded the sectoral approach to nine

priority sectors, each with a private-sector ledpanel advising us on the way forward. Six panelshave published a summary o strategic priorities -www.wales.gov.uk .

Enterprise Zones

We have announced ve Enterprise Zones at

Anglesey, Cardiff, Deeside, Ebbw Vale and St Athan,which are now operational and a further twoEnterprise Zones in Snowdonia and Milford Havenhave been confrmed.

We are also exploring the potential for LocalGrowth Zones in Powys.

Science

We launched Science for Wales - a strategicagenda for science and innovation in Waleswith an additional 50m for Science R&Din Welsh universities over the next ve years.


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Improving Welsh skills or employmentSince 1999, the % of working age adults quali edto level 2 and above, and the % quali ed tolevel 3 and above, have both increased asterin Wales than in any of the other UK countries.But Wales was starting from a low base and the% of working age adults quali ed to both theselevels is still below England and Scotland with thegreatest skills gap at level 3. Level 2 (equivalent to5 GCSEs at grade A* to C) is generally the lowestlevel o attainment recognised by employers anda key determinant in an individuals ability toprogress to further education. Level 3 (equivalentto A levels) is the threshold whereby individualsescape from low skilled, low paid work that wouldoften see them move in and out of minimum wageemployment.Key progress during this last year includes:

Jobs Growth Wales has been pilotedsuccessfully and the full programme waslaunched in April 2012. It aims to create4,000 job opportunities annually across Wales

or unemployed young people, aged 16-24,giving them work experience for a 6-month period.

Skills Growth Wales, a programme to help

growing businesses, in key priority sectors, up-skill their workforce and support the creationof new employment opportunities was extendedin January 2012.

The Young Recruits Programme has been extendedand the original target o 1000 has been almostdoubled with 1,995 direct employer applications

or support.

The Traineeships Programme and Steps toEmployment Programme aimed at young peopleand adults were implemented in Wales inAugust 2011.

2,000 places on the Pathways to Apprenticeshipscheme to ensure that young people are still ableto access high quality skills training in the absenceo apprenticeship places.

Help for adults to gain basic skills has beenremodelled with the launch of Essential Skillsin the Workplace in February 2012.

We are implementing the 2011-2015 YouthEngagement and Employment Action Plan to helpyoung people engage with learning.

The Review of Quali cations was launched inSeptember 2011 to consider how we can achievethe vision of having quali cations that meetthe needs of our young people and the Welsheconomy.

Improving our in rastructure We have published the rst Wales Infrastructure

Investment Plan, setting out clear investmentpriorities, detailed sectoral plans and a pipeline oprojects or the next three years.

We are working to ensure that all residential

premises and all businesses in Wales haveaccess to Next Generation Broadband by 2015,with the ambition that 50 per cent or more haveaccess to 100Mbps. The competitive process tosecure a provider(s) is well underway and weexpect deployment o in rastructure to begin

rom summer 2012.

We have processed 2,144 applications underour Broadband Support Scheme to help thosewith sub-2Mbps connectivity obtain a broadband

connection using the most appropriate technologyavailable.

In December we published the reprioritisedNational Transport Plan setting out a programmeo investment in transport in rastructure,including road and rail, as well as signi cantinvestment in sustainable transport to ensurethat the transport system in Wales works betterto help tackle poverty, increase well-being andassist economic growth.

In 2011/12 we let contracts worth over 180mto take forward road infrastructure investmentand spent 100m on maintaining the Motorwayand Trunk Road Network for which it is directlyresponsible. The % of the trunk road networkrequiring maintenance has fallen substantiallyover the last decade

We have continued to invest in partnership withNetwork Rail to improve existing rail services andare working closely with the UK Government tosecure investment to electrify Valleys lines andrail services from London to Swansea.


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Over the last two years we have invested 21mto develop our Sustainable Travel Centres.

We are considering the potential bene ts ofdeveloping a city-region approach to development.

Creating a sustainable, low-carboneconomyWe are driving progress towards a low carboneconomy:

Energy Wales - a Low Carbon Transition published in March 2012 sets out how we willattract investment in low carbon and renewableenergy.

Between 2004 and 2010 total energy generatedfrom renewable sources has increased by nearly60%. This has been driven by an increase ingeneration from wind, wave and solar sources(an increase of more than 80%) and the increasein other thermal sources (an increase of morethan 100%). The increase in generation from theserenewable sources has more than made up for the

all in generation rom hydro.

TheWaste Procurement Programme is welladvanced in developing further projects that willdrive progress to meet our ambitious Zero Wastetargets.

arbed , our domestic energy e fciency scheme,is investing in improvements to the per ormanceof our housing stock in Wales, and Nest is helpingto tackle fuel poverty. Since November 2011we have committed an additional 6.6m toarbed. We expect this to lever in an equivalentamount o unding rom energy companies andRegistered Social Landlords, helping approximately1500 homes to beneft rom energy savingimprovements.

The development of the Sustainable Travel Centreinitiative is designed to deliver better integratedtransport networks whilst promoting health andwell-being.

We are providing ongoing support and advice tobusinesses on energy ef ciency and low carbonopportunities.


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Chapter 2: Public Services in WalesLong term ChallengesPublic services face twin challenges of rising demand/expectations

or services and alling budgets. Re orm is there ore essential.We are committed to working with public service partners to supportthe delivery o e fcient, e ective and accessible public services. This hascontributed to improvements in the service areas set out in other chapters.

Our Actions

We are taking practical action to drive this approachby helping organisations to release e fciency gainsthrough unlocking innovation and promoting change,working with leaders and employees. Partnership,better services and lower cost are the consistentthreads that tie together everything we do on the fullrange o public services.

Strengthening local democracy The Local Government Democracy White

Paper was published in May and will be followedby a Bill to implement the recommendations o the

Mathias Review of the Local Government BoundaryCommission for Wales and other proposals tostrengthen local scrutiny.

We will continue to implement the provisionso theLocal Government Measure 2011 which will make a signi cant contribution tostrengthening local democracy and encouraginga wide range of people to stand for election.

Supporting continuous improvemento public services A new Centre for Leadership and Excellence

is on track to be fully working by 2013, helpingto develop the public service leaders of tomorrow.

Our Green Paper Working Together orWales - the Public Service Work orce published in May proposes action to achievea step forward in management of our publicservice workforce, including legislation.

We have introduced theLocal GovernmentByelaws (Wales) Bill tocut bureaucracy or localauthorities who wantto develop and en orcebyelaws.

Ensuring that our unding supportsstronger and more e ective servicedelivery Ourlocal authority spending settlement

provided over 4 billion to support service delivery.In the context of the UK nancial reductions wehave provided increased unding, demonstratingour commitment to protect vulnerable people.We have also protected spending on educationand social services.

Over 30 staff across the Welsh public sectorare training to professional quali cations inprocurement

The National Survey for Wales began in January2012. It will be a key source of publically-availableinformation on the views of people about publicservices in Wales.

Securing e ective collaboration A newPartnership Council or Wales will

provide the collective political accountability andleadership to deliver the programme o publicservice re orm.


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OurCompact or Change sets out a programmeof reform across a wide range of services.

A new Public Service Leadership Group is drivingre orm and spreading good practice, ocusing onregional collaborations, realising e fciencies romstreamlining organisations, sharing assets andbetter procurement, and developing new servicesto protect our most vulnerable people.

We have set out a clearFootprint or RegionalCollaboration in public services, based on6 regions which build on local health board areas.

We have prepared guidance tosimpli y thestatutory partnership and planning regimes ,rationalising four plans into one. This will cutbureaucracy.


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Chapter 3: EducationLong term ChallengesEducational attainment at key stages 2 and 4 has been steadily rising

since 2006/07 but there are unacceptable levels o variation acrossWelsh schools and achievement by pupils entitled to Free School Meals(FSM) has tended to increase more slowly. International comparisonssuggest that a big change in the educational attainment o pupils inWales is required if we are to compete globally. The development ofchildren in their early pre-school years is crucial.

At age 19, the improvement in outcomes at both Levels 2 and 3has levelled off over the last three years for which data is available,and further work is needed to drive up learner outcomes. Level 2quali cations are an important benchmark for the skills people need forbasic entry into the workforce.

The proportion of school pupils being educated through the medium of Welsh continuesand reached over 16% in 2010/2011, which is very encouraging.

Our ActionsWe are implementing a comprehensive 20-point

School Improvement Action Plan to deliver thenecessary rise in attainment, with a particular focuson improving literacy and numeracy and reducingthe impact o deprivation on education achievement.Key developments in the last year have increasedthe accountability and challenge in the system whilebuilding on best practice, and include:

reshaping of school improvement functions aroundfour regional consortia;

establishment of the School Standards Unit andpublication o secondary school banding basedon wide ranging performance data to identifystrengths and weaknesses and to support thoseschools in need of targeted interventions;

strengthening of the Estyn inspection framework;

legislating to ensure that schools produce andpublish school improvement plans;

development of a Masters teacher training coursefor introduction from September 2012;

development of literacy and numeracy frameworks;

improving teaching practices through ProfessionalLearning Communities and the School EffectivenessFramework.

Other developments include completing theintroduction o the Foundation Phase in primaryschools. We have raised school budgets 1% abovethe amount we received from the UK Governmentand introduced a Pupil Deprivation Grant to helpaddress the impact o deprivation on attainment.

Secondary school attendance has been increasing butis still 2 percentage points behind average levels inEngland. The Behaviour and Attendance Action Plan,developed in 2011, addresses this priority.

As part o giving every child the best start in li e,we are committed to doubling the number of childrenbene tting from Flying Start. Local Authorities werenotifed o their indicative fnancial allocationsin December.

Four Further Education institutions have merged

creating two larger stronger organisations.


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Post 16 staying-on rates are increasing and the

rising success rates in Further Education will helplift attainment at age 19. Action to help youngpeople who are not in education, employmentor training will also help to do this.

In higher education no student will face increased

tuition fees and no Welsh university will chargemore than 4,000 unless they widen access andimprove the student experience.


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Chapter 4: 21 st Century HealthcareLong term ChallengesOur main challenges arise rom increasing long term health problems,

the illnesses associated with an ageing population and societaland lifestyle changes. Demand for NHS care is rising and patientsexpectations are increasing. Whilst overall life expectancy continuesto improve, improvement is slower in our deprived communities,and health inequalities remain a real challenge. At the same time,the nancial position is tight and we face dif culties in recruiting medicalstaff in some areas. We therefore need to look at how the NHS organisesits services to ensure they are sa e and sustainable, and to increase the

ocus on preventing poor health.

In terms o the big health challenges, circulatory disease mortalityrates have allen substantially over the last decade, due to the declinein smoking and improvements in treatment. Cancer mortality ratesare also declining. Our challenge is to turn around the trend in obesity rates to maintainthese improvements, and to promote positive changes in the numbers o adults breachingrecommended drinking limits and taking recommended levels o physical exercise.

Our ActionsOur response has three elements: Improving health outcomes by ensuring the quality and sa ety o services is enhanced -

driving forward Together for Health, our ve year vision for better health, better access and patientexperience, and better service safety and quality to improve health outcomes.

Improving access and patient experience - making continued progress in cutting waiting times,and making it easier for people to access GP services at times that suit them.

Preventing poor health and reducing health inequalities - working with a wide range of partnersto deliver our action plan for reducing health inequalities Fairer Health Outcomes for All , and encopeople to adopt healthier li estyles.

Improving health outcomes by ensuringthe quality and sa ety o services isenhancedIn 2011 we published Together for Health, our veyear vision or better health, better access and patientexperience, and better service safety and quality toimprove health outcomes.

A range of indicators show how we are improvingthe effectiveness of the system. We have seenimprovements in the rapid diagnosis and treatmento strokes, and a continuing decline in c di fcileand MRSA infections acquired in hospital.The number o delayed trans ers o care continuesto all. Emergency hospital admissions or chronicconditions - the leading cause o mortality andmorbidity in Wales - have also reduced by a totalof 10% for diabetes, coronary heart disease andchronic obstructive pulmonary disease.


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The NHS Delivery Framework, published in

autumn 2011, sets clear priorities or the next12-18 months. We have speci c targets for furtherimprovements in the treatment o stroke and cancerand expectations or improvements in cardiac andstroke mortality rates. Detailed delivery plans foreach are being launched this year.

Designed to Tackle Cancer in Wales is aimingto achieve incidence and survival rates or cancercomparable with the best in Europe.

Wales continues to lead the UK in organ donationrates and we want to save more lives by makingfurther progress. We are well advanced on ourcommitment to legislate for a soft opt out systemo organ donation.

Improving access and patientexperienceAccess to services is also improving and quickertreatment results in better outcomes or manydiseases. Waiting times for patients over 36 weekshave improved by over 68% compared toMarch 2011. Within orthopaedics, in March 2011there were almost 4,500 patients waiting over36 weeks for treatment - in March 2012, this gurestood at 356. Across all specialities, 94% of patientsare now waiting fewer than 26 weeks for treatment.

We have agreed a phased approach towardsextending GP access into evenings and weekends.The frst phase during 2012-13 ocuses on spreadingappointments between 8am and 6.30pm.

Preventing poor health and reducinghealth inequalitiesOur action plan for reducing health inequalitiesFairer Health Outcomes for All was publishedin March 2011. We are delivering it through ournational public health programmes, and throughaction in partnership with Local Health Boards.We are also scoping the need for a public health bill.

Allied to this, ourTobacco Control Action Plan published in February 2012 describes how we will

help maintain the decline in smoking. TheAll WalesObesity Pathway , issued in 2010, sets a clearapproach or the prevention and treatment oobesity. To tackle excessive drinking, we haveextended our Change4Life programme to coveralcohol and continue to implement the SubstanceMisuse Strategy. Some o the key prevention levers -regulation o the ood industry, advertising, alcohollicensing and taxation - require action by the UKGovernment.

Improving general wellbeing and mental health canalso have a signifcant impact on the physical healthof the population and their life expectancy. We havelaunched Together for Mental Health, a draftmental health and wellbeing strategy for Wales.

Giving children the best start in life is crucial tonarrowing the gap in life-expectancy. We are drivingforward ourMaternity Strategy and the Healthyand Sustainable Pre-school Scheme is beingrolled out to pre-school settings in partnership

with Designed to Smile, Flying Start, SustainableFutures, umbrella organisations and local health andeducation departments.


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Chapter 5: Supporting PeopleLong term ChallengesSocial care services ace signifcant challenges, including changing

public expectations, demographic change and fnancial constraints.It is not clear how far the rise in the number of children classed as beingin need re ects pressures on vulnerable families caused by economicand related actors.

Progress is being made in reducing the % of children in care who havemore than three placements a year, and the % of 16 and 17 year oldswith pathway plans is rising. However, educational attainment amonglooked after children, and children in need, remains very low, andthe % of young people who were looked after at the age of 16,and were in education, training or employment on their 19th birthday,is substantially lower than in England.

The % of adults using social services helped to live in the communityremains high, and between 2009 and 201 there has been an increase in the numbersof people who are able to stay in their own homes through supported housing provisiothan moving to residential care.

Our ActionsOur response to these challenges was set out in ourWhite Paper, Sustainable Social Services orWales: A Framework or Action. In March 2012consultation on a proposedSocial Services Billwas launched to take forward the transformationalchange programme outlined in the White Paper.

We are acting to address the increasing numberso children in need, and to secure better outcomes

or children and amilies.

Improving outcomes requires all public services tointervene earlier with children and families througha range o preventative, targeted and mainstreamservices. Investment of over 400m in family supportover the next our years via Families First andIntegrated Family Support Services (IFSS) is centralto this. By 2013/14 there will be 10 statutory IFSSteams offering a service across Wales. The expansionof Flying Start and the review of Health visitingwill also strengthen capacity to support the crucial

development o children in their early years.

The Welsh Government has provided targeted annualfunding of 1m per year for the last 6 years to raisethe educational attainment o looked a ter children.From this academic year we have made availablea 2,000 bursary for every care leaver who goes intohigher education.

Turning to services or adults, local authorities areaddressing delayed trans ers o care by adoptinga collaborative approach with Local Health Boards

to jointly commission additional placements andto und the higher costs o beds or elderly peoplewho are mentally in rm.

The increase in supported housing provision oradults is being driven by the Supporting PeopleProgramme and Social Housing Grant programmes.Through Social Housing Grant there has been over45m spent on Extra Care Housing between 2009and 2012.

Making social care for adults more exible andresponsive to individual needs is one o our priorities.The consultation on the Social Services Bill includesproposals to encourage greater uptake o directpayments.


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Chapter 6: Welsh HomesLong term ChallengesThe long-term demand or housing is increasing due to population

growth and the trend towards single-person households. The numberof houses being built has however fallen since 2008 as a result ofthe general economic conditions and cuts in public spending and issubstantially below the level we need to see. The extent to which theWelsh Government can in uence private house building is limited,but it has greater in uence over the provision of affordable homesand the numbers here have risen signifcantly since 2008 as a resulto additional investment.

Despite the dif cult economic climate, and the UK Governments welfarereform programme, the pro-active approach we encourage local authoritiesto take and the support we are providing to them for local action,is helping to prevent more homelessness. The number o homeless amilieswith dependent children has risen somewhat but is still below the 2008 level.

Our ActionsCuts in our capital budget limit the scope to increasehouse building directly, but we are working tostimulate house-building through action in theplanning system, to release more land; by developingways to make it easier to release public land forhouse-building; and by exploring innovative methodsof stimulating private investment. The Housing Billand Planning Bill will support this. Proposals forthe Housing Bill and more action to increase thesupply of homes were published in aWhite Paper in May 2012.

In 2011/12 the Welsh Government made availablean additional 18m to support the Social HousingGrant programme for affordable housing and workon the trans er o public land or a ordable housingis accelerating. The Welsh Housing Partnership,launched in September 2011, will help to sustainprogress, using an innovative model o unding

The number o empty homes brought back intouse by action by local authorities has increased.The new national co-ordinated programme

Houses into Homes was launched aheado schedule in February 2012.

Pioneer projects have been identifed to help developan appropriate model of Co-operative Housing/Mutual Home Ownership. Local Authorities havereceived unding to mitigate the impact o housingbeneft re orm and unding has also been confrmedfor bond schemes and other services to ease peoplesaccess to private rented accommodation.

To support progress towards the Welsh HousingQuality Standard we have made 42.2m available tosupport borrowing to fund improvements and granted60.4m to local authorities to fund major repairs.This will help increase the proportion of housingmeeting the Standard.

Nest, the new fuel poverty programme, is targetedon the most ine fcient properties and those likelyto be vulnerable to fuel poverty. During 2011/12Nest delivered energy improvement packages to3,500 householders likely to be vulnerable to uelpoverty living in highly energy ine fcient propertiesand provided energy savings advice to 13,500householders. It is also providing opportunities or

small and medium sized businesses and is supportingapprenticeships.


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Chapter 7: Sa er Communities or AllLong term ChallengesThere are real signs that intensive action on youth o ending is paying

off. Since 2008/09, the number of rst-time entrants to the youth justicesystem in Wales has fallen by more than half, despite the economicsituation. Reoffending rates for young people are declining more slowly,but this is still positive given that the all in the number o frst timeentrants means that the youth o ending system has a higher concentrationof young people with complex needs and more persistent patterns ofo ending. More generally, the incidence o recorded crime continues todecline, although perceptions o anti-social behaviour have risen slightly.

Although alcohol related deaths have risen or much o the decade theyhave fallen since 2008. We are continuing to work closely with partneragencies and service users to tackle the increase in drug deaths.

The incidence o fres attended by the fre service, and casualties rom fres,have declined for most of the last decade although this was not maintained this last ye

Road casualty rates have been on a declining trend.

Our Actions

Recruitment o additional Community SupportOf cers has begun ahead of time and 165 wereeither deployed or in training by April 2012.Recruitments o some part time o fcers meanthat in total 545 of cers will be deployed bySeptember 2013.

Our Safer Communities Fund spent 4.5m in 2011/12via Community Sa ety Partnerships, on projects aimedat diverting young people away from crime and anti-social behaviour.

Through theRight to be Sa e Strategy, and10,000 Sa er Lives project we are joining uppublic services to help victims o domestic abuseand violence against women to reduce incidents andnumbers of repeat victims. This will help inform thedevelopment of new legislation to tackle domesticabuse and violence against women.

The action we are taking on substance misuse is ontrack. People are getting aster access to assessmentand treatment and in 2010/11 over 50% of those

leaving treatment had a positive outcome profle.

Drug-related crime has continued to fall. The WelshGovernment continues to invest over 50m a year toimplement the actions within the 10 year substancemisuse strategy for WalesWorking Together toReduce Harm.

We will continue to lobby the UK Government totake more robust approach to tackling the pricing,availability and advertising of alcohol. We know thatthese are important factors which in uence alcoholconsumption, particularly amongst young people.

There have been improvements in outcomes sincere and rescue services were devolved in 2004.The number of res stood at 676.6 (per 100,000population) in 2010/2011, less than fgures orScotland, but greater than those or England.In recent years progress has levelled. The number opeople injured in res rose in both South and NorthWales during 2010/11 and decreased in other areas.Deliberate re setting remains a particular concern forSouth Wales. The recent publication of theFire andRescue National Framework sets out how weexpect Fire and Rescue Authorities to work to achieveimprovement.


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Our ActionsThe Welsh Government was the rst in Britain tobring in speci c equality duties to help devolvedpublic authorities meet the general equality duty inthe Equality Act 2010 - to eliminate discrimination,advance equality of opportunity and foster goodrelations. These specifc duties came into orce inApril 2011.

In line with these duties, in April 2012 we publishedourStrategic Equality Plan setting objectivesfor tackling inequalities based on sound evidenceand extensive engagement, and the actions we willtake, across all Welsh Government departments,to meet them. These include addressing inequalityin education, employment and skills outcomes;reducing health inequalities; increasing the provisionof affordable childcare; and addressing under-representation in public appointments.

Chapter 8 of the Programme for Governmentwill be updated next year to build in the objectivesand actions in the Strategic Equality Plan, withappropriate indicators to track progress. Poverty andinequality are closely linked and our Strategic EqualityPlan and Tackling Poverty Action Plan will dovetail.

Other progress this year:

We have acted on ndings from evaluation ofCommunity Cohesion unding and rom April 2012

we are funding a new network of CommunityCohesion Of cers working with local authorities.

We have established better arrangements forengaging with partners through the new WomensEquality Network and the new Race Forum.

In September we published a Framework for Actionon the issues faced by Gypsy and Traveller families.The number of authorised Gypsy and Traveller siteshas increased and changed unding arrangementshave encouraged more applications from LocalAuthorities for new or improved sites.

In July we published a Strategy and Action Planor asylum seekers and re ugees.

We are well-advanced in developing a Frameworkfor Action for Independent Living for disabledpeople, based on extensive engagement.

Chapter 8: EqualityLong term challengesThere are deep, entrenched and long-standing inequalities within society.

These inequalities are aggravated by UK Government decisions on publicexpenditure and welfare reform. There is a strong link between theseinequalities and poverty; peoples life chances are often heavily shapedbe ore birth and in their early years.

The pay difference between men and women has been graduallynarrowing, and the pace has increased from 2008. Education andskills are important factors in how people fare in the labour market,and disabled people are signi cantly less quali ed than others.Educational attainment among pupils with Special Educational Needsimproved slightly between 2009/10 and 2010/11 but is still well belowaverage.


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Chapter 9: PovertyLong term challengesThe recession has aggravated poverty, and many o the decisions the

UK Government has made on public expenditure and welfare are hittingincomes o the poorest in society.The downward trend in the % of children in relative income povertyevident until 2006 has been reversed; but since 2009 the % of childrenliving in workless households has fallen 1.2 percentage points to18.8% and the gap with England narrowed.Quali cation levels amongst working age adults in Wales continueto improve but about a quarter lack quali cations at level 2 (the basicentry threshold or employment).The % of 16-18 year olds who are not in employment, educationor training (NEET) has remained around 10-12 per cent. In recent yearsthe % amongst 19-24 year olds has increased.

Our ActionsPoverty is heavily in uenced by international andUK-wide factors. The action we can take will bear fruitmainly in the longer-term. In the light o the impact oUK Government welfare reforms, we are redoublingour efforts to combat rising poverty. We will publisha Tackling Poverty Action Plan shortly. Progress duringthis last year includes:

From April, Communities First is working ina new way to tackle poverty in communities.Concentrating on the 10% most deprivedcommunities in Wales, it will have an increasedemphasis on helping the most vulnerable in termso education, employment and health.

There has been action to mitigate the impact of UKGovernment Welfare reforms through consultationand continued close work with our partners onWelsh successor arrangements to Council TaxBeneft and the discretionary Social Fund due tobe devolved in April 2013.

An extra 55m has been allocated to supportthe expansion o Flying Start over the next threeyears, doubling the number o children beneftting.We are targeting the expansion on concentrations

of families with 0-3 year olds living in IncomeBeneft households.

With our support, over 6000 nancially excludedadults have joined Credit Unions and gainedaccess to nancial products across Wales ( gurescovering fteen months to December 2011).

Jobs Growth Wales has been piloted successfully.It aims to create 4,000 job opportunities annuallyacross Wales for unemployed young people,aged 16-24, giving them work experience fora 6-month period.

The Young Recruits Programme (YRP) has beenextended and the original planned provision o1000 has been almost doubled.

Help for adults to gain basic skills has beenremodelled with the launch of Essential Skillsin the Workplace in February 2012.

We are implementing the 2011-2015 YouthEngagement and Employment Action Plan to helpyoung people engage with learning and enter thelabour market.

The educational maintenance allowance schemehas been continued and university ee plansscrutinised to ensure access to urther and highereducation is widened.

During 2011/12, Nest delivered energyimprovement packages to 3500 householderslikely to be vulnerable to uel poverty, and providedenergy savings advice to 13,500 householders.


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Chapter 10: Rural CommunitiesLong term challengesHousehold incomes are an important indicator of economic well-being

and they have been improving relative to Wales as a whole for a numbero years.The % of rural premises with access to basic broadband is very close tothe % for premises in urban Wales, although the % with access to highspeed broadband is much lower.Accessibility is a key issue or many people living in rural areas, althoughsatisfaction with bus services in rural areas is actually higher than inurban Wales.

Our ActionsThe procurement process for Next GenerationBroadband in Wales is well advanced and thecontract will be awarded in 2012. Meanwhile, theWelsh Governments Broadband Support Schemeis in place and is addressing availability o 2Mbpsservices.

We have strengthened rural bus services by launching

the TrawsCymru network and the new high qualityT4 service. We are currently carrying out a strategicevaluation o the benefts o investing in urtherlonger distance strategic bus corridors across Wales,with a view to incorporating other key strategiccorridors into the emerging TrawsCymru network.Since the start of the Bwcabus Service, the totalnumber o passenger journeys has increased andthe service has been extended to serve other ruralcommunities in Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire.

Delivery of the Rural Development Plan is in line withestablished targets. 38.7m has been committedto capital investments in added-value ood andnon- ood processing, resulting in total investmentsof 106m in the agriculture and forestry sectorssupported by a further 25m of support for co-operation initiatives across the supply chains.

We are developing a morefocused set of priorities to take forward key elementsof the Food Strategy to grow the food and drinkindustry. Value Wales is continuing to promotegood practice in ood procurement to the publicsector via the on-line Food Procurement RoutePlanner.

We are investing in quality tourism businessesand marketing Wales quality visitor attractions,accommodation and ood industry more e ectively.The Tourism Investment Support Scheme has beenextended and expanded.

The % of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) directpayments made be ore Christmas rose to nearly88% in 2011.

Our work to tackle bovine TB has continued over thislast year. For the 2010 testing year, all herds had been

tested by the end o May 2011. For the 2011 testingyear, 98.8% of of cially TB-free cattle herds had beentested by the end of December 2011. The data showsa very high level of compliance with annual TBtesting, which alongside other measures, works toaddress cattle to cattle transmission. The Governmentannounced in March 2012 that it will be developingthe use o vaccination to protect against in ection inthe badger population.


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Chapter 11: EnvironmentLong term challengesMany o the indicators on long term challenges are moving in the

right direction through targeted investment, but there is no cause orcomplacency. We have made striking progress over the last decadeon the proportion of municipal waste that is recycled or composted.However, predicted climate change means that pressure on water suppliesand ood risk will increase and present challenges for meeting the futureresilience o our environment and natural resources.

8

Our Actions

We have moved from an approach mainly based onregulation to one where we are making investmentin our environmental in rastructure, levering privatecapital where appropriate:

theWaste Procurement Programme is welladvanced in developing urther projects thatwill drive progress to meet our ambitious ZeroWaste targets;

Energy Wales - a Low Carbon Transition published in March 2012 sets out how we willattract investment in low carbon and renewableenergy;

arbed , our domestic energy e fciency scheme,is investing in improvements to the per ormanceof our housing stock in Wales, and Nest is helpingto tackle fuel poverty;

the ood risk management programme is doublingthe support for communities at risk from ooding.

We are complementing thisinvestment by developing anintegrated approach to themanagement o our naturalenvironment that prioritises uture resilience.

New natural resource planning will provide a clearpicture o our priorities and aspirations or the useof Wales natural resources. Proposals were set outin Sustaining a Living Wales our Green Paper.

Our work to establish aSingle EnvironmentBody in Wales by 1 April 2013 will support theconditions or a more streamlined and integratedapproach to environment and natural resourcemanagement.

River catchment ood management plans havebeen agreed; local authorities are preparing local

ood risk management strategies and shorelinemanagement plans are nearing completion.

Water companies water resource management

plans will be published shortly. We will be reviewing take-up of Glastir so that it

supports our Natural Resource Plan effectively.


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Chapter 12:The Culture and Heritage o WalesLong term challengesProgress is being made on many fronts. The % of adults participatingin arts activities has risen in recent years, and visits to Cadws staffedmonuments are gradually rising. Visits to local public libraries, the NationalMuseum of Wales and the National Library are rising even while theyexpand their digital services. The challenge remains to encourage accessto culture, heritage and the arts rom all socio-economic groups.

The % of 13 year olds assessed in school through the medium of Welshas a frst language continues to rise, and there are encouraging signsof this feeding through into post 16 education. However the overall% of people able to speak and write Welsh is broadly at, as is the %of 5 year olds able to speak Welsh uently at home.

Encouraging people to take regular physical activity remains a big challenge.The proportion of adults taking part in sport or active recreation fell between2005 and 2009.

Our ActionsAs part o theCreating an Active Wales ActionPlan, we are investing in community sport andbuilding stronger links between school and club sport.Our free swimming programmes now emphasisestructured activities to help more young peopleto swim and encourage them to participate moreregularly in sport and physical recreation throughouttheir lives.

The launch of the completed Wales Coastal Path in

May 2012 expands opportunities or healthy holidaysand recreation.

We continue to strengthen the place of Welsh ineveryday li e. TheWelsh Language Strategy -A Language or Livingwas launched in March2012 and in April the Welsh Language Commissionerstarted work with new powers. In March 2011,Y Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol was established topromote higher education through the medium oWelsh. We are working with Rural Housing Enablers

to provide more sites or rural a ordable housing,to help sustain Welsh speaking communities.

Cadw have taken many initiatives during 2011 toencourage local communities, including young peopleand those who do not think heritage is for them, tounderstand and enjoy their local heritage. This workwill develop further in 2012, with Cadw providingleadership to the heritage sector.Casgliad y WerinCymru/Peoples Collection Wales is on track tocomplement this by creating new opportunities forshared appreciation o our heritage on-line.

The % of people attending arts events who are fromunder-represented groups has been rising since 2006,and Arts Council Wales is putting more emphasison supporting organisations to promote activeparticipation in the arts.Young Creators , the newACW strategy for children, young people and the artswas issued in November 2011.

Recent years have seen an increase in use o publiclibraries following a dip during 2007 to 2009.Grants were allocated in March 2012 to support

greater collaboration between libraries in supportof the new strategic development framework forWelsh Libraries Libraries Inspire , launched inNovember 2011.


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