Siambr · Francesca O'Brien
Written questions
35 written questions on record from the Seventh Senedd on, newest first. Page 1 of 1.
WQ101097 · Tabled · No answer published
What work has the Welsh Government undertaken on implementing rent controls since May 2026?
To be answered by: Cabinet Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning
WQ101078 · Tabled · No answer published
What guidance has the Welsh Government issued to devolved public bodies and local authorities on the adoption or use of definitions of Islamophobia?
To be answered by: Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Minister for Social Justice and Equality
WQ101077 · Tabled · No answer published
Does the Welsh Government intend to adopt the UK Government's non-statutory definition of anti-Muslim hostility, published on 9 March 2026, or any other definition of Islamophobia?
To be answered by: Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Minister for Social Justice and Equality
WQ100958 · Tabled · Answered
What guidance does the Welsh Government follow on when the civil service and public bodies in Wales should sponsor a visa rather than recruit from the domestic labour market?
Answered by Cabinet Minister for Government Effectiveness & the Constitution
The Welsh Government recruits on merit through fair and open competition and complies with UK immigration rules. It recognises sponsorship as a means of securing skills and labour that are not readily available within the UK labour market. The Welsh Government holds a Skilled Worker sponsor licence, which is used selectively for specialist and hard-to-fill roles where there is a clear recruitment need and the requirements of the relevant immigration eligibility criteria are met. Welsh Government job advertisements state whether a vacancy is eligible for sponsorship.
Public bodies in Wales are separate employers. Those that recruit workers who require sponsorship are responsible for holding the appropriate sponsor licence and for deciding whether to sponsor an eligible role and applicant, in line with UK Visas and Immigration requirements and their own workforce needs and recruitment policies.
WQ100957 · Tabled · Answered
What is the total spend by Welsh Government sponsored bodies on sponsoring visas for overseas staff?
Answered by Cabinet Minister for Government Effectiveness & the Constitution
The Welsh Government has incurred no expenditure on sponsoring visas for staff employed by Welsh Government sponsored bodies. The Welsh Government does not hold information on expenditure incurred directly by those bodies. Each body must hold its own sponsor licence and make its own sponsorship arrangements.
WQ100956 · Tabled · Answered
Will the Cabinet Minister confirm whether the Welsh Government holds a Home Office sponsor licence, and if so, set out which grades and professions it has used that licence to recruit to since 2021?
Answered by Cabinet Minister for Government Effectiveness & the Constitution
The Welsh Government has held a Skilled Worker sponsor licence since December 2021. The default position, however, is that successful candidates must already have the right to live and work in the UK without sponsorship from the Welsh Government. Sponsorship is considered only in limited circumstances, usually for specialist roles at SEO level and above where the required skills are not readily available within the settled workforce.
Since 2021, the Welsh Government has used its sponsor licence for two specialist digital appointments, one at SEO grade and one at HEO grade. The HEO appointment was sponsored before the current sponsorship principles were introduced. Under those principles, sponsorship is ordinarily considered only for specialist roles at SEO level and above.
WQ100955 · Tabled · Answered
How much has the Welsh Government spent in each of the last five financial years on sponsoring visas for its staff, including visa application fees, the Immigration Skills Charge, the Immigration Health Surcharge and Certificates of Sponsorship, and how many members of staff were sponsored in each of those years?
Answered by Cabinet Minister for Government Effectiveness & the Constitution
The Welsh Government has sponsored two specialist digital roles to date. The costs incurred for the two employees were as follow:
Annual employer sponsorship costs and employees sponsored
Financial year
Employees sponsored
Certificate of Sponsorship
Immigration Skills Charge
Total employer cost
2021/22
0
£0
£0
£0
2022/23
0
£0
£0
£0
2023/24
0
£0
£0
£0
2024/25
1
£239
£0, exempt
£239
2025/26
1
£239
£2,000
£2,239
Five-year total
2
£478
£2,000
£2,478
Please note:
WQ100853 · Tabled · Answered
Has the Welsh Government given any consideration to giving Welsh local housing authorities a power to set qualification criteria for social housing, including residency requirements, comparable to the power available to authorities in England under section 160ZA of the Housing Act 1996; and if not, why?
Answered by Cabinet Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning
The previous Welsh Government considered providing local housing authorities with powers to determine which applicants would qualify for an allocation of social housing. Such a provision was included in the Homelessness and Social Housing Allocation (Wales) Bill as introduced but was removed following scrutiny by the Senedd where concerns were raised about the potential impact of the provision on access to social housing.
Wales does not operate a qualification framework comparable to that available in England. Instead, social housing allocations continue to be based on housing need within the statutory reasonable preference framework.
WQ100726 · Tabled · Answered
How many individual members of staff are currently filling the up to 10 full-time equivalent trade union representative posts that the Welsh Government funds, how many of them are released for all of their contracted hours, and what is the total pay cost?
Answered by Cabinet Minister for Government Effectiveness & the Constitution
There are 10 individual members of staff in these posts totalling 8.8 FTE. 7 of those are released for all their contracted hours. There is also one vacant post. Based on average grade costs (including salary, employer pension contributions, employer national insurance contributions and the apprentice levy) the total pay cost is estimated at £703,252 per annum.
WQ100326 · Tabled · Answered
How many Welsh Government employees spend a) all and b) more than half of their contracted hours on trade union duties or activities?
Answered by Cabinet Minister for Government Effectiveness & the Constitution
The Welsh Government does not record trade union facility time. However, the Welsh Government provides funding for up to 10 full time equivalent trade union representatives.
WQ100325 · Tabled · Answered
How many paid working hours did Welsh Government employees spend on trade union duties and activities in the last financial year?
Answered by Cabinet Minister for Government Effectiveness & the Constitution
The Welsh Government does not record trade union facility time.
WQ100334 · Tabled · Answered
What estimate has the Welsh Government made of the total cost of trade union facility time across the devolved Welsh public sector, including local government, NHS Wales and Welsh Government sponsored bodies?
Answered by Cabinet Minister for Government Effectiveness & the Constitution
The information you requested is not held centrally.
WQ100333 · Tabled · Answered
How much funding has the Welsh Government provided to trade unions and trade union bodies, including through the Wales Union Learning Fund and the Workforce Partnership Council, in each of the last five financial years?
Answered by Deputy Minister for Skills and Tertiary Education
The final budget for the Wales Union Learning Fund in 2021-22 was 1,812,347; in 2022-23 it was £1,843,173; in 2023-24 it was £1,845,777; in 2024-25 it was £1,646,352; and in 2025-26 it was £1,871,024.
The Workforce Partnership Council (WPC) met for the last time on the 14 May 2025 and at no point did it provide funding to the trade unions.
WQ100332 · Tabled · Answered
What is the annual administrative cost to the Welsh Government of deducting trade union subscriptions from staff salaries through payroll, and is this cost recovered from the trade unions concerned?
Answered by Cabinet Minister for Government Effectiveness & the Constitution
The Welsh Government facilitates the deduction of some trade union subscriptions through payroll arrangements but does not hold a separately identified annual administrative cost as this is part of business-as-usual payroll activity. No costs are recovered from the trade unions.
WQ100331 · Tabled · Answered
Do Welsh Government employees receive paid leave to attend trade union conferences, national executive committee meetings or internal union elections, and if so, what were these costs in the last financial year?
Answered by Cabinet Minister for Government Effectiveness & the Constitution
Welsh Government policies allow reasonable time off for certain trade union activities, including attendance at recognised trade union conferences, participation in workplace trade union elections and attendance at specified trade union meetings, subject to managerial approval and operational requirements.
Welsh Government does not hold centrally recorded information on the cost of attendance at trade union conferences, National Executive Committee meetings or internal trade union elections for the last financial year.
WQ100330 · Tabled · Answered
Does the civil service facility time framework introduced in April 2026 apply to Welsh Government staff, and what consideration has the Welsh Government given to the cost implications?
Answered by Cabinet Minister for Government Effectiveness & the Constitution
No, the WG is a devolved administration with its own employer policies, recognition agreements and employment frameworks.
WQ100329 · Tabled · Answered
What consideration has the Welsh Government given to requiring devolved Welsh public authorities to publish information on trade union facility time?
Answered by Cabinet Minister for Government Effectiveness & the Constitution
The Welsh Government has no plans to require devolved Welsh public bodies to publish information on trade union facility time.
WQ100328 · Tabled · Answered
Does the Welsh Government publish annual data on the cost, headcount and hours associated with trade union facility time among its staff?
Answered by Cabinet Minister for Government Effectiveness & the Constitution
No, it does not.
WQ100327 · Tabled · Answered
What percentage of the total Welsh Government staff pay bill was spent on trade union facility time in the last financial year?
Answered by Cabinet Minister for Government Effectiveness & the Constitution
The Welsh Government does not record trade union facility time
WQ100423 · Tabled · Answered
Has the Welsh Government assessed the fiscal or budgetary implications, including any impact on business rates income and local authority revenue, of the loss of a professional rugby union region?
Answered by Cabinet Minister for Finance
The Welsh Government has not undertaken impact assessments of a region losing its professional rugby team.
The Welsh Rugby Union is an independent governing body and decisions relating to professional rugby in Wales are matters for the WRU and the clubs concerned. It is therefore for the WRU to assess the implications of any proposed changes and to explain the evidence and analysis underpinning its decisions.
WQ100422 · Tabled · Answered
Has the Welsh Government modelled the economic impact, including on local employment, supply chains and the visitor economy, of a region losing its professional rugby team?
Answered by Cabinet Minister for Enterprise, Connectivity and Energy
The Welsh Government has not undertaken modelling or impact assessments of a region losing its professional rugby team. We are, however, aware of assessments undertaken by the respective local authorities.
The Welsh Rugby Union is an independent governing body and decisions relating to professional rugby in Wales are matters for the WRU and the clubs concerned. Therefore, it is for the WRU in the first instance, to assess the implications of any proposed changes and to explain the evidence and analysis underpinning its decisions.
WQ100421 · Tabled · Answered
Has the Welsh Government modelled the potential impact on physical activity levels, grassroots participation and public health outcomes in a region that loses its professional rugby team?
Answered by Deputy Minister for Public and Preventative Health
The Welsh Government has not undertaken modelling or impact assessments of a region losing its professional rugby team.
The Welsh Rugby Union is an independent governing body and decisions relating to the structure, organisation and operation of professional rugby in Wales are matters for the WRU and the clubs concerned. It is therefore for the WRU to assess the implications of any proposed changes and to explain the evidence and analysis underpinning its decisions.
The Welsh Government remains committed to supporting physical activity and sport in Wales, including their role in prevention, and recognises the important contribution that professional and community sport make to wellbeing, participation and local economies.
WQ100420 · Tabled · Answered
Has the Welsh Government undertaken any impact assessment of the effects on local economies, town centres and community infrastructure when a local authority area loses its professional rugby region?
Answered by Cabinet Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning
The Welsh Government has not undertaken a specific assessment of the effects on local economies, town centres and community infrastructure arising from a local authority area losing its professional rugby region.
The Welsh Rugby Union is an independent governing body and decisions relating to professional rugby in Wales are matters for the WRU and the clubs concerned. It is therefore for the WRU to assess the implications of any proposed changes and to explain the evidence and analysis underpinning its decisions.
The Welsh Government remains committed to supporting Town Centres in Wales and recognises the important contribution that professional and community sport make to wellbeing, participation and local economies in Towns.
WQ100324 · Tabled · Answered
How many Welsh Government employees were designated trade union representatives in each of the last five financial years?
Answered by Cabinet Minister for Government Effectiveness & the Constitution
The Welsh Government provides funding for up to 10 full-time representatives. There are currently 9.3 full-time equivalent trade union representatives paid for by the Welsh Government. This has been consistent for the last 5 years.
WQ100323 · Tabled · Answered
What was the total cost of trade union facility time to the Welsh Government in each of the last five financial years?
Answered by Cabinet Minister for Government Effectiveness & the Constitution
The WG do not record information for trade union facility time.
WQ100300 · Tabled · Answered
What consideration has the Cabinet Minister given to directing Natural Resources Wales and Welsh Water to make an exemption designating Brandy Cove in the Gower as a bathing water?
Answered by Cabinet Minister for Rural Resilience and Sustainability
The designation of bathing waters in Wales is a statutory matter for the Welsh Ministers under the Bathing Water Regulations 2013. Natural Resources Wales and Welsh Water do not have the powers to designate bathing waters and any application or proposal for Brandy Cove would need to be considered through the established application process.
The criteria for designation are set out in the Bathing Water Regulations and supporting Welsh Government guidance which is available on the GOV.WALES website. Links are provided below for ease of reference.
Applications for designating bathing waters can be made by any individual or organisation. Should an application for Brandy Cove be submitted, it will be assessed against these requirements and the criteria set out in the Regulations and supporting guidance alongside the supporting evidence before Welsh Ministers reach a decision.
Applications for designation for the 2027 bathing water season can be submitted until 15 October 2026. All applications received by this deadline will be considered in accordance with the Regulations, published guidance and the evidence provided.
Guidance: Designating bathing waters in Wales: guidance note [HTML] | GOV.WALES
Application: Designation of bathing waters: application form | GOV.WALES
WQ100284 · Tabled · Answered
What discussions has the Welsh Government had with the UK Government regarding the issuance of the emergency alert on 14 August 2026 in Welsh before English?
Answered by Cabinet Minister for Government Effectiveness & the Constitution
The Emergency Alerts system is owned and operated by the UK Government, who determined the timing of the alert, its content and the order in which the Welsh and English versions of the message were issued on 14 August 2026.
As is standard following the issue of an Emergency Alert, the UK Cabinet Office is undertaking a review of the effectiveness of the 14 August alert. Welsh Government officials are contributing to this process. This includes considering the activation process, bilingual messaging, sequencing and the arrangements to inform any future alerts. We are continuing to work with the UK Government to ensure that Welsh-language requirements and the Welsh Government’s role are built into future Emergency Alert planning.
WQ100281 · Tabled · Answered
What progress has been made on the development of a strategy for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, with reference to the Members Debate held on 10 December 2025?
Answered by Cabinet Minister for Health and Care
Support for people with post infection-associated chronic illness and associated conditions, including Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME), is available in every health board through Adferiad (Recovery) funded services. These services continue to be supported by £8m Welsh Government investment.
Since my appointment in May 2026, my officials and I have continued to work with stakeholders and partners, including people with lived experience of post infection-associated chronic illness, and the organisations that represent them. These discussions are helping to shape the future development of services.
I recently met with four groups representing people with lived experience - three of which advocate for people with ME. I was grateful for the opportunity to hear their views directly. Our discussions focused very much on the points raised during the Members Debate of 10 December 2025 (NDM8884). Following that meeting, I have asked my officials to provide more detailed advice, and I look forward to receiving this in due course.
WQ100102 · Tabled · Answered
What assessment has the Cabinet Minister made of the effectiveness of the Welsh Government's intervention on Swansea Bay University Health Board's accumulating financial deficits?
Answered by Cabinet Minister for Health and Care
Under the current escalation and intervention process, Welsh Government officials and NHS Wales Performance and Improvement meet regularly with the health board to review all areas of escalation, including the financial position.
As part of the level 4 intervention, the health board is subject to a range of actions and expectations for improvement, and these are discussed at bi-monthly escalation board meetings chaired by the Director General of Health, Care and Prevention Group / Chief Executive of NHS Wales.
Finance is one of the main areas of discussion where the health board is held to account for their performance. As part of this process, the health board has been instructed to provide officials with clarity on the actions they are taking to ensure implementation of their annual plan by the end of September 2026, options and further actions to improve the health board’s financial position this year and set out a route map to financial balance.
WQ100101 · Tabled · Answered
Will the Welsh Government review the effectiveness of the apprenticeship levy?
Answered by Deputy Minister for Skills and Tertiary Education
The Apprenticeship Levy is a UK-wide tax set by the UK Government and collected by HMRC. Welsh Government does not receive individual employer levy contributions directly. Changes to, and any formal review of, the Apprenticeship Levy are matters for the UK Government.
We keep apprenticeship policy and funding arrangements in Wales under regular review, including the implications of developments relating to the Apprenticeship Levy and the Growth and Skills Levy.
WQ100100 · Tabled · Answered
Will the Cabinet Minister direct the Chief Dental Officer to write to all registered professionals concerning changes in guidance to NICE CG64?
Answered by Cabinet Minister for Health and Care
NICE Clinical Guideline 64 (CG64), on the prevention of infective endocarditis, has not changed but the Scottish Dental Clinical Effectiveness Programme (SDCEP) has published updated implementation advice to help dental teams apply CG64.
The advice provides clearer and more practical guidance for managing patients at increased risk of infective endocarditis and places a particular emphasis on shared decision-making between clinicians and their patients. The Chief Dental Officer for Wales wrote to all dental contractors and registered managers on 29 July. The Welsh Dental Committee also highlighted the advice in its quarterly newsletter, which is distributed to dental registrants working across primary care, community and hospital dental services in Wales.
WQ100099 · Tabled · Answered
Will the Welsh Government review the guidance provided to Go Safe on the placement of enforcement cameras?
Answered by Deputy Minister for Transport
Officials are working closely with GoSafe and local authorities to update the guidance on the placement and use of speed cameras. The current guidance, Use of Speed and Red Light Cameras for Traffic Enforcement: Guidance on Deployment, Visibility and Signing, was published by the Welsh Assembly Government in 2007 and largely mirrored Department for Transport Circular 01/2007 of the same name.
The updated guidance will address concerns raised by local authorities that the current criteria can favour more densely populated areas, while some rural roads experience significant risk without meeting the existing thresholds. The new guidance will sit under the Road Safety Partnership Plan and support its delivery. It will align with the Safe System approach by helping highway authorities respond to collision data while also preventing future deaths and serious injuries. The aim is to make the criteria proportionate, evidence-led and able to support both casualty reduction at locations with speed-related collision clusters and preventative intervention at sites where there is clear risk or community concern.
WQ99897 · Tabled · Answered
What scrutiny arrangements does the Welsh Government have in place to monitor the performance of Rent Smart Wales?
Answered by Cabinet Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning
Rent Smart Wales (RSW) operates within a clear legislative framework established by the Housing (Wales) Act 2014 and is subject to ongoing Welsh Government oversight, performance monitoring and independent evaluation. It is delivered by Cardiff Council, which was designated by previous Welsh Ministers as the licensing authority for Wales and, therefore, is also subject to the Council’s governance, financial controls, audit arrangements and democratic scrutiny.
A range of mechanisms are in place through which Welsh Government actively maintains oversight of Rent Smart Wales’s performance and strategic direction, including the Rent Smart Wales Advisory Board, Operational Group, Stakeholder Group and the All-Wales Housing Expert Panel. These forums bring together Welsh Government, local authority representatives and wider stakeholders, ensuring robust strategic, operational, technical and financial scrutiny of the service.
In addition, the previous Welsh Government commissioned the independent Evaluation of Rent Smart Wales: final report, 2025, and continues to monitor delivery of the resulting action plan.
Scrutiny extends beyond formal governance arrangements. Welsh Government officials receive regular performance information covering registrations, licensing, complaints, training, enforcement activity and customer contact volumes, alongside routine engagement with senior Rent Smart Wales management to review performance, discuss emerging issues and ensure timely action where improvements are required. This provides a comprehensive framework of accountability and continuous performance monitoring.
WQ99896 · Tabled · Answered
What engagement has the Welsh Government had with the camping and tourism sector regarding the proposed changes to permitted development rights, since the consultation on changes to permitted development rights closed on 1 July 2025?
Answered by Cabinet Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning
Following the July 2025 consultation, the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Amendment) (Wales) Order 2026 was made and laid before the Senedd in March of this year. It came into force on 1 June and granted increased permitted development rights for recreational campsites for tents.
These changes increase the number of days for which land can be used for campsites in each calendar year to 60, in some areas. They also require campsite operators to check with their local planning authority if prior approval of certain details is needed before camping can take place.
The Welsh Government has published guidance on its website for campsite operators, to help them understand the changes to permitted development rights which come into effect on 1 September. This guidance can be found at https://www.gov.wales/planning-permission-permitted-development-rights-temporary-campsites.
This guidance has also been shared with tourism stakeholder networks.
WQ99546 · Tabled · Answered
What support is available to unpaid carers in Gŵyr Abertawe, and what assessment has the Welsh Government made of the effectiveness of these resources?
Answered by Cabinet Minister for Health and Care
Local authorities have clearly defined statutory duties under the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 to support unpaid carers. This includes providing Information, Advice and Assistance, carers’ needs assessments where it appears a carer may have needs for support, and meeting eligible needs where identified. This can include respite support to enable carers to take a break from their caring role.
While we know there are examples of very good support for unpaid carers, we also know there are areas for national improvement. We are supporting a national action plan led by the Association of Directors of Social Services (ADSS Cymru) to strengthen early help services and the quality and timeliness of carers’ needs assessments. I expect to see evidence of progress achieved through this initiative. We are working closely with Care Inspectorate Wales who inspect and review social services functions, including services to support carers. Where Care Inspectorate Wales note significant concerns, I expect them to intervene using powers at their disposal to drive improvement.
The challenges faced by many carers in obtaining the support they need were highlighted in the Health and Social Care Committee’s inquiry into support for unpaid carers. We are currently considering our response to the report of the inquiry, and its 35 recommendations. We will publish a new National Strategy for Unpaid Carers in the Autumn. The strategy will set out our priorities for improving support for unpaid carers and actions that will drive progress in the areas where carers tell us improvements are most needed.
We are continuing to invest in additional support for unpaid carers. This includes the Welsh Government Short Breaks Scheme, the Carers Support Fund, and our national Carer Aware and Carer Wellbeing and Empowerment programmes. These investments strengthen support for unpaid carers providing additional financial assistance and improved identification and wellbeing.
Official verbatim record: each question and answer as the Record prints it. Answers are signed with a job title, as published.