Politics

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Radical Welsh law will improve the health of the nation

Assembly Members will vote for the final time on the Public Health (Wales) Bill this afternoon. 

The Bill aims to protect young people’s health through banning smoking in school grounds, public playgrounds, and the outdoor areas of registered childcare settings, as well as in hospital grounds. It prohibits tobacco and nicotine products from being handed over to under 18s by home delivery or collection services and creates a national register of retailers of tobacco and nicotine products. 

It will also protect health and wellbeing through:

  • Creating a mandatory licensing scheme for ‘special procedures’, namely acupuncture, body piercing, electrolysis and tattooing, and prohibiting the intimate piercing of anybody under the age of 18.
  • Placing a duty on local authorities to prepare and publish a local toilets strategy, including an assessment of the need for toilets for public use and details of how that need will be met.  
  • Requiring public bodies in Wales to assess how their decisions will affect people’s physical and mental health.
  • Making the planning of pharmacy services more responsive to the needs of their local community.
  • Placing a duty on the Welsh Government to produce a national strategy on preventing and reducing obesity.
Speaking ahead of the debate, Minister for Social Services and Public Health, Rebecca Evans said:

“The Public Health (Wales) Bill is the latest in a long line of measures the Welsh Government has introduced to improve the health and wellbeing of the people of Wales. If passed, it will create the conditions which enable people to live healthy lives and will protect them from preventable harm.

“It has a particular focus on promoting children and young people’s health. Proposals such as the ban on smoking in school grounds, childcare settings, and playgrounds are intended to prevent children from being exposed to smoking behaviours, making it less likely that they’ll take up smoking themselves.

“Today is an opportunity for us to pass a radical Welsh law that will meet the needs of people in Wales. I look forward to the vote later today.”

Chief Medical Officer, Dr Frank Atherton said:

“This Bill will help to keep pace with emerging public health concerns. In recent years, body piercing and tattooing have become increasingly popular. This Bill will ensure that only those with safe working practices can carry out these procedures.  

“As a result of scrutiny by the National Assembly, the Bill will also provide a legislative focus for our work to tackle the major public health challenge of obesity.”

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Welsh Government •

Appointments to the Wales Animal Health and Welfare Framework Group

The Wales Animal Health and Welfare Framework Group, set up in June 2014, supports the development and implementation of the Wales Animal Health and Welfare Framework. Its pivotal role is to ensure there is a recognised link between the Welsh Government, livestock keepers, other animal owners and industry representatives, covering a wide range of animal health and welfare issues.

Lesley Griffiths said:

“I am pleased to welcome Abi and Paula to the Wales Animal Health and Welfare Framework Group. Both will bring a wealth of know-how and experience to the Group and I look forward to working closely with them on animal health and welfare issues.”

The appointments were made in accordance with the Commissioner’s Code of Practice on Ministerial Appointments. Both will run from 1 June 2017 to 31 May 2020. 

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Welsh Government •

Labour will abolish the rape clause

A Labour government led by Jeremy Corbyn will abolish the Tories’ abhorrent ‘rape clause’ policy across the UK.

The ‘rape clause’ forces women who have conceived a child as a result of rape to fill out an eight-page form to claim tax credits if it’s the woman’s third child.

Last month, Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale used a Holyrood debate to read out the powerful and moving testimony from a woman who conceived a child following rape.

But Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson has repeatedly defended the ‘rape clause’.

Labour’s UK manifesto states: “The cuts to work allowances in Universal Credit (UC), and the decision to limit tax credit and UC payments to the first two children in a family, are an attack on low-income families and will increase child poverty.

“Labour will reform and redesign UC, ending six-week delays in payment and the ‘rape clause’.”

 

UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: “Labour will end the abhorrent rape clause across the UK.

“Kezia Dugdale’s powerful speech in the Scottish Parliament demonstrated the heart-breaking reality of the rape clause.

“Theresa May and Ruth Davidson should be ashamed of this policy.

“Only a Labour government that works for the many, not the few, can bring this policy to an end.”

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Scottish Labour

Press release: UK House Price Index (HPI) for March 2017

The March data shows an annual price increase of 4.1% which takes the average property value in the UK to £215,847. Monthly house prices have fallen by 0.6% since February 2017. The monthly index figure for the UK was 113.2.

In England, the March data shows an annual price increase of 4.4% which takes the average property value to £232,530. Monthly house prices have fallen by 0.6% since February 2017.

Wales shows an annual price increase of 4.3% which takes the average property value to £147,746. Monthly house prices have risen by 1.4% since February 2017.

London shows an annual price increase of 1.5% which takes the average property value to £471,742. Monthly house prices have fallen by 1.5% since February 2017.

UK Property Transaction statistics showed that in March 2017 the total number of seasonally adjusted property transactions completed in the UK with a value of £40,000 or above has remained at a similar level for the last 3 months. See the economic statement.

Sales during January 2017, the most up-to-date HM Land Registry figures available, show that:

  • The UK House Price Index (HPI) is published on the second or third Tuesday of each month with Northern Ireland figures updated quarterly. The April 2017 UK HPI will be published at 9.30am on 13 June 2017. See calendar of release dates.

  • Data for the UK HPI is provided by HM Land Registry, Registers of Scotland, Land & Property Services/Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency and the Valuation Office Agency.

  • The UK HPI is calculated by the Office for National Statistics andLand & Property Services/Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency. It applies a hedonic regression model that uses the various sources of data on property price, in particular, HM Land Registry’s Price Paid Dataset, and attributes to produce estimates of the change in house prices each month. Find out more about the methodology used from ONS and Northern Ireland Statistics & Research Agency.

  • The first estimate for new build average price (April 2016 report) was based on a small sample which can cause volatility. A three-month moving average has been applied to the latest estimate to remove some of this volatility.

  • Work has been taking place since 2014 to develop a single, official HPI that reflects the final transaction price for sales of residential property in the UK. Using the geometric mean, it covers purchases at market value for owner-occupation and buy-to-let, excluding those purchases not at market value (such as re-mortgages), where the ‘price’ represents a valuation.

  • Information on residential property transactions for England and Wales, collected as part of the official registration process, is provided by HM Land Registry for properties that are sold for full market value.

  • The HM Land Registry dataset contains the sale price of the property, the date when the sale was completed, full address details, the type of property (detached, semi-detached, terraced or flat), if it is a newly built property or an established residential building and a variable to indicate if the property has been purchased as a financed transaction (using a mortgage) or as a non-financed transaction (cash purchase).

  • Repossession data is based on the number of transactions lodged with HM Land Registry by lenders exercising their power of sale.

  • For England, this is shown as volumes of repossessions recorded by Government Office Region. For Wales, there is a headline figure for the number of repossessions recorded in Wales.

  • The data can be downloaded as a .csv file. Repossession data prior to April 2016 is not available. Find out more information about repossessions.

  • Background tables of the raw and cleansed aggregated data, in Excel and CSV formats, are also published monthly although Northern Ireland is on a quarterly basis. They are available for free use and re-use under the Open Government Licence.

  • As a government department established in 1862, executive agency and trading fund responsible to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, HM Land Registry keeps and maintains the Land Register for England and Wales. The Land Register has been open to public inspection since 1990.

  • With the largest transactional database of its kind detailing more than 24 million titles, HM Land Registry underpins the economy by safeguarding ownership of many billions of pounds worth of property.

  • For further information about HM Land Registry visit www.gov.uk/land-registry.

  • Follow us on Twitter @LandRegGov and find us on our blogLinkedIn and Facebook

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    HM Government

    One of the largest film and TV studios in Wales  is set to be created in Cardiff

    The new production facility will be based at Trident Park, Ocean Way, close to Cardiff City Centre and has been acquired by the Welsh Government. It will be leased on commercial terms and provide studio facilities for Bad Wolf’s production slate as well as being able to accommodate other major TV productions.

    Bad Wolf will film all of their forthcoming productions in the studio, including the series A Discovery of Witches and His Dark Materials and with many other productions in development it marks a significant investment in Wales as an international television production hub. 

    It will be the only studio in Wales able to offer stage space with a maximum eave height of 17.5 metres (57ft) making it an attractive proposition for high end television productions and big budget feature films from around the world. It is also an essential requirement to accommodate some of Bad Wolf’s productions.

    On a visit to the site today with Jane Tranter, Chief Executive Officer and Julie Gardner, Managing Director of Bad Wolf, Economy Secretary Ken Skates described it as a strategically important acquisition that would meet the growing high demand for studio space in Wales which is competing against increasing supply in other regions of the UK.

    He said:

     “A facility of this size will ensure Wales retains a competitive advantage with enough large scale studio space to service the productions wishing to film here. It has real potential to generate a transformational impact on the Welsh creative industries sector, creating a large scale film and TV production hub.”

    Bad Wolf – co-sited in Wales and the US – was set up in 2015 by Jane Tranter and Julie Gardner, award winning TV executives to exploit their US relationships and IP to secure, develop and produce a high-value slate of TV drama projects in Wales.

    Bad Wolf’s requirements for studio space in Wales were specific – they needed a minimum of 200,000 sq ft of shooting space, two large stages with ceiling heights of more than 10 metres suitable for accommodating large scale productions and additional office space. 

    The two linked high bay units at Trident Park – totalling 253,500 sq ft – meet these specifications and are conveniently located with direct access to the M4 with good public transport connections and provide access to a critical mass of Wales based main crew and supply chain companies.

    Following a tour of the studio space Ken Skates said:

    “A facility capable of accommodating large scale productions is crucial for Bad Wolf to deliver its pipeline of projects which will provide a £120m plus boost for the film and TV sector in Wales. It will also be a key asset for the creative sector in Wales providing facilities to other major TV productions.

    “It will deliver long term sustainable economic benefits to Wales, strengthen the skills base and supply chain, attract inward investment and tourism. In addition it will further raise the profile of Wales TV drama production around the world and support the continued growth in TV drama production in Wales.”

    Jane Tranter from Bad Wolf said: 

    “Wolf Studios Wales is set to be a world class facility situated at the heart of a thriving creative and production community in Cardiff.  Wales has seen a resurgence in television and film production over recent years and studio space is much sought after.  With so many Bad Wolf productions in development we wanted a permanent base for our productions and a user-friendly studio environment for the many other television series and films headed to Wales.  Working with Welsh Government on this new space is further evidence of the many opportunities that filming in Wales can now offer.”

    Bad Wolf has an ambitious and exciting production slate and has already established strong partnerships with international broadcasters and recently announced including HBO, BBC, SKY, Channel 4 and the History Channel.

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    Welsh Government •