Author Archives: News

The 15 companies from across Wales will travel to the Far East, as part of a Welsh Government-led, trade mission to show what Wales has to offer to the world.

Economy Secretary, Ken Skates, said:

“Singapore is a leading global business hub with an open and trade driven economy and is actively growing trading relationship with Wales and the UK. Last year alone, the value of exports from Wales to Singapore was £74m and we are keen to build on this success.

“I am pleased that such a diverse range of Welsh businesses are participating in our latest export market visit, ranging from companies providing products and services for global shipping industries, through to businesses specialising in Welsh food products. It highlights the depth and breadth of Welsh expertise across the sectors – an offering which has proven very popular at similar past trade missions.

“This visit strengthens our commitment to sell Wales to the world and will provide an ideal platform for us to build on established links and discuss future export opportunities with a growing market.”

Symltech director Adrian Sutton said:

“This will be our second visit to Singapore and we hope to build on the relationships and contacts we have established and secure our first sales into the region on this forthcoming trip. The support and advice from the International Trade team at Welsh Government is second to none and as a business we are very grateful to be benefiting from this professional service – it’s a credit to Wales.”

Paul Sidebottom, business development manager for Russel IPM, said:

“We have been trading in Singapore in a small way for a number of years. With the assistance of Welsh Government it will allow more time in the market to generate that business. Russell IPM are one of the largest manufacturers of pheromone and glue-based products in Europe with business in the agricultural, food processing and pest control sectors. I am looking forward very much to visiting Singapore again and to some fruitful discussions.”

The companies will be showcasing their offering to the lucrative Singapore market at a business reception, hosted by Deputy British High Commissioner, Mr Jonathan Darby.

There will be further opportunities to maximise potential business opportunities though in-market events and meetings, arranged by Welsh Government, the British High Commission and British Singapore Chamber of Commerce.

read more

The report by Public Health Wales is the latest dental survey of five-year-old children in Wales, undertaken by the Welsh Oral Health Information Unit, as part of the NHS dental survey programme.

The report shows:

• a reduction in the proportion of children with decay between 2007-08 (47.6%) and 2015-16 (34.2%). This represents continuing improvement of the proportion of children who have no obvious decay experience by age 5. In 2015-16 in a class of 30 children 20 will have no decay experience. This compares with 16 decay free in a class of 30 children in 2007-08;
• the all-Wales mean decay experience (decayed missing and filled teeth – dmft) has also continued to reduce from 1.98 in 2007-08 to 1.22 in 2015-16. This represents a 38% reduction in mean dmft scores in 9 years. 
• in 2007-08, 14 children out of a class size of 30 would have decay experience, with an average of 4.2 teeth affected. By 2015-16 this had fallen to 10 children out of a class of 30, with an average of 3.6 decayed teeth;
• dental disease levels in children in Wales continue to improve across all social groups. In absolute terms, the most deprived quintile have seen the largest reduction in decay prevalence (by 15%) and mean dmft score (by 0.6). There is no evidence of widening inequalities.

Health Secretary Vaughan Gething said:

“I’m pleased to see the continued progress in improving children’s oral health. It’s clear that our Designed to Smile programme is making a real impact in improving the oral health of children across Wales but we know that we have to continue seeing these improvements.

“As a government, we are fully committed to tackling all forms of inequality So I’m particularly pleased to see that children from the most deprived backgrounds are seeing the biggest reduction in tooth decay.”

Chief Dental Officer for Wales, Dr Colette Bridgeman said:

“Although we’ve seen great improvements in tooth decay in school year 1 children over the last decade or so, there is scope for further improvement for the third of children still experiencing tooth decay.

“We know that dental decay starts early. Typically, half of the decay experienced at 5 years of age will be evident by age 3. Therefore, primary intervention will have most impact before the age of 3, so we are re-focussing Designed to Smile on the 0-5 age group, restating the overarching aim of the programme, to keep children decay free by the age of 5. This will help us deliver the further improvement we need.”

read more

Health Secretary, Vaughan Gething, has launched a new Genomics for Precision Medicine Strategy, which is designed to ensure people across Wales have access to quicker, more accurate diagnosis by enabling clinicians to better understand a patient’s individual disease by analysing their genes. This will help clinicians develop targeted treatments for individuals, rather than provide treatment that’s designed for the population as a whole.

It also sets out plans to apply the latest techniques for improved disease prediction and gain a better understanding of disease outbreaks.

In addition, the strategy will develop research in genetics and genomics, grow knowledge and skills amongst the NHS and non-NHS workforce and build strategic partnerships in genomics for precision medicine.

Health Secretary Vaughan Gething said:

“New genetic and genomic technologies are allowing us to develop a much more detailed understanding of the link between our genes and our health.

“The strategy I’m launching today has the potential to revolutionise medicine and public health; it marks a move away from reductionism and moves us towards a new era of precision medicine. 

“It will enable patients across Wales to access this new technology and shorten their ‘diagnostic odyssey’. Our strategy is not just about providing new test results; it is also about the care and support that patients need in accessing these services and providing them with the information that they need to make the right decision for themselves and their condition, armed with the most accurate, up-to-date and considered information available.

“For instance, our understanding of the genetic basis of cancer now supports the provision of targeted therapies to patients. In lung cancer, four genetic markers have been identified and these allow clinicians to give the treatments most likely to stop the growth of tumours, shrink them and lengthen quality and duration of life.”  

The Genomics for Precision Medicine Strategy is underpinned by £6.8m Welsh Government funding and was developed by the genomics taskforce, which includes the Welsh Government, NHS Wales, the Third Sector and higher education institutions.

read more

During Whitsun bank holiday and half term, most sectors of the industry welcomed an increased number of visitors compared to the same period last year, 32% reported an increase in visitors.

At the beginning of June, football fans flocked to Cardiff and the surrounding area for the men’s and women’s UEFA Champions League Finals. Business boomed for many, with 41% in the South East reporting more visitors over the bank holiday – 47% of these said the football matches contributed to the lift.

Another major event supported by the Welsh Government takes place this Sunday as the third Velothon gets underway, which will see around 10,000 cyclists taking on the challenging routes in a closed road sportive.

Economy Secretary, Ken Skates, said: 

“Spectators in Wales usually give visitors and home-grown competitors, alike, a real warm Welsh welcome for the Velothon – this makes for a fantastic atmosphere. With the legendary performance by Geraint Thomas in making history this week by becoming the first Welshman to wear the famous yellow jersey, I’m sure that many will be inspired by his efforts and will be looking to make their own legend this weekend.  Our summer of sport continues as we host the Seniors Open later this month. We’re looking forward to welcoming back some of the golfing world’s biggest players with Bernhard Langer back on the course he won on in 2014 and facing the likes of Tom Watson, Colin Montgomerie and home favourites such as Ian Woosnam and Phil Price.  

“Already this year we have successfully hosted the giants of Real Madrid and Juventus on the UEFA Champions League Final and welcomed the ICC Champions trophy to Wales and the Seniors Opens is yet another opportunity for Wales to demonstrate our capabilities in hosting world class sporting events, a real “summer of sporting legends”. 

The summer months, which are often the best performing for the tourism industry, are filling businesses with confidence. The vast majority off all sectors are showing a positive level of confidence as they head into peak season. Confidence within the tourism industry remains positive, with 87% of respondents having some level of confidence going into the summer season. This includes 39% who are ‘very confident’.

Although the outlook is positive, the economy remains a double-edged sword. Some businesses say that more British people are staying in the UK, as Brits look to reduce the cost of their breaks and holidays. But with less money going around, other business note that people’s lack of funds is resulting in reduced visitor numbers.

33% of businesses say that profitability is up so far this year, compared with 2016. 18% of businesses who have welcomed more visitors say that one of the reasons for the lift is that more British people are staying in the UK.  This is particularly true of the self catering (30%) and caravan and camping (23%) sectors.

In addition, the recently published Great Britain Day Visits Survey also reported that In the 12 months ending May 2017, there were 98.4 million tourism day visits to Wales, with an associated spend of £4,166 million. The number of visits has increased 8.5% compared to the 12 months ending May 2016, while the amount spent has increased 21.1%.

read more

The Circular Economy for Small and Medium sized Enterprises (CESME) is a European funded project that will enable SMEs to turn environmental challenges into opportunities. The circular economy is a key concept of the Green Economy, where high-quality materials derived from waste products can be supplied back to Welsh manufacturers and productively used again and again.

In a world where resource prices are rising fast, the circular economy model has the potential to provide significant cost benefits for Welsh businesses. Studies have found the adoption of a Circular Economy could save the Welsh economy up to £2bn and has the potential to create up to 30,000 jobs.

The meeting in Thessaloniki included workshops and study visits to three SMEs in the Region of Central Macedonia in Greece, all of which implement good practices promoting circular economy. The Thessaloniki meeting follows previous CESME get-togethers here in Wales last May, Aalborg, Denmark and Bologna, Italy.

Earlier this year the Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs announced a £6.5m fund to help Wales move towards a circular economy. Lesley Griffiths said:

“Wales is fully signed up to the benefits of the circular economy. Sharing valuable expertise with our European partners helps us break down barriers for SMEs and will bring our vision of a leaner, greener Wales into reality.”

“The £6.5m fund I announced earlier this year will help businesses save money by becoming more resource efficient and resilient, an approach that will deliver numerous environmental benefits including less waste and reduced CO2 emissions”.

The Circular Economy for Small and Medium sized Enterprises (CESME) project is supported by €1.73million of Interreg Europe funding and its foreseen duration is four years. Wales is one of 10 partners from six European countries.

The latest CESME event took place in Thessaloniki, Greece on 10 and 11 May 2017. Further information on CESME can be found on the
Interreg Europe website (external link) 

read more