Tag Archives: Welsh Government

Economy Secretary Ken Skates will welcome guests to the event, which will be attended by actor Bill Nighy who will join the film’s producer Amanda Posey, screenwriter Gaby Chiappe and Lissa Evans, author of the original book ‘Their Finest Hour and a Half’, in conversation with Owen Sheers following the screening.

The film was funded by the Welsh Government’s Media Investment Budget alongside BBC Films and Pinewood Group, with Pinewood Pictures a sponsor of the Welsh Premiere. Wales Screen, part of the Welsh Government’s creative industries team, played a key role in finding the perfect locations and hosted numerous recces before filming began.

The locations in south west Wales feature Swansea’s Guildhall – which doubles as the Ministry of Information and Whitehall – alongside a number of locations in Pembrokeshire including Trecwn Valley, Freshwater West, Porthgain Harbour, Haverfordwest’s Palace Cinema and the Cresselly Arms in Cresswell Quay.

Economy Secretary Ken Skates said: 

“Their Finest is a great example of the widespread benefits that TV and film production can bring to Wales – providing work and experience for crews, sustaining a range of specialist support businesses, boosting the hospitality sector and highlighting the expertise we have within Wales. 

“Film and TV production is one of our priority sectors and I am particularly pleased that the extensive use of locations around Wales is playing a key role in supporting regional economies and jobs while also providing an invaluable promotion for our tourism industry.”

Their Finest opens in cinemas across the UK on 21 April and sees director Lone Scherfig reunite with producer Amanda Posey (An Education) and collaborate for the first time with award-winning producer Stephen Woolley. 

The film follows the misadventures of a British film crew struggling to make a patriotic film to boost morale during the London Blitz in World War II. Alongside lead Gemma Arterton, the cast members include Sam Claflin as her fellow fellow screenwriter and Bill Nighy as a fading matinee idol who reluctantly joins their production in a supporting role. Richard E Grant, Rachael Stirling, Jeremy Irons and Helen McCrory round out the cast.

Hannah Raybould, Director of BAFTA Cymru said: 

“We are thrilled to host this event to celebrate a film which was shot extensively in Wales with Welsh crew and showcases our stunning Welsh locations alongside such a star-studded cast. The event promises to be a special highlight in our events programme and we’re delighted to offer our members the chance to be among the first to see the film.”

The evening includes a networking reception for guests that will include members of the Creative Industry Advisory Panel, broadcasters, production companies from Wales and London, facility companies, BAFTA members and Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama MA students.

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Funding announced today will improve access to services provided by community pharmacies – such as the common ailment service and pharmacy influenza vaccinations, it will also support the implementation of a pharmacy quality programme and support collaborative working between pharmacies and other primary care providers.

Vaughan Gething said: 

“Last year, I reaffirmed the Welsh Government’s commitment to the community pharmacy sector as a fundamental part of a strong primary care service in Wales.

“At a time when thousands of community pharmacies in England face closure as a result of funding cuts of over 7 per cent, I said there were no proposals to reduce investment in community pharmacy here in Wales. Today’s announcement shows we’ve been true to our promise.”

In addition to the funding announced today, the Health Secretary also announced the Welsh Government will provide funding in 2018-19 and 2019-20 to make the Choose Pharmacy IT application available to all pharmacies in Wales.

The Health Secretary added: 

“Choose Pharmacy will support pharmacists to deliver an increasing range of patient focussed clinical services. Our common ailment scheme allows people with minor ailments to see highly-skilled pharmacists for advice and treatment, freeing up GPs’ time to focus on those people with more complex cases and reduce patient waiting times.

“Choose Pharmacy will also give pharmacists access to patients’ summary medical records which will significantly reduce the number of people who need to be referred to GP, out-of-hours services and A&E departments and will deliver considerable improvements in patient safety, I’m delighted we’ve been able to make the Choose Pharmacy IT application available to all pharmacies in Wales.

“This agreement is a further example of how our collaborative approach is can make a real difference for people in Wales.”

Phil Parry, a pharmacist who chairs the board of Community Pharmacy Wales, welcomed the funding announcement by Welsh Government and said:

“We are delighted that the Welsh Government is continuing to work collaboratively with us as a profession to maximise the opportunities to modernise and utilise the pharmacy network in Wales at the same time as funding is being cut in England. The commitment to make the Choose Pharmacy platform available to every community pharmacy is a particularly welcome step and is an affirmation of our central role as part of the health care family in Wales.

“We are pleased with an outcome that sees funding secured to increase access to pharmacy services throughout Wales and the Board of Community Pharmacy Wales is committed to getting high levels of engagement and delivery from our contractors to make sure that community pharmacists play an ever expanding role in the delivery of health care in Wales.”

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Established in 2002, the Design Commission for Wales promotes the importance of good design across sectors, collaborating with a range of other bodies to help champion better buildings and spaces, now and for future generations. 

The Cabinet Secretary said:

“I am pleased to confirm the reappointment of Ewan and Philip to the Board of the Design Commission for Wales for a further three years. I have no doubt their experience will continue to prove to be invaluable as we seek to improve our built environment and make Wales a better place for future generations.”

Gayna Jones, Chair of DCFW Board added:

“I am delighted by the reappointment of Phil and Ewan to the Board. They both bring valuable expertise and experience and I am impressed by the calibre of people the Design Commission attracts as Commissioners.”

The appointments will run for a period of 3 years from 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2020.

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 Every year in the NHS:

• there are 30,000 births
• one million A&E attendances
• three million outpatient appointments
• an estimated 18 million contacts in GP practices, community clinics and other primary care settings

The report describes some of the improvements and innovations in the health service in the last year, as well as highlighting areas for future improvement.  

Innovations detailed in the report include: 

• A unique form of plastic surgery is helping to improve quality of life for lymphoedema patients.  Wales is the only UK nation to offer the procedure, funded through the Welsh Government’s Health Technology fund.  The surgery means patients no longer require compression garments, reducing costs to the NHS.  
• Over 150 new staff have been recruited and new services created to improve Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services across Wales.  New crisis intervention teams are now operating outside of normal working hours and early intervention in psychosis teams are caring for 15 to 24 year-olds experiencing severe mental illness.  

NHS Wales Chief Executive Dr Andrew Goodall said: 

“We have seen several years of sustained improvement in diabetes outcomes for children and young people.  Cancer survival rates continue to improve despite increasing numbers of people requiring treatment. Waiting times to access diagnostic services continue to fall and we have seen a steady decline in people experiencing delays in their hospital discharge thanks to improved links between hospitals and social care.  

“Our new clinical response model has vastly improved ambulance response times and has attracted interest from across the UK and the world. 

“Passionate and committed NHS staff are leading improvements in healthcare services across Wales, services used by thousands of people every week; the Annual Quality Statement takes a look at just some of these improvements, but also looks at what we need to do next.  

“I want to challenge the NHS to keep on improving; to work to provide care that is truly centred on the individual patient, and to ensure health and care are delivered to the same high standards consistently across Wales.”

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Under the plans set out in a Welsh Government White Paper councils would work with each other, on a regional and mandatory basis, to deliver a range of different services such as economic development  – including certain planning functions and transport. 

Councils would also decide how they would work together on other services like education improvement, social services, additional learning needs, public protection, substance misuse and promotion of the Welsh language.

Together with these proposals, views are also being sought on reducing the voting age at local government elections to 16 and enabling local authorities to adopt either ‘first past the post’ or ‘single transferable vote’ election systems.

The White Paper also sets out how the Welsh Government would strengthen the role of community councils and encourage democratic participation.

The Local Government Secretary said: 

“These proposals are not about change for change’s sake.  

“Our councils are working against a backdrop of extraordinary austerity and some services are facing a great deal of pressure. Local government reform is essential if we’re to make these services stronger and more resilient to cope with the demands of the future.

“We also want people to be more engaged and involved in the decisions that affect their communities. That’s why it’s so important that the public and those involved in delivering council services, at every level, have their say in this consultation. Your views matter and will shape the way we take these proposals forward.” 

The consultation on reforming local government closes on 11th April.

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