Building on the headline commitments in the Programme for Government, the strategy is designed to drive integration and collaboration across the Welsh public sector, and put people at the heart of improved service delivery.

The strategy sets out a vision and actions covering each of the key themes in the Programme for Government – Prosperous and Secure, Healthy and Active, Ambitious and Learning, and United and Connected.

It also identifies 5 priority areas – early years, housing, social care, mental health and skills, which have the potential to make the greatest contribution to long-term prosperity and well-being. These are areas where it has been shown that earlier intervention and more seamless services can make a real difference to people’s lives.

First Minister Carwyn Jones said, 

“Yesterday we celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Yes vote that brought devolution to Wales. Devolution has been a journey of political maturity, a story of growing confidence and a firm determination to deliver for Wales.

“Today we publish a new national strategy designed to bring together the efforts of the whole public sector towards this Government’s central mission of delivering Prosperity for All.

“Prosperity is about far more than material wealth and cannot be delivered by economic growth alone. It is about every person in Wales enjoying a good quality of life, living in a strong, safe community and sharing in the prosperity of Wales.

“This strategy takes our commitments in Taking Wales Forward, places them in a long-term context, and sets out how they will be delivered in a smarter, more joined up way that cuts across traditional boundaries, both inside and outside government.”

Smoking contributes most to the current burden of disease in Wales, causing approximately 5,450 deaths each year and costing the NHS an estimated £302m annually.

The National Survey for Wales 2016/17 showed that 19% of adults smoked; a significant reduction from 25% in 2005/6. This exceeded the Welsh Government target of reducing smoking rates to 20% by 2016. 

The new three-year Tobacco Control Delivery Plan will build on the progress already made following the first 10 years of the smoking ban in Wales. 

Actions in the new plan include;

• Introducing a statutory ban on smoking in hospital grounds, school grounds, public playgrounds and outdoor care settings for children by summer 2019
• Helping more smokers to quit by encouraging the use of integrated smoking cessation services
• Strengthening referral pathways to smoking cessation services, particularly for groups with high smoking prevalence.

The majority of smokers in Wales (around 6 in 10) want to quit, and just over 4 in 10 have made an attempt to quit in the last year, according to the National Survey for Wales. Large numbers of these individuals ‘go-it-alone’, yet this is the least effective method of quitting. In order to achieve a further reduction in adult smoking levels in Wales, more need to be motivated to quit and to be encouraged to use cessation services that are already available.   

Public Health Minister, Rebecca Evans said:

“As part of our plan for a healthier and more active Wales, we want to support as many people as possible to give up smoking. 

“The Tobacco Control Delivery Plan 2017-2020 aims to make smoking cessation services provided by healthcare professionals more accessible. Reducing the rate of smoking will in turn reduce the number of number of people exposed to second hand smoke.

“I’m pleased that we are leading the way in protecting our future generations through the Public Health (Wales) Act 2017, which includes a ban on smoking in playgrounds and school grounds. In order to continue the remarkable culture-change relating to smoking that we have seen in Wales in recent years, I want everyone to ‘Choose Smokefree’.”   

Last year, a Tobacco Control Strategic Board was established, Chaired by the Chief Medical Officer for Wales, Frank Atherton, to oversee the delivery of the new plan and ensure momentum is maintained to achieve the 16% target.   
The Chief Medical Officer for Wales, Frank Atherton said: 

“Reducing smoking prevalence in Wales will not only benefit the nation’s health, but will also relieve some pressure on the NHS.

“The work we have done as the Strategic Board and its sub-groups for cessation, prevention and reducing exposure to smoking has developed this delivery plan. We are confident the actions detailed will help us reach the target of reducing the number of smokers to 16% of the population by 2020.”

A new Commission on Justice in Wales has today been announced by First Minister Carwyn Jones.

The Commission, to be chaired by the current Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, will review the justice system and policing in Wales and consider how the system can achieve better outcomes for Wales.

The Commission will deal with the unfinished business from the Silk Commission, which made a number of carefully reasoned, evidence-based recommendations, in respect of justice – covering the courts, probation, prisons and youth justice. It will also address crucial issues relating to the legal jurisdiction and the challenges facing the legal services sector in Wales.

The First Minister said:

“In Wales, we have had a separate legislature for 6 years but, as yet, we do not have our own jurisdiction. By establishing the Commission on Justice in Wales, we are taking an important first step towards developing a distinctive justice system which is truly representative of Welsh needs.

“The Commission will consider how we can do things differently in Wales and identify options to develop a distinct Welsh justice system, which improves people’s access to justice, reduces crime and promotes rehabilitation.

“I am delighted that Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd will chair the Commission when he steps down as Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales in October. Having risen to the heights of the judiciary in Wales and England, Lord Thomas commands universal respect and brings his unprecedented wealth of experience to this important role.”

Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd said:

“I am very pleased to take on this challenge when I step down as Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales in October. As a small developing jurisdiction, Wales offers unique opportunities to identify new solutions to the complex challenges facing justice and the legal profession. These are crucial to Wales’ future prosperity and I hope the commission will make a valuable contribution to addressing them.”

The package has been specifically designed to offer the best level of support to all affected workers to help them access future employment opportunities. 

The agreed measures and delivery timeframes are: 

• Between now and the end of October Tesco’s internal learning and development team will deliver CV writing and interview skills training to all staff. This will be supplemented by additional skills training and advice being offered by Careers Wales. Specialists from Careers Wales and JobCentre Plus will be at the Cardiff site to support staff from tomorrow (September 19)
• The Welsh Contact Centre Forum (WCCF) is working with Tesco and other key partners to deliver a rolling programme of visits by prospective employers throughout November 2017. These will also be repeated in January 2018. More than 20 successful and well-established businesses have already expressed an interest in getting involved with these visits.
• The Welsh Government, in conjunction with the WCCF, is developing a package of information for employers to make them aware of the potential support and incentives offered through programmes such as ReAct for taking on employees facing redundancy.

Tesco will issue invitations to employees to discuss their redundancy packages during the first week of January 2018. From this point all employees will become eligible for the Welsh Government’s ReAct 3 programme and the wide range of additional support measures and incentives it offers.

Economy Secretary and Chair of the Tesco Taskforce, Ken Stakes, said: 

“I know that Tesco’s decision to close its Cardiff contact centre has come as a blow to its highly skilled and award winning staff and I promised at the time we would do everything possible to support workers through this very difficult time. While I appreciate many are still upset by the decision, I hope that by outlining what staff can expect over the coming months it will provide some sense of clarity and reassurance to everyone affected.”

Skills and Science Minister, Julie James who leads on employability across the Welsh Government, added: 

“We appreciate how difficult the last few months have been for staff and one of key our priorities throughout the summer has been to work with our taskforce partners to put in place a range of measures as soon as possible and ensure the best achievable outcome for affected workers.

“We have received indications from more than twenty successful and well established companies in South Wales that they would be interested in providing employment opportunities to Tesco staff at risk of redundancy, and many of those employers will be involved with the employer visits being staged for workers throughout November and January.”

Tesco Customer Engagement Centres Director Rob Graham said: 

“Since the announcement of our plans to close the Customer Engagement Centre we have been working alongside local representatives from Usdaw to support our Cardiff colleagues. We have had considerable interest from other employers in taking on colleagues currently employed at Tesco House and we have put measures in place to assist them in securing alternative employment. We are grateful to the Welsh Government for the additional help they will be providing.”

Economy Secretary Ken Skates is attending the reopening of Norwegian owned, Sapa’s Bedwas site today which will be producing aluminium components for the TX-5 – the all new zero emissions capable London cab.

This will replace the diesel powered black cab with a model that utilises a plug-in hybrid powertrain.

The investment is backed by £550,000 from the Welsh Government, which helped bring the project to Wales, despite competition from another European facility.

First Minister Carwyn Jones met senior officials from the Sapa group during his visit to Norway in January and pressed the business case for bringing the investment to Wales.

The Bedwas site was mothballed in 2014 following significant changes in market conditions but was retained by Sapa. The opportunity to re-open the facility occurred when Sapa Components UK, which supplies all the major vehicle manufacturers with aluminium based sub-assemblies and components, secured contracts to supply the new London cab.

Sapa has been working with the London Electrical Vehicle Company (LEVC) since 2015 and invested significantly in researching and developing lightweight aluminium prototypes and components for the new vehicle.

Economy and Infrastructure Secretary Ken Skates said:

“The Welsh Government is proud to have supported Sapa’s extensive investment in the refurbishment of its site in Bedwas which will create at least 130 jobs over the next five years.

“Wales has a growing reputation for supporting innovative new technologies and opportunities,  and the Low Carbon Vehicle sector is a particular growth area and a key sub sector for our advanced materials and manufacturing industry.

“I am delighted that SAPA is reopening its operation in Bedwas and proud that Wales will be playing a key role in the production of a new generation of environmentally friendly black cabs.”

Calvin Carpenter, MD Sapa Component UK, adds:

“This is a proud day as it is a culmination of nearly 3 years working with London Taxi throughout its development phases to enable us to supply major body components to the ‘new state of the art’ facility in Ansty, Coventry.”