Welsh Government

Public Health Minister, Rebecca Evans has appointed Pippa Britton as Vice Chair of Sport Wales. She is the current Chair of Disability Sport Wales and a former international athlete.

The Minister has also appointed four new members to the board – Ashok Ahir, Ian Bancroft, Christian Malcolm and Alison Thorne. They will commence their term of office on 1 October 2017 for a three year period. 

In addition, the Minister has re-appointed Richard Parks and Samar Wafa as members of the Board. Their three year term of office will begin on 1 September 2017.

The appointments have been made in accordance with the Governance Code on Public Appointments.

Sport Wales is the national organisation responsible for developing and promoting sport and physical activity in Wales, and is the main adviser on sporting matters to the Welsh Government. It is also responsible for distributing National Lottery funds to both elite and grassroots sport in Wales.

Public Health Minister, Rebecca Evans said:

“I’m very pleased to appoint Pippa Britton as the new Vice Chair of Sport Wales, and Ashok Ahir, Ian Bancroft, Christian Malcolm and Alison Thorne as members of the board. I’m also pleased to re-appoint Richard Parks and Samar Wafa as members of the board. 

“Together, they bring a wealth of experience of working with under-engaged communities to inspire and increase participation levels, as well as an understanding of the needs of elite athletes.  I am grateful to the new members for accepting the invitation to serve on the board. I am also grateful to those out-going members for their service. 

“I am confident the board has the expertise and experience required to support me and the staff of Sport Wales in taking forward our ambitions for a more active and successful nation.  I look forward to working with them.”

Lawrence Conway, Chair of Sport Wales added: 

“I am delighted to welcome our five new Board members. They join Sport Wales at an important time as we take forward the development of our new corporate strategy. The members will strengthen the Board with their wealth of knowledge and experience and provide invaluable insight and perspective to the Board’s deliberations. I would like to thank the outgoing Board members for their commitment and valued contributions in ensuring the success of sport in Wales.” 

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The funding is in addition to the £8m of funding provided via the Homelessness Prevention Grant programme and the £6m allocated to local authorities to prevent homelessness.

Local Authorities, working with voluntary sector organisations, will be invited to apply for the funding for projects which address rough sleeping, youth homelessness, people with a mental health need who are homeless or potentially homeless, and improving access to the private rented sector for people in housing need. As these issues are often interlinked, projects which address these linkages will be particularly encouraged.

The announcement comes as an evaluation report of the Welsh Government’s homelessness legislation under the Housing (Wales) Act 2014 is published. The report found that overall, the increased focus on prevention introduced under the Act has led to the prevention of homelessness for a larger number of people than previously but that certain groups, such as single men, care leavers and those experiencing multiple issues have not benefitted to the same extent. The report also highlighted variations across Wales in the delivery of services.

The Cabinet Secretary said:

“Providing people with a safe, warm and secure home remains a key priority. The report published today shows that Local authorities have made a positive start in implementing the legislation we introduced in 2015 to help everyone who is homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.

“There is more we can do however, particularly for those groups who are still struggling to get the help they need. Along with the £14m I announced earlier this year, the funding I have announced today will be available to projects that aim to target these groups and tackle the issues they face.”

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The investment is backed by £293,500 from the Welsh Government’s Business Finance Scheme which ensures JCP’s expansion goes ahead at its current Swansea headquarters, rather than opening a new office outside of Wales – which was an option under consideration.

Economy Secretary Ken Skates said: 

“This project supports our drive to spread economic benefits throughout Wales and to develop the competitive edge of each region of Wales, creating better jobs, closer to home.

 

“The growth of the legal services sector in Wales is a key priority of the financial and professional services’ strategy and I am pleased Welsh Government support means this expansion will be made in Swansea and help to strengthen and broaden the legal skills base within Swansea City Region.

 

“It will not only create 50 new jobs, offering career opportunities for law graduates and young solicitors, but of equal importance, it will safeguard a further 20 legal administration jobs in the city.”

 

Established in 1990, JCP currently employs 210 people, with offices in Swansea, Carmarthen and throughout Pembrokeshire. 

 

The company’s recent merger with Glamorgan Law extended its geographical reach throughout South East Wales, absorbing offices in Caerphilly, Cardiff, Cowbridge and Pontypridd. 

 

To accommodate the growth of its services to clients based outside Wales – both in the UK and internationally – JCP Solicitors aims to expand into an adjacent property on Waterside Business Park in Swansea.

 

Hayley Davies, Director and CEO at JCP Solicitors said: 

“The past 5 years have been an exciting time for growth at JCP Solicitors, and the recent merger with Glamorgan Law further supports our Business Strategy. Our next step is expansion by organic growth, but we have deliberated for some time on the best location to do this, having outgrown our current Swansea base some time ago.

 

“This investment will support us to further develop our services through the recruitment of new team members. The appointment of specialist and supporting roles will provide the required expertise to further assist thriving businesses in the Swansea Bay region.  

 

“I am delighted that our business will be able to keep this investment and these extra jobs here in the Swansea Bay Region. Furthermore, pressing ahead with the expansion without moving means that we will be able to continue to service our existing and loyal client base without causing them or our staff any disruption.”

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The number of tourism day visits made to Wales in the 12 months ending June 2017 has increased by 9% compared to the 12 months previous, while the amount spent has increased by 34%.

In the 12 months ending June 2017, there were 100.7 million tourism day visits to Wales, with an associated spend of £4,711 million. 

Economy Secretary, Ken Skates, said: 

“In what is an extremely competitive market place, tourism in Wales is in a strong position.  In 2016 the total number of visits to Wales – taking into account tourism day visits, international visitors as well GB overnights visits – was 15% up.  It’s excellent news that the day trips market is performing strongly into the early summer of 2017.  Added to this, 87% of respondents in our tourism barometer survey said they were confident about how their business will perform over the summer. 

“We will continue with our campaign work to ensure that we make the most of the opportunities to attract overseas visitors and those looking to holiday at home due to the weak pound.  Visit Wales’ London marketing campaign has been targeting London and the South East over the summer to entice Londoners to Wales during the Year of Legends.  This includes a huge motion screen at Waterloo station to showcase Wales at its best with a specially edited film.”

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The additional places are being created as part of a wider package of investment to develop new and improved NHS dental services across Wales.

As part of this investment, £450,000 will go to Cardiff and Vale University Health Board and £300,000 to Aneurin Bevan University Health Board to provide access to new NHS dentistry places. Cardiff has seen significant population growth and this additional funding will help meet a growing need. New access is also planned in the areas of greatest need across the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board area. 

In addition, new investment is being made to strengthen specialist children’s dentistry services. This will see new consultant and specialist appointments being made to work with existing community and hospital-based services. This will help increase access to specialist paediatric dental services closer to home and ensure those children with highest treatment need have timely access to treatment. 

The new specialists will work closely with general dental practice teams to improve children’s preventive care and treatment services in NHS dental services in Wales. It’s expected up to 3,000 additional patients per year will be able to access specialist paediatric dentistry services as a result, which will reduce waiting times for hospital-based services.

Other investments as part of a wider reform of the way in which NHS dental services are delivered include:

• Funding for courses to equip all dentists in Wales with the skills and knowledge they need to lead their teams in the delivery of effective preventive treatment and care
• A clinically-led dental e-referral management system for Wales that will improve the quality of patient care and reduce waiting times for treatment
• Improving dental information to better understand variation in provision and to link the use of services by patients to improve the value of services and outcomes of care
• Widening access to training and education for communities by offering opportunities for people who want to train and work as dental care professionals. 

Health Secretary Vaughan Gething said:

“Improving NHS dental services and patients’ access to them is a priority for the Welsh Government. 

“I’m really pleased that the investment I’m announcing today will create 10,000 new NHS dental places. This will improve access to NHS dental services for people in some of the most deprived areas of Wales.

“We’re also investing in new specialist paediatric dentistry to ensure the needs of the most vulnerable children are met. The investment in specialist paediatric dentistry will help improve NHS dental treatment and care for those children who are affected by dental disease.”

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