Senedd Watch - June 2011

• The Welsh Government declined to "bail out" a struggling care home provider. Southern Cross, which runs 34 homes in Wales, looked to reduce rent bills across the UK after a £311million half-year loss. The Welsh Government said there needed to be a "commercial solution to a commercial problem."
• Capital expenditure forecasts for 2011-12 showed that Welsh Police Authorities are reporting a 35% decrease in their capital budgets to £39million. Overall, there's a 2% decrease in capital spending by local authorities to just over £1.06billion, which include local councils, national parks, police and fire authorities.
• Office of National Statistics data showed that 1.3% of Welsh households have nobody who has ever worked - the lowest rate of all the home nations. England had 1.7%, Scotland 1.9% and Northern Ireland 2.1%.
• Huw Jones was appointed S4C chair by UK Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt. He was previously chief executive of S4C between 1994 and 2005.
• Angela Burns AM (Con, Carms. West & South Pembs.), said that finding the cause of an explosion at the Chevron Oil Refinery in Pembroke Dock was "crucial" and that she was "very uncomfortable" with some of the rumours about the incident. 4 people were killed in the explosion, with a fifth person in a critical but stable condition.
• The Queen officially opened the 4^th National Assembly of Wales on June 7^th, saying that the institution had "coped admirably" with the growth in its powers. Carwyn Jones said his government would work "night and day" to improve public services and make Wales "healthier and more prosperous".
• Plaid Cymru leader Ieuan Wyn Jones has been criticised for not attending the opening of the 4^th Assembly due to a pre-planned holiday. He responded by saying that he "put his family first".
• Figures obtained by BBC Wales, show that hospitals in Wales are becoming routinely overcrowded, leading to concerns about patient safety and cancelled operations. At some hospitals - such as University Hospital, Cardiff - the bed occupancy rate was 93%, while the Royal College of Surgeons suggests a maximum occupancy rate of 82%.
• A former Lib Dem AM, Elenor Burnham, described leader Kirsty Williams' handling of the disqualification of two list AMs as a "shambles" and that it "looks like a farce". On June 23^rd it was announced that they would not face criminal charges.
• The First Minister refused to say whether a planned badger cull will go ahead. The previous Welsh Government pledged to carry out a cull, that was subsequently put on hold. Deputy Minister for Agriculture, Alun Davies (Lab, Blaenau Gwent) is a supporter of a cull. On June 21^st the cull was put on hold, pending an independent review of the science.
• The Welsh Government temporarily reopened the ProAct scheme to companies affected by the Tohoku earthquake, which  disrupted production in Japan. £4million has been made available.
• Unemployment in Wales fell by 9,000 in the three months to April, to stand at 7.9%, slightly above the UK average of 7.7%. There was also a fall of 10,000 in the number of people categorised as economically inactive.
• The value of exports from Wales rose sharply by 30% in the first quarter of 2011 to £3.18billion. During the 12 month period, Wales experienced the largest increase in exports of all the nations and regions of the UK.
• The Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW) rejected plans by Welsh universities to charge the maximum £9000 a year tuition fees, because they failed to meet certain requirements such as equal access and improving student experience.
• The Welsh Government announced that in future, planning guidelines for wind farms will be regarded as an "upper limit". This comes in response to a protest by Montgomeryshire residents against wind farms in their area. Carwyn Jones also called for the devolution of large energy projects to the Welsh Assembly. The UK Government has denied that there were any moves to devolve the powers, a situation described as a "slap in the face for Wales".
• Plaid Cymru have appointed former Welsh Government special advisor Rhuanedd Richards as their new chief executive. She said that Plaid needed to "broaden its appeal" but that there was "no sense of crisis" in the party.
• Joyce Watson AM (Lab, Mid & West Wales)  said that the "stigma" of receiving free schools meals should be ended by a system of cashless payments.
• From the end of this month, all payments over £25,000 will be listed on a monthly basis by the Welsh Government. The First Minister said "we are constantly looking to publish information that is of most use to the people of Wales to whom we are accountable".
• A new National Literacy & Numeracy Framework for 5-14 year old was announced by Education Minister Leighton Andrews (Lab, Rhondda). It will help inform teachers of how to apply literacy and numeracy across the curriculum and monitor pupil progress. It is due to be rolled out across Wales by 2013.
• ONS mid-year population estimates for Wales in 2010 show that the resident population crossed the 3million mark for the first time to stand at 3,006,400.
• Projects announced this month include £21.5million to reduce orthopaedic waiting times, the £150million Gilwern-Brynmawr phase of A465 duelling (due to start in 2014), the granting of a licence for a £1billion gas-fired power station in Pembrokeshire and a £36million reorganisation of primary schools in Powys.