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Efficiency and Innovation Board
The second meeting of the Efficiency and Innovation Board was held this morning chaired by the minister for Budget and Business, Jane Hutt AM. Representation from local authorities included the following (who are also work stream chairs)-
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Councillor Russell Roberts (WLGA)
Mark James - Carmarthenshire (Assets)
Mohammed Mehmet - Denbighshire (Procurement)
Harry Thomas - Gwynedd (Transforming the business)
Alison Ward - Torfaen (Workforce)
Steve Thomas - WLGA (IT)
The board discussed a number of reports the most important of which were the financial perspectives for the public finances over the next period. WAG is working to the following planning assumptions: that the revenue budget will reduce by 3% cash year on year and the capital budget will reduce by 10% cash year on year in cash terms.
In real terms, they forecast that is equates to a reduction in the revenue budget of: 4.5% in 2011-12 5.5% in 2012-13 5.75% in 2013-14
For the capital budget, the reduction in real terms is: 11.5% in 2011-12, 12.5% in 2012-13 12.75% in 2013-14.
http://www.wlga.gov.uk/english/newslisting/state-of-the-nation-report-ma...
HIV and STI Trends in Wales Report: March 2011 (PDF, 457KB)- In 2009, the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Wales continued to increase. After declining in recent years, the incidence of gonorrhoea in Wales increased in 2009. However, the incidence of infectious syphilis appeared to decline and genital chlamydia rates were similar to those seen in 2008.
- In 2009 there were 1,193 Welsh residents receiving treatment for HIV/AIDS (40 per 100,000 population). This represents a 10% increase from the 1,082 patients receiving treatment in 2008, and more than doubled since 2002.
- Men who have sex with men (MSM) continue to make up a significant proportion of prevalent cases in Wales (54% in 2009). The number of prevalent cases reporting heterosexual sex or mother to baby transmission as a risk increased slightly in 2009, but as a proportion of all prevalent cases, decreased from 41% in 2008 to 38% in 2009.
- The number of HIV antibody tests carried out by laboratories in Wales increased by 2% in 2009 with 58,798 tests carried out (1,960 tests per 100,000 population).
- The Health Protection Agency (HPA) reported 142 new cases of HIV infection in Wales in 2009. This represents a decrease from the previous year which saw the highest number of new cases in Wales since the start of the epidemic. Fifty-four percent reported that the infection was probably acquired through sex between men and 37% through heterosexual contact.
- Over half of those diagnosed with HIV in 2009 who acquired their infection through heterosexual sex were from a non-White ethnic group, predominantly those of Black-African ethnicity in whom women continue to be over-represented.
It is likely that the format of next year’s report will be different. CDSC has been working on a new project, the Sexual health in Wales Surveillance scheme (SWS), to improve the quality and scope of information available on the epidemiology of STIs in Wales. Data from SWS will be included in the next annual ‘HIV and STI Trends in Wales’ report.
Updated Wales indicators
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In receipt of tax credits:
- first graph (over time): the number of working households who are in receipt of tax credits has doubled over the last decade.
- second graph (by local authority): every local authority has at least a sixth of its working-age households in receipt of tax credits.
- third graph (compared with the UK): Wales has a slightly higher proportion of households who are in receipt of tax credits than the average for the whole of the UK.
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Children in workless households:
- first graph (over time): around 110,000 children live in workless households. Two-thirds of them are in lone parent households.
- second graph (by household type): half of all children of lone parents live in households which are workless. This compares to one in twelve for children of couples.
- third graph (compared with the UK): the proportion of children who are in workless households in Wales is somewhat higher than the UK average.
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Work and disability:
- third graph (shares): among those who are aged 25 to retirement and not working, around half are disabled.
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Work and lone parents:
- first graph (over time): just over half of lone parents are working.
- second graph (compared with the UK): around a fifth of lone parents in Wales lack, but want, paid work, a similar proportion to the UK average.
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Workless households:
- first graph (over time by household type): single adult households - both with and without children - are much more likely to be workless than couple households.
- second graph (shares by household type): half of all workless, working-age households are single adults without dependent children.
The 2011 edition of indicators of poverty and social exclusion in Wales, providing a comprehensive analysis of trends.
This is the third update of Monitoring poverty and social exclusion in Wales. It is set against the Welsh Government's stated commitment to end child poverty by 2020. After looking at the mixed results of policy over the last ten years, it examines how far higher employment might take Wales towards its goal - and what its wider implications might be.
The study examines:
- Poverty rates amongst adults, children and pensioners;
- Under-employment;
- Qualification levels;
- The effects of higher employment on child poverty.
Mae'r cyhoeddiad hwn hefyd ar gael yn Gymraeg (PDF, 283KB).
http://www.poverty.org.uk/w09/index.shtml