Consultation Bulletin – week ending 28 June 2013

Newly received this week
Source / Title/link / Summary / Issue date / Deadline for Response
National Assembly for Wales – Children and Young People Committee / Inquiry into Educational Outcomes for Children from Low Income Households / The National Assembly for Wales’s Children and Young People Committee is considering undertaking an inquiry into educational outcomes for children from low income households.
The overall aim of the inquiry would be:
To review the effectiveness of the Welsh Government’s policies in addressing the gap in the educational outcomes of children from low income households at all key stages. / 21/06/2013 / 10/09/2013
Welsh Government / Contaminated land / This consultation covers contaminated land dealt with under the Part 2A regime. It highlights the opportunities for contaminated land to be managed as part of redevelopment and regeneration work. It discusses:
·  the amount of contaminated land in Wales
·  the risks
·  legislation
·  the aspectsof dealing with it.
This consultation will be of interest to:
·  regulators
·  industry
·  land forums and
·  third (voluntary) sector organisations such as Keep Wales Tidy and Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens. / 21/06/2013 / 13/09/2013
Natural Resources Wales / Challenges and Choices consultation / This is the second consultation under the Water Framework Directive to help us prepare the second river basin management plans. This is your opportunity to tell us what you think are the big water environment issues in Wales.
The best way to protect and improve the water environment is by everyone becoming actively involved.
A river basin district is a group of catchments that contain a collection of rivers, lakes, groundwater and coastal waters. We would like your views on what you think are the most significant issues for each river basin district in Wales:
·  Western Wales river basin district – entirely in Wales
·  Dee river basin district - cross the border with England
·  Severn river basin district – cross border with England / 22/06/2013 / 22/12/2013
Welsh Government / Proposed revision of the Welsh Government’s Managing Unauthorised Camping guidance / This consultation proposes revised guidance for local authorities on how to resolve incidents of unauthorised camping in their area.
The Welsh Government is consulting on a new guidance document relating to the issue of unauthorised camping.
The guidance recommends processes, approaches and templates which local authorities can use when responding to these encampments. / 24/06/2013 / 13/09/2013
Department for Work and Pensions / Consultation on the PIP assessment Moving around activity / From April 2013 Disability Living Allowance (DLA) began to be replaced for new claimants with a new benefit, Personal Independence Payment (PIP). Like DLA, PIP is intended to provide a contribution to the extra costs faced by people with disabilities and long-term health conditions. Whether individuals receive the benefit, and how much they receive, will be determined by an assessment of their needs. The PIP assessment has been designed to ensure that support is targeted at those individuals who face the greatest barriers to independent living.
We have received feedback from some disabled people and their organisations saying that they are unhappy with the changes that have been made to the assessment criteria for the Moving around activity as a result of a previous consultation and want a further opportunity to have their views considered. We have therefore decided to carry out an additional consultation, seeking further views on the Moving around activity. / 26/06/2013 / 05/08/2013

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Welsh Government / Business rates relief for charities and social enterprises
WCVA will be submitting a response to this consultation. If you have any comments that you would like us to include in our response please email them to by 16 June. Please also note that WG has extended the consultation period to 28 June and re-issued the consultation document, as errors had been made in Annex 5. / In October 2012, the Welsh Government responded to the recommendations of the Business Rates Review Wales, an independent report from the Business Rates Task and Finish Group.
Recommendation 15 proposed consultation with the charitable and retail sectors to review the business rates reliefs that are available to charities and social enterprises. The Minister for Economy, Science and Transport asked the Task and Finish Group to undertake this consultation and prepare specific recommendations on this issue.
Their independent report has now been published and makes ten recommendations as well as further issues for consultation. This report is available and it forms the key basis for this consultation. The Welsh Government would like your views on these recommendations. These responses will inform any further action that is taken. This consultation will run for eight weeks and build on the engagement already undertaken by the Task and Finish and the previous call for evidence. / 23/04/2013 / 28/06/2013
National Assembly for Wales – Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee / Inquiry into Wales’ role in the EU decisions making process / The purpose of the inquiry is to consider and make recommendations about Wales’ constitutional position in the EU particularly how Wales is involved in the decision-making mechanisms at the EU level, rather than a more general discussion about the advantages and disadvantages of the UK’s membership of the EU. / 16/05/2013 / 28/06/2013
National Assembly for Wales – Communities, Equality and Local Government Committee / Inquiry into barriers to home building in Wales / The National Assembly for Wales’ Communities, Equality and Local Government Committee is to undertake a short inquiry into barriers to home building in Wales. To assist with its inquiry, the Committee would welcome your views on this subject.
Terms of Reference:
·  To establish whether development costs are impeding and constraining the delivery of new homes in Wales;
·  To identify specific concerns of small and medium sized construction companies based in Wales; and
·  To identify “quick-wins” that can be implemented by the Welsh Government to assist the whole homebuilding industry. / 13/06/2013 / 03/07/2013
Welsh Government / Future management of private water supply pipes / We want your views on whether Welsh Ministers and the Secretary of State should be able to make regulations so that water supply companies adopt and maintain water service pipes between the existing public system and individual properties.
We are seeking views from:
·  water supply companies
·  water consumers
·  developers
·  property insurers
·  plumbers
·  repair and maintenance companies. / 23/05/2013 / 04/07/2013
Welsh Government / Repealing air quality ‘Further Assessments’ from Part IV of the Environment Act 1995 / We want your views on the above so local authorities in Wales wouldn’t need to carry out a “further assessment” in an air quality management area before preparing an action plan.
Section 84(1) of the Environment Act requires that once an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) has been declared the local authority must carry out an additional assessment.
Section 84(2)(a) of the Act requires that the report of assessment is published. This report is generally known as a ‘Further Assessment’.
Evidence suggests that Further Assessments may unnecessarily slow down the preparation and implementation of local Air Quality Action Plans. These plans are developed to tackle air pollution issues in AQMAs. / 13/05/2013 / 05/07/2013
Welsh Government / Draft Social and Environmental Guidance to Ofwat / Section 2A of the Water Industry Act 1991 gives us powers to give guidance to the Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat). The guidance is about the contribution Ofwat can make to our social and environmental policies. Ofwat must consider this guidance in carrying out its powers and duties as economic regulator of the water and sewerage industry.
This guidance applies only to water and sewerage companies who are wholly or mainly in Wales.
This draft guidance reflects our current and future policies. Sustainable development is central to our thinking and actions. We ensure that we consider the economic, social, environmental and long term effects of the decisions we take. The aim is to identify solutions that benefit both current and future generations. / 22/04/2013 / 15/07/2013
Charity Commission / Developing the content of the annual return and information displayed on the register of charities / In 2012 we reviewed the information we collected from registered charities through the annual return and at the point of registration. We undertook a consultation in summer 2012 to seek views from charities and others with an interest in the register of charities, on the information we should collect from charities and make publicly available on the register.
We published the analysis of responses to the consultation in October 2012 and used the findings to inform the content of the annual return for 2013. We made a small number of changes to the annual return for 2013. Previously voluntary questions on overseas activities and the number of volunteers are now mandatory and charities are additionally asked:
·  if the charity is registered for Gift Aid, and
·  whether the charity owns or leases any land or buildings, and whether any of the charity's land or buildings are used for the charity's purposes / 22/05/2013 / 17/07/2013
NHS Wales / South Wales Programme: Formal Public Consultation / W e want people living in South Wales and South Powys to have access to the best possible care whenever they need it, especially when they are very sick or seriously injured.
To do this, we need to change the way we provide a small number of hospital services:
·  consultant-led maternity and neonatal care
·  inpatient children’s services
·  emergency medicine (A&E)
Between now and July 19, 2013 we want to hear from as many people as possible about the changes being proposed for the future of these services. / 23/05/2013 / 19/07/2013
Welsh Government / Higher Education (Wales) Bill: Technical consultation / The Further and Higher Education (Wales) Bill White Paper published in July 2012 set out the Welsh Government’s proposals concerning reform of the current higher education (HE) regulatory framework.
55 written responses were received to the White Paper consultation exercise and revisions have been made to the Welsh Government’s proposals as a result of the feedback.
The purpose of this document is twofold:
·  to present the Welsh Government’s response to the White Paper consultation
·  to undertake further engagement with stakeholders on the technical detail of Welsh Government’s legislative proposals. / 20/05/2013 / 29/07/2013
TV Licensing / BBC Proposed Welsh Language Scheme / The BBC is publishing a proposed Welsh language scheme for TV Licensing, under the Welsh Language Act 1993, setting out how it will provide services to the public through the medium of Welsh.
We are consulting the public on the scheme. You can download a copy of the Welsh Language Scheme (PDF) or if you would like a paper version sent to you please request this either by emailing us at (marked FAO Senior Policy Advisor) or by calling 0300 7906042.
If you would like a copy of the scheme in large print, audio or braille, please call 0300 7906042.
If you have any comments on the scheme, please email them to (marked FAO Senior Policy Advisor), by 29 July 2013. / 03/06/2013 / 29/07/2013
Tidal Lagoon Swansea Bay / Statement of Community Consultation / This Statement of Community Consultation (SoCC) explains how
you can comment on proposals for an application by Tidal Lagoon
Swansea Bay plc (TLSB) to develop and operate a tidal energy lagoon (a
generating station with a nominal capacity of about 240MW) in Swansea
Bay (the Project).
There will be one formal phase of consultation with
one response period; the start and end dates of consultation, and
details of where you can get further information, are summarised below.
Your comments on the Project are important. They will be considered
as the application is prepared, before its submission in late 2013. / 18/06/2013 / 05/08/2013
Welsh Government / Continuity and Change - Refreshing the Relationship between Welsh Government and the Third Sector in Wales
WCVA will be submitting a response to this consultation. We would welcome any initial comments by 10 June - please email them to We will circulate further information during July. / This consultation focuses on refreshing the Welsh Government’s relationship with the Third Sector in Wales.
In particular it considers:
1.  Affirming and renewing the relationship;
2.  Supporting Third Sector Infrastructure;
3.  Engagement with the sector;
4.  Working together nationally, regionally and locally;
5.  Local Compacts; and
6.  Framework documents.
In January 2013, the Welsh Government announced a process to refresh its relationship with the Third Sector in Wales in order to ‘make this crucial
relationship as strong and effective as possible’.
As part of this process key policy documents that underpin the relationship will be reviewed and revised to bring them up to date including:
·  The Voluntary Sector Scheme (last revised 2004)
·  The Code of Practice for Funding the Third Sector in Wales (last revised 2009)
·  The Third Sector Partnership Agreement / 16/05/2013 / 08/08/2013
HM Revenue and Customs / Community amateur sports clubs (CASC) scheme / The Government announced on 4 March 2013 that it would be amending the qualifying conditions for Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCs) to make the rules clearer for clubs and HMRC to apply.
Provisions were published in the Finance Bill on 28 March to amend the qualifying conditions and allow clearer, more detailed, rules to be specified in secondary legislation following a public consultation. This consultation sets out proposals for those rules.
These proposals will be of interest to sports clubs in general and particularly those sports clubs, and their members, that are already a registered CASC or are considering applying to HMRC for CASC status. This consultation will also be of interest to National Governing Sporting bodies and other similar groups. / 03/06/2013 / 12/08/2013
Welsh Government / Renting Homes White Paper / This document sets out, for public consultation, our proposals to improve the arrangements for renting a home in Wales.
It explains the evidence for change and the improvements that will result for tenants and landlords alike. It then describes our proposals for new legislation that we intend to bring forward.