We have a constituent querying the funding of the NERS scheme, whilst she is happy to pay the £2 contribution towards the classes, she was asking where this money went and how it was spent?
James Evans MS would like to know the take up of this scheme is within his constituency of Brecon and Radnorshire and we would be grateful to receive any information you have on this service.
Thank you for your recent request dated 30th June 2022 and for your interest in NERS.
The £2 per class payment was introduced by Welsh Government when the scheme was first established and has remained at this level for many years. It was introduced on the basis that research evidence suggests requiring participants to make a small contribution towards a behaviour change programme like NERS can help to increase levels of engagement and motivation to complete the programme.
Your local scheme is the Powys scheme which is run by Freedom Leisure. As you may know, NERS is a partnership between Public Health Wales and local authorities or, in some local areas, leisure trusts. Any income generated by the scheme stays within the local authority or leisure trust and it is a local decision as to how it is used. As we do not collect this information, can I suggest that you contact the Powys scheme directly with your constituent’s query. The Powys NERS Co-ordinator’s details are as follows:
Shelley Jackson
Email: shelley.jackson@freedom-leisure.co.uk
In relation to the take up of the scheme, our data relates to the local authority footprint and is not broken down into smaller areas within Powys. In the year 2019/20 (the last full year for which we have ‘business as usual’ data due to the impact of the pandemic on normal service delivery), 1,158 referrals were made into the Powys scheme, of which around 56% participated in the programme and then, of these, approximately half reached the end of programme assessment after 16 weeks. This picture is fairly typical for behaviour change programmes of all types but we are currently working jointly with all schemes across Wales on a range of quality improvement initiatives including ways to improve retention rates.
I hope this addresses your queries but please do let us know if you require further information about NERS.
If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your request and wish to make a complaint or request a review of the decision, you should write to the Corporate Complaints Manager, Public Health Wales NHS Trust, 3, Number 2, Capital Quarter, Tyndall Street, Cardiff, CF10 4BZ.
If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint or review, you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the complaints procedure provided by the Trust. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:
Information Commissioner for Wales
2nd Floor
Churchill House
Churchill Way
Cardiff
CF10 2HH
Telephone: 029 2067 8400
Email: wales@ico.org.uk