Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many full-time equivalent staff in her Department have been employed for the purpose of making social media content in each of the last three years.
Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales
Due to the difficulty of disaggregating the number of staff who are employed to produce social media content from staff who are employed to work on broader digital communications, it is not possible to report exact figures in response to this question.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many and what proportion of civil servants in her Department are (a) on temporary contract and (b) consultants.
Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales
My Department does not employ any Civil Servants on temporary contracts and there are no consultants in my Department.
Information on the number of civil servants employed on temporary contracts in my Department is published quarterly by the Office for National Statistics as part of the quarterly Public Sector Employment statistics. Information can be accessed for September 2025 at the following web address:
Departmental expenditure on consultancy is published within the Annual Report and Accounts. The latest report for FY 2024/25 can be found at the following web address:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/wales-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2024-25
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what Barnett consequential funding will Wales receive as a result of measures set out in the Violence against women and girls strategy, published on 18 December 2025.
Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales
The Barnett formula applies to all increases or decreases to UK Government Departmental Expenditure Limits (DEL). Programmes set out in the Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy are being funded from within existing unallocated budgets. The Barnett formula has already been applied in the normal way to funding previously allocated at Spending Review 2025.
Spending Review 2025 provided the Welsh Government with their largest spending review settlements in real terms since devolution in 1998. As a result of decisions at Budget 2025, the Welsh Government will receive an additional £320 million RDELex and £185 million CDEL through the operation of the Barnett formula on top of these record settlements.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what proportion of (a) named day questions and (b) ordinary written questions were responded to by her Department within the required timescale in (i) May 2025, (ii) June 2025, (iii) July 2025, (iv) August 2025, (v) September 2025, (vi) October 2025 and (vii) November 2025.
Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales
The Government recognises the importance of the effective and timely handling of written parliamentary questions (PQs).
The Wales Office answered 100% of Ordinary Written and Named Day questions within the required timescales between May 2025 and November 2025.
The House of Commons Procedure Committee monitors departmental PQ performance and publishes a report of the government’s consolidated PQ data following the end of each session.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what the (a) name, (b) job title, (c) annual remuneration, (d) time commitment and (e) expected end date is for each direct ministerial appointment in her Department.
Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales
There are currently no direct ministerial appointments at the Wales Office.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Welsh Government regarding the construction of a plant for the production of medical radio isotopes at the Trawsfynydd nuclear site and what plans they have to collaborate with the Welsh Government to construct the plant.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK Government has regular discussions with the Welsh Government on a range of issues, including the Welsh Government’s project to establish a public sector laboratory for the supply of medical radioisotopes at the Trawsfynydd site in Gwynedd.
The UK Government continues to engage with the Welsh Government on the opportunities this proposal could create for Wales.
Asked by: Llinos Medi (Plaid Cymru - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what Barnett consequential funding will Wales receive as a direct result of measures set out in the UK Government’s child poverty strategy published on 5 December 2025.
Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales
The Barnett formula has been applied in the normal way to changes in UK Government Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL). Spending Review 2025 provided the Welsh Government with their largest spending review settlements in real terms since devolution. As a result of decisions at Budget 2025, the Welsh Government will receive an additional £320 million RDELex and £185 million CDEL through the operation of the Barnett formula on top of these record settlements. This means the Welsh Government’s settlement continues to grow in real terms between 2024-25 and 2028-29.
Tackling child poverty is at the heart of this government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child the best start in life. The Government is investing in the future of our children and introducing a fundamental change by removing the two-child limit on Universal Credit, benefitting 69,000 children in Wales. This comes alongside a package of measures that will drive down working poverty by raising the minimum wage, creating more secure jobs by strengthening rights at work.
The Strategy builds on the reform plans already underway across government and the important work underway in Welsh Government. We are committed to continued collaboration with the Welsh Government to tackle child poverty across Wales, particularly through the implementation phase that will now follow.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, with reference to the policy papers entitled Spending Review 2025, published on 30 June 2025, and Budget 2025, published on 28 November 2025, what their Department’s capital Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) will be in each year of the Spending Review period; how much capital funding has been allocated to each of their Department’s programmes; and how much and what proportion of the capital DEL allocation remains unallocated in each year.
Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales
The Wales Office Capital Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) over the Spending Review is shown below:
Financial Year | £Million |
2025/26 | 0.975* |
2026/27 | 0.030 |
2027/28 | 0.030 |
2028/29 | 0.030 |
The Department does not have capital programmes. The capital DEL is to cover the purchase of office equipment.
*The 2025-26 Capital DEL includes £0.945m for a change in valuation of the Departments building leases resulting from a technical accounting adjustment to comply with HM Treasury Consolidated Budgeting guidance.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what discussions she has had with the Department for Transport on improving the quality and quantity of trains on the line between Aberystwyth and Birmingham via Telford.
Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales
I have regular discussions with the Transport Secretary on a range of issues.
Services and rolling stock on the line between Aberystwyth and Birmingham, via Telford, are the responsibility of Transport for Wales and my officials engage regularly with colleagues in Transport for Wales.
The UK Government is investing at least £445 million into Welsh rail to right years of underfunding by previous governments and unleash Wales’ economic potential.
This will mean new stations, more and faster trains across Wales, improving cross border connectivity, connecting people with the new, well-paid jobs we are creating across Wales and cross border areas.
Asked by: Llinos Medi (Plaid Cymru - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what is the process used to determine which neighbourhoods within Welsh local authorities will receive support under the Pride of Place programme; and when those neighbourhoods will be announced.
Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales
Through the Pride in Place Programme, nine more communities in Wales will receive up to £20 million each over the next 10 years. Every local authority in Wales will also receive a share of £34.5 million through the Pride in Place Impact Fund. This £214 million investment will support communities to drive forward the changes they want to see and will deliver visible improvements to drive growth, break down barriers to opportunity, and restore pride and confidence in local areas.
The nine local authorities in Wales receiving funding under the Pride in Place Programme are currently in the process of identifying the places within their area that will serve as the focus for this investment. This process combines objective data on local need with engagement from the local community and strategic alignment with other investments such as the Welsh Government’s Transforming Towns Programme and other placemaking plans. The selected places will be confirmed early in the new year.