Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what (a) meetings and (b) communications via electronic messaging (i) he and (ii) his special advisers have had with representatives of Arden Strategies.

Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales

Neither I nor my Special Advisers have had any meetings or communications via electronic messaging with representatives of Arden Strategies.

Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many people, other than special advisers, have been appointed to civil service posts in her Department without open competition since 4 July 2024; what their (a) job titles and (b) salary bands are; and on what basis each was appointed.

Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales

My Department has not made any appointments without a fair and open competition since 4 July 2024.

Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what (a) direct ministerial and (b) other public appointments to her Department and associated bodies have (i) been (A) removed from their posts and (B) asked to resign and (ii) made since 4 July 2024.

Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales

Since 4 July 2024, I have not removed or made a direct ministerial or public appointment at the Wales Office or an associated body or asked a ministerial or public appointment to resign.

Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to the Answers of 6 September 2024 to Questions 2306 and 2308 on Ministers: Official Cars, which (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have (i) been allocated a dedicated vehicle and (ii) access to use of a shared vehicle from the Government Car Service; what the (A) make, (B) model and (C) fuel type is for each car; and what the budget was for those cars in the 2024-25 financial year.

Answered by Nia Griffith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Wales Office)

No Minister or Official in the Department have been allocated a dedicated or shared vehicle from the Government Car Service.

Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what her Department's policy is on the allocation of Government Car Service cars to senior officials; what the policy was on 24 May 2024; and which senior officials have been granted access to the service since 4 July 2024.

Answered by Nia Griffith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Wales Office)

No senior officials within the Department use the Government Car Service.

Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what the average length of paternity leave taken by staff in her Department was in each of the last three years.

Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales

The average length of paternity leave taken by staff in my Department in the last three years was 14 days in 2021-22, 0 days in 2022-23, and 14 days in 2023-24.

In the current 2024-25 year, 14 days have been taken.

Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how much was spent on (a) new furniture and fittings and (b) other refurbishment of Ministerial offices in her Department since the dissolution of the last Parliament; and on what items this was spent.

Answered by Nia Griffith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Wales Office)

The Wales Office has not spent any money on new furniture and fittings and other refurbishments to Ministerial private offices since the dissolution of the last Parliament.

Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what meetings (a) Ministers and (b) her officials have held with external stakeholders since 5 July 2024.

Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales

Details of Ministers’ and senior officials’ meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.

Data for the period of July to September 2024 will be published in due course.

Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many and what proportion of desks were occupied in each of her Department’s offices in the most recent four weeks for which figures are available; and how many staff attended each office in person in the same period.

Answered by Nia Griffith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Wales Office)

The Wales Office does not hold a record of the information requested.

Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many civil servants are assigned to work in each of her Department's offices; and how many desks are available in each office.

Answered by Nia Griffith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Wales Office)

The Wales Office currently has 24 civil servants assigned to its London Office and 21 assigned to its Cardiff Office. There are 28 desks available in the London Office and 15 desks in the Cardiff Office.

Question to the Wales Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support workers affected by job losses at the Tata Steel steelworks in Port Talbot into employment.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Tata Steel/Port Talbot Transition Board has been set up to support those affected by Tata Steel UK’s decarbonisation Transition and will be supported by £100 million of funding. £80 million of which will be provided by the UK Government, as confirmed by the Chancellor in the Budget on 30 October, and the remaining £20 million will be provided by Tata Steel UK.

The Secretary of State for Wales announced the initial £13.5 million funding, to support supply chain businesses and individuals affected, on August 15. This funding will allow businesses who are heavily reliant on Tata Steel as their primary customer, allowing them to diversify towards new markets and customers where necessary. This funding is also available to workers affected by the transition, allowing them to retrain or to learn new skills allowing them to re-enter the job market.

Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, whether she has had discussions with the Welsh Government on support for care services for elderly people in rural areas in Wales.

Answered by Nia Griffith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Wales Office)

We are committed to resetting the relationship with the Welsh Government, and my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales meets regularly with the First Minister to discuss a range of issues.

The Department for Health and Social Care also works collaboratively with the Devolved Governments on shared objectives. The First Minister for Wales has said improving access to social care in Wales is one of her priorities.

Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what meetings she has had on levels of regulation related to the supply of goods from businesses in Wales to customers in Northern Ireland since 4 July 2024.

Answered by Nia Griffith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Wales Office)

The Government is committed to implementing the Windsor Framework and to protecting the UK internal market, including trade between Wales and Northern Ireland.

We will continue to work constructively with all stakeholders: the EU, the devolved administrations and businesses in this aim.

Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what assessment she has made of the economic impact of the 20mph speed limit on Welsh roads.

Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales

The Welsh Government has been clear that the primary objective of this policy is to save lives and reduce casualties.

From April-June 2024, both collisions and casualties on 20mph and 30mph roads have fallen by almost a quarter compared to the same period of 2023.

Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what discussions has she had with the Welsh Government on the impact of the measures announced in the Autumn Budget 2024 on the Welsh Government's Welsh language strategy Cymraeg 2050.

Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales

The Welsh Government will be provided with a £21 billion settlement in 2025/26 – the largest in real terms since devolution. This includes an additional £1.7 billion through the Barnett Formula with £1.5 billion for day-to-day spending and £250 million for capital investment in 2025/26. The Welsh Government will decide how to allocate funding on devolved matters like the Welsh language strategy Cymraeg 2050.

Although the Welsh language is a devolved matter, the UK Government has a role to play in supporting the Welsh Government’s Cmyraeg 2050 strategy. This is most notably through ensuring that S4C continues to thrive because of its vital role in ensuring the ongoing promotion and use of the Welsh language.

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Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to support the Welsh National Opera.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

I have held a series of very productive meetings with the Wales Office, Welsh Government, Arts Council England, and Welsh National Opera to understand the issue in more detail and to see how, within the parameters of the arm’s length principle, I can best help ensure a strong and secure future for the WNO.

The core point of commonality across all these meetings and across all partners was a recognition of the value of the Welsh National Opera and its work - for the people of England as well as for the people of Wales. It was clear that all partners are keen to achieve a positive long-term future for the organisation, and are working towards that goal.

I was pleased that this series of meetings was able to reassure everyone that all partners wanted to see a positive future for Welsh National Opera, that the funding bodies across the border will work more collaboratively in future and that the new leadership at the WNO have a clear idea of how to progress. Everyone wants to burnish and sustain the WNO so that as many people as possible in Wales and England have a chance to enjoy world class opera close to home. Funding decisions are for the Welsh Arts Council and Arts Council England, but I am confident that the WNO is in a strong place to succeed.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the decision to means test the winter fuel payment on the expected number of excess deaths in winter 2024-25.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

This Government is committed to pensioners. Everyone in our society, no matter their working history or savings deserves a comfortable and dignified retirement. We will do this through protecting the triple lock, keeping energy bills low through our Warm Homes Plan, and bringing real stability to people’s lives.

However, given the substantial pressures faced by the public finances this year and next, the Government has had to make hard choices to bring the public finances back under control.

The Government is committed to a preventative approach to public health. Keeping people warm and well at home and improving the quality of new and existing homes will play an essential part in enabling people to live longer, healthier lives and reducing pressures on the NHS.

The Household Support Fund (HSF) is also being extended for a further six months, from 1 October 2024 until 31 March 2025. An additional £421 million will be provided to enable the extension of the HSF in England, plus funding for the Devolved Governments through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion, as usual.

We are supporting consumers, including pensioners, through our Warm Homes Plan which will transform homes across the country by making them cleaner and cheaper to run. The Warm Homes Plan will offer grants and low interest loans to support investment in insulation, low carbon heating and other home improvements to cut bills.

Additionally, there are multiple targeted schemes in place to deliver energy efficiency measures to low income and fuel poor households. Schemes include the Energy Company Obligation (ECO), the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, the Home Upgrade Grant (HUG) and the Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS).

Pensioners if eligible may also receive the Warm Home Discount which provides a £150 annual rebate off energy bills for eligible low-income households until 2025/26.

Guidance to help people stay safe in cold weather has been published by UKHSA. This will help ensure that organisations and staff are prompted to signpost those vulnerable to cold weather to sources of support for keeping their home warm, with cost of living support, including help to manage energy bills, as needed. As well as advice on simple measures to improve home energy efficiency and safety to reduce risks that may increase in cold weather (for example from carbon monoxide exposure).

Details of excess winter deaths in England and Wales can be found at: Winter mortality in England and Wales - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk).

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the decision to means test the winter fuel payment on the expected number of excess deaths in winter 2024-25.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

This Government is committed to pensioners. Everyone in our society, no matter their working history or savings deserves a comfortable and dignified retirement. We will do this through protecting the triple lock, keeping energy bills low through our Warm Homes Plan, and bringing real stability to people’s lives.

However, given the substantial pressures faced by the public finances this year and next, the Government has had to make hard choices to bring the public finances back under control.

The Government is committed to a preventative approach to public health. Keeping people warm and well at home and improving the quality of new and existing homes will play an essential part in enabling people to live longer, healthier lives and reducing pressures on the NHS.

The Household Support Fund (HSF) is also being extended for a further six months, from 1 October 2024 until 31 March 2025. An additional £421 million will be provided to enable the extension of the HSF in England, plus funding for the Devolved Governments through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion, as usual.

We are supporting consumers, including pensioners, through our Warm Homes Plan which will transform homes across the country by making them cleaner and cheaper to run. The Warm Homes Plan will offer grants and low interest loans to support investment in insulation, low carbon heating and other home improvements to cut bills.

Additionally, there are multiple targeted schemes in place to deliver energy efficiency measures to low income and fuel poor households. Schemes include the Energy Company Obligation (ECO), the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, the Home Upgrade Grant (HUG) and the Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS).

Pensioners if eligible may also receive the Warm Home Discount which provides a £150 annual rebate off energy bills for eligible low-income households until 2025/26.

Guidance to help people stay safe in cold weather has been published by UKHSA. This will help ensure that organisations and staff are prompted to signpost those vulnerable to cold weather to sources of support for keeping their home warm, with cost of living support, including help to manage energy bills, as needed. As well as advice on simple measures to improve home energy efficiency and safety to reduce risks that may increase in cold weather (for example from carbon monoxide exposure).

Details of excess winter deaths in England and Wales can be found at: Winter mortality in England and Wales - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk).

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of means-testing the winter fuel payment on trends in the level of excess deaths in winter.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

This Government is committed to pensioners. Everyone in our society, no matter their working history or savings deserves a comfortable and dignified retirement. We will do this through protecting the triple lock, keeping energy bills low through our Warm Homes Plan, and bringing real stability to people’s lives.

However, given the substantial pressures faced by the public finances this year and next, the Government has had to make hard choices to bring the public finances back under control.

The Government is committed to a preventative approach to public health. Keeping people warm and well at home and improving the quality of new and existing homes will play an essential part in enabling people to live longer, healthier lives and reducing pressures on the NHS.

The Household Support Fund (HSF) is also being extended for a further six months, from 1 October 2024 until 31 March 2025. An additional £421 million will be provided to enable the extension of the HSF in England, plus funding for the Devolved Governments through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion, as usual.

We are supporting consumers, including pensioners, through our Warm Homes Plan which will transform homes across the country by making them cleaner and cheaper to run. The Warm Homes Plan will offer grants and low interest loans to support investment in insulation, low carbon heating and other home improvements to cut bills.

Additionally, there are multiple targeted schemes in place to deliver energy efficiency measures to low income and fuel poor households. Schemes include the Energy Company Obligation (ECO), the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, the Home Upgrade Grant (HUG) and the Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS).

Pensioners if eligible may also receive the Warm Home Discount which provides a £150 annual rebate off energy bills for eligible low-income households until 2025/26.

Guidance to help people stay safe in cold weather has been published by UKHSA. This will help ensure that organisations and staff are prompted to signpost those vulnerable to cold weather to sources of support for keeping their home warm, with cost of living support, including help to manage energy bills, as needed. As well as advice on simple measures to improve home energy efficiency and safety to reduce risks that may increase in cold weather (for example from carbon monoxide exposure).

Details of excess winter deaths in England and Wales can be found at: Winter mortality in England and Wales - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk).

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish the (a) job description for the Envoy for the Nations and Regions and the (b) framework which describes how the Envoy for Nations and Regions will work with the (i) Welsh Government and (ii) Wales Office.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The terms of reference for the Prime Minister’s Envoy for the Nations and Regions will be published online in the normal way, setting out the purpose, scope and remit of the role, including how the Envoy will work with Cabinet Ministers and devolved counterparts to support the Government’s efforts to reset relations across the UK.

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