Wales

Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist Excerpts

Tuesday 26th November 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)]

I put on record my thanks to my noble friend for the work he did with my noble friend Lord Livermore on the agreement for the Crown Estate Bill. Wales is at the forefront of our national mission to deliver economic growth and clean power by 2030. The Crown Estate has a key role to play in this and needs to understand and represent Welsh interests, which is why it is wonderful news that we will have a commissioner with special responsibility for Wales. This will deliver £1.4 billion of investment and secure 5,000 jobs.

[Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Con)]

The Minister speaks of respect and delivery and the advantage of having a Labour Government in both Westminster and the Senedd. Far from being hostile, the last Government promised that north Wales would get a new large-scale gigawatt nuclear power plant at Wylfa on Ynys Môn, powering millions of homes and creating thousands of jobs in the region. Will the Minister give the House a cast-iron assurance that this Government will do nothing to prevent or delay the delivery of the new nuclear plant at Wylfa?

[Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)]

The noble Baroness has a future Question on this issue and I look forward to discussing it again. We recognise that a nuclear future at Wylfa could help to deliver several of our strategic objectives, achieving net zero and energy independence and restoring economic prosperity across the region. Nuclear developments in north Wales will provide high-quality jobs across the region and drive economic growth. Great British Nuclear completed the purchase of the site in June 2024 and we hope to make further announcements on its future soon.