Asked by: Baroness Humphreys (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the Swansea Bay City Region City Deal, how much has been spent to date by (1) the UK Government, and (2) the Welsh Government; how many new jobs have been created; and which sectors and local authority areas those jobs are in.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK Government is working in full partnership with the Welsh Government to co-invest in the delivery of four City and Regional Growth Deals across Wales. The Swansea Bay City Deal was agreed in 2017 by the UK Government, Welsh Government and the four local authorities in South West Wales. The Swansea Bay Deal represents a total investment of £1.3billion comprising nine headline programmes, and over 36 projects focused on economic acceleration, life sciences, energy, smart manufacturing and digital innovation. To date, the Deal has invested £537 million.
The Deal aims to deliver key economic and social benefits across the South West Wales region over a 15-year period whilst leveraging an anticipated £642 million from private sector investment. The UK Government has committed £115.6 million to support the Deal’s delivery with the Welsh Government contributing £125.4 million. An additional £396 million has been committed by other public sector and local authority contributions.
The City and Growth Deals invest in large-scale capital investments, which by nature take longer to deliver employment outcomes. As capital investments near completion, there will be an acceleration in job creation in line with projected outcomes. For example, the opening of 71/72 Kingsway in Swansea earlier this year and phase one of Pentre Awel (Llanelli) due to open soon.
To date, the Swansea Bay City Deal to date has created a total of 912 jobs across the four local authorities in sectors such as:
The UK Government’s investment and collaboration with the Welsh Government has kickstarted sustained economic growth in the Swansea Bay region and will continue to unlock new opportunities for people and businesses across the region.
Asked by: Baroness Humphreys (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the Cardiff Capital Region City Deal, how much has been spent to date by (1) the UK Government, and (2) the Welsh Government; how many new jobs have been created; and which sectors and local authority areas those jobs are in.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK Government is working in full partnership with the Welsh Government to co-invest in the delivery of four City and Regional Growth Deals across Wales. Since it was agreed in 2016 by UK Government, Welsh Government and ten local authorities in South East Wales, we have collaborated to deliver this £1.23 billion programme, which builds upon the region’s sectoral strengths.
Over its 20-year lifetime, the Deal aims to deliver 25,000 new jobs and attract £4 billion in private sector investment. To support the delivery of these aims, the UK Government has committed £500 million, of which £375 million has been allocated to the Wider Investment Fund and £125 million has been allocated to the Electrification of the Core Valley Lines. The Cardiff Capital Region City Deal is the only Welsh deal where UK Government contribution is not directly matched by Welsh Government. The Welsh Government’s funding supports the Cardiff Capital Region by contributing £734 million to the delivery of the South Wales Metro. £192 million has been invested by the Deal to date.
The City and Growth Deals invest in large-scale capital investments, which by nature take longer to deliver employment outcomes. As capital investments near completion, there will be an acceleration in job creation in line with projected outcomes. For example, the extension to the new KLA factory is due to complete with contractors by December 2025. As of September 2025, the Deal has created a total of 4,335 jobs across the ten local authorities covered by the Deal, and across a wide range of sectors, including:
The UK Government’s investment and collaboration with the Welsh Government has kickstarted sustained economic growth in the Cardiff Capital Region and will continue to unlock new opportunities for people and businesses across the region.
Asked by: Baroness Humphreys (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the North Wales Growth Deal, how much has been spent to date by (1) the UK Government, and (2) the Welsh Government; how many new jobs have been created; and which sectors and local authority areas those jobs are in.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK Government is working in full partnership with the Welsh Government to deliver the four City and Regional Growth Deals across Wales. The North Wales Growth Deal was agreed in 2020 with the UK Government, Welsh Government and six local authorities collaborating to deliver the £1 billion programme.
The North Wales Growth Deal seeks to tackle long-term challenges and barriers to deliver inclusive growth whilst building on the region’s strengths to create a more vibrant, sustainable and resilient economy in North Wales. The UK Government has committed £120 million to support these aims which has been matched by £120 million from the Welsh Government. The Deal will leverage £760 million from the private sector and other public sector sources. The Deal has invested £24 million to date.
The City and Growth Deals invest in large-scale capital investments, which by nature take longer to deliver employment outcomes. As capital investments near completion, there will be an acceleration in job creation in line with projected outcomes. For example, the Engineering, Enterprise and Optics Centre which is due to open in November will provide a world leading space for research and development at Wrexham University. As of September 2025, the North Wales Growth Deal has created a total of 38 jobs. The Growth Deal will create jobs across the six local authorities covered by the Deal in a wide range of sectors, including:
The UK Government’s investment and collaboration with the Welsh Government has kickstarted sustained economic growth in North Wales and will to unlock new opportunities for people and businesses across the region. The UK Government is working in partnership with the Welsh Government to support and accelerate delivery by the North Wales Growth Deal.
Asked by: Baroness Humphreys (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the Mid Wales Growth Deal, how much has been spent to date by (1) the UK Government, and (2) the Welsh Government; how many new jobs have been created; and which sectors and local authority areas those jobs are in.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK Government is working in full partnership with the Welsh Government to co-invest in the delivery of four City and Regional Growth Deals across Wales. The Mid Wales Growth Deal was signed in 2022 by the UK Government, Welsh Government, Ceredigion County Council and Powys County Council.
Over its 10 to 15-year lifetime, the Deal aims to deliver £280-400 million in capital investment. To support these aims, the UK Government has committed to a £55 million contribution and the Welsh Government have matched this commitment with a contribution of £55 million. Additional investment is sought by the Deal from the public and private sectors.
The Mid Wales Growth Deal recently entered into its delivery phase and will report on its spend and jobs creation at the end of the current quarter. The City and Growth Deals invest in large-scale capital investments, which by nature take longer to deliver employment outcomes. As capital investments near completion, there will be an acceleration in job creation in line with projected outcomes. For example, the recently launched Mid Wales Commercial Property Investment Fund is already supporting businesses to invest in new or expanded premises - tackling one of the key challenges facing growing enterprises in the region. The Deal continues to develop its portfolio in order to meet the needs of this unique region, it will focus on the following key themes building on the existing strengths of the region:
The UK Government’s investment and collaboration with the Welsh Government will kickstart sustained economic growth in Mid Wales and unlock new opportunities for people and businesses across the region.
Asked by: Baroness Humphreys (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many charities they fund to run polio vaccination programmes.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The UK is a strong supporter of the global effort to eradicate polio and is proud to be a longstanding supporter of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI). Since 1995 we have contributed £1.4 billion in funding. Our funding to GPEI has helped to reduce case numbers by over 99% and limit the number of countries where the wild polio virus remains endemic to just two - Pakistan and Afghanistan. To date, thanks to GPEI's efforts, more than 20 million people are walking who may otherwise have been paralysed due to polio. The UK also continues to support routine immunisation against polio through Gavi, the vaccines alliance. The UK is one of the largest donors to Gavi committing £1.65 billion over the 5-year 2021-2025 period.
Asked by: Baroness Humphreys (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which countries and multilateral organisations have received UK aid for vaccination programmes at any time in the previous two years; and what the total funding allocated to these vaccination programmes was in the financial years (1) 2023–24, and (2) 2024–25.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The UK is one of the largest donors to Gavi and has committed £1.65 billion to the current "5.0" strategic period covering 2021-2025, supporting Gavi to immunise 300 million children and save up to 8 million lives from vaccine preventable diseases. Of this amount, £300 million is through proceeds from UK investment in Gavi's unique financing instrument, IFFIm. In the last two years, Gavi has supported vaccinations in 54 Gavi eligible countries. In addition to IFFIm proceeds, the UK has made direct investments in Gavi in the financial years (1) 2023-24 of £327 million, and (2) 2024-25 of £463 million. The UK is also a strong supporter of the global effort to eradicate polio and is proud to be a longstanding supporter of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI). GPEI works in the 48 countries with endemic and outbreak polio. The UK invested in 2023-24 £15 million, and (2) 2024-25 £15 million.
Asked by: Baroness Humphreys (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reimburse the Welsh government and local authorities for the costs associated with temporarily housing asylum seekers.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
The Home Office has a statutory obligation to provide accommodation and other support to asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute while their application for asylum is being considered.
The Home Office accommodates and provides support to supported asylum seekers in contingency accommodation whilst we consider their asylum claim and we do not provide funding to either the Welsh government or local authorities with regard to this cohort of asylum seekers. Our accommodation providers have a robust delivery model in place to ensure hotel accommodation is managed well to minimise impact on the local community.
The Full Dispersal model, announced on 13 April 2022 is supported by £21million of un-ringfenced grant funding to make sure eligible local authorities can provide wraparound support locally. Local authorities will also receive £3,500 for each new dispersal accommodation bed space in the 22/23 financial year.
Asked by: Baroness Humphreys (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many asylum seekers in Dolgarrog have been diagnosed with diphtheria.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
The welfare and safety of all vulnerable asylum seekers in our care is of the utmost importance to the Home Office.
We work closely with the UK Health Security Agency to ensure we adhere to the current guidance on mitigating the risk of spread of diseases and other health conditions. Our accommodation providers are experienced in managing accommodation and implement infection prevention and control measures in line with current Government guidance. Asylum seekers accommodated in hostel-based accommodation receive translated guidance in relation to potential symptoms and hygiene requirements, assistance and guidance are provided by support staff.
It is confirmed that the site had six scabies cases, all cases have been treated, which was completed on 26/11/2022.
Regarding diphtheria, there are no cases for now, as per NHS Doctor's advice. All guests have been vaccinated with the 1st dose on 05/12/2022.
Asked by: Baroness Humphreys (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many asylum seekers in Dolgarrog have been diagnosed with scabies.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
The welfare and safety of all vulnerable asylum seekers in our care is of the utmost importance to the Home Office.
We work closely with the UK Health Security Agency to ensure we adhere to the current guidance on mitigating the risk of spread of diseases and other health conditions. Our accommodation providers are experienced in managing accommodation and implement infection prevention and control measures in line with current Government guidance. Asylum seekers accommodated in hostel-based accommodation receive translated guidance in relation to potential symptoms and hygiene requirements, assistance and guidance are provided by support staff.
It is confirmed that the site had six scabies cases, all cases have been treated, which was completed on 26/11/2022.
Regarding diphtheria, there are no cases for now, as per NHS Doctor's advice. All guests have been vaccinated with the 1st dose on 05/12/2022.
Asked by: Baroness Humphreys (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, if any, to provide access to medical professions for those infected by infections disease after staying in the Manston processing centre.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
No diseases are known to have originated from Manston. To date, there is no evidence of community transmission of either Diphtheria or Scabies at Manston. Individuals receive an initial high level medical screening on arrival at Western Jet Foil – as of 10 December, this has now been supplemented by a doctor being onsite at Western Jetfoil between 0800 and 2000 each day, mirroring the Emergency Department Consultant cover at Manston.
Manston Asylum Processing Centre is equipped with all necessary medical facilities. If individuals display infectious disease symptoms after arrival at Manston then these people are examined by medical personnel. A tiny fraction of arrivals so examined have been found to be suffering communicable and/or notifiable diseases. If this happens then individuals are immediately isolated and treated with antibiotics, being accommodated in an appropriate isolation facility until medically fit. Only once individuals are deemed medically fit can they be transferred from isolation to contingency dispersal accommodation.