Baroness Smith of Llanfaes

The Government continues to keep section 106 of the Equality Act 2010 under review but remains of the view that political parties should lead the way in increasing diverse electoral representation through their own approaches to the selection of candidates.

The Prime Minister’s announcement of longer term reductions in Civil Service numbers is a reiteration of the policy announced by the Chancellor in October 2023. The longer term reductions will build on the shorter term headcount cap put in place through to March 2025. The detail of how individual organisations will be affected by the return to pre-pandemic numbers will form a key part of the next comprehensive spending review.

The Government published an impact assessment for the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023: https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3197/publications. The impact assessment estimates that around 2 million workers in the hospitality, leisure and services sectors across the UK will benefit by having their tips protected.

Of those, around 1 million workers are estimated to benefit from an increase in gross pay of around £200 per year on average. The Government has not published regional breakdowns, but the number of workers in tipping industries in Wales can be obtained through the Nomis website at: https://www.nomisweb.co.uk.

Through the English government’s transformative childcare reforms, the department will expect to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year on free hours and early education, helping working families with their childcare costs. This represents the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever.  The childcare expansion is being rolled out in phases, with over 210,000 children now benefitting since the launch of the first phase in April. The next stage in September 2024 will extend this to children aged from 9 months. By September 2025, eligible working parents will be able to access 30 hours of free childcare from the term after their child turns 9-months-old to when they start school.

As such, there are currently no plans to introduce the Welsh style childcare provision in England. Education and the entitlement to free childcare for pre-school children in Wales is devolved to the Welsh Assembly. We engage routinely with the Welsh government and other devolved administrations at ministerial and official levels to learn from each other to improve early years outcomes across the UK.

The Government has made substantial progress on delivering new local transport investments, a core commitment of the Network North Command Paper. The £4.7bn Local Transport Fund and allocations by local authority was announced on 26 February 2024 and the £8.3bn uplifts for Highways Maintenance was announced on 17 November 2023, with local authorities now actively delivering on this record investment.

The Welsh language provision of DWP’s Bereavement Service has not been closed down.

The Bereavement Service includes:

• Making an application for a Bereavement Support Payment
• Reporting a death
• Applying for Funeral Expenses

Bereavement teams within Regional Pension Centres (RPCs) provide this service. A Welsh team in Swansea Pension Centre supports the Welsh language service. This can be accessed by calling 0800 731 0453.

Those reporting a death, who have a Tell Us Once Reference Number, provided by the Registrar, can report a death on-line through the Tell Us Once service, which is also available in Welsh [Beth i'w wneud ar ôl i rywun farw: Dywedwch Wrthym Unwaith -GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)] or by calling 0800 085 7308 and selecting option 1 to speak to someone in Welsh. For those without a Tell Us Once Reference Number, the death can be reported by calling the Welsh Bereavement Service helpline on 0800 731 0453.

The Bereavement Support Payment can also be claimed online in Welsh [Taliad Cymorth Profedigaeth: Sut i wneud cais - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)].

Information relating to Bereavement can be found on GOV.UK in both Welsh and English.

The UK Government has had no discussions with the Welsh Government on the devolving the Crown Estate, and has no plans to transfer responsibility of the Crown Estate to the Welsh Government.

The Crown Estate has played a significant role in attracting international investment into Wales to support the UK’s net zero target and will continue to do so through future leasing rounds for offshore wind developments, including floating wind projects in the Celtic Sea. They work closely with the Welsh Government and Natural Resources Wales in support of shared priorities, ensuring that these resources are sustainably managed for the long term

Introducing a new entity would fragment the market, complicate existing processes, and likely delay further development offshore, undermining investment in Welsh waters.

HM Treasury does not hold data on flows into the consolidated fund from speeding fines specifically, or receive any management information on fines across local areas.

Fixed penalty notices for motoring offences are overseen and administered by local police forces.

It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.

It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.

The proposed Private Parking Code of Practice will not set out any stipulations regarding the use of the Welsh language. The proposed Code of Practice will provide a single set of standards for the parking industry that will deliver fairness for motorists across Wales, as well as in England and Scotland.

The Government recently conducted a Call for Evidence to help ensure that our forthcoming consultation on capping parking charges and debt recovery fees is as well as informed as possible. Some members of the Welsh Parliament provided contributions to this Call for Evidence and their submissions were reviewed as part of our analysis of the Call for Evidence responses.

The proposed Private Parking Code of Practice will not set out any stipulations regarding the use of the Welsh language. The proposed Code of Practice will provide a single set of standards for the parking industry that will deliver fairness for motorists across Wales, as well as in England and Scotland.

The Government recently conducted a Call for Evidence to help ensure that our forthcoming consultation on capping parking charges and debt recovery fees is as well as informed as possible. Some members of the Welsh Parliament provided contributions to this Call for Evidence and their submissions were reviewed as part of our analysis of the Call for Evidence responses.

The UK Government has had no discussions with the Welsh Government on the implementation of the recommendations of the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales.

The Commission was established by and reported to the Welsh Government. The Counsel General shared an update on the Welsh Government's consideration of the Commission’s final report with the Inter-Ministerial Standing Committee in March.

UK Government Ministers have regular discussions with Welsh Ministers on a wide range of issues. Many such discussions focus on our joint work to support economic growth and jobs in Wales, including through delivering Freeports, Investment Zones and City and Growth Deals.

My Rt Hon Friend the Prime Minister spoke to the First Minister of Wales on 20 March 2024 to congratulate him on his appointment.

More broadly, I refer the Noble Lady to the answer Baroness Swinburne gave to question HL1907 on 1 February 2024.

I also refer the Noble Lady to the answer given to question 21826 by my Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Wales on 17 April 2024.

Details of the Prime Minister’s future official meetings and visits will be announced in the usual way.