Asked by: Baroness Smith of Llanfaes (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when the cross-departmental ministerial group will next meet to discuss the violence against women and girls strategy action plan; and how that group plans to report its work to Parliament.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Ministerial Board met on Tuesday 27th January and will continue to meet regularly.
Home Office Ministers look forward to engaging with Parliament on the working of the government in implementing our Strategy ‘Freedom from Violence and Abuse’, our supporting Action Plan, and our ambition to halve VAWG within a decade. This will include annual progress reports which will be published.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Llanfaes (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to Freedom from violence and abuse volume 2: action plan, published on 18 December 2025, what actions they have taken, or plan to take, to deliver the commitment to working with employers on domestic abuse.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
‘Freedom from Violence and Abuse: a cross-government strategy to build a safer society for women and girls’, published on 18 December 2025, sets out our commitment to improving the employer response to violence against women and girls (VAWG). Work is underway to encourage employers to maximise employment opportunities and provide support for those experiencing domestic abuse in the workplace. This includes:
We are working across government to deliver commitments on employers’ response to domestic abuse, including through a cross-government Ministerial Group that has shaped the development of the Strategy and will oversee its implementation.
This is further supported by a Strategy Advisory Board of external expert stakeholders who will help to hold the Government to account on delivery.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Llanfaes (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Welsh Government regarding changes to how police forces are governed in Wales.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
We are working closely with the Welsh Government, Welsh local government, police forces and other partners to ensure new governance arrangements provide strong and effective local governance for Wales, recognising the distinct nature of local and regional arrangements. The Policing Minister regularly speaks to the Welsh Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Jane Hutt, and attended the Policing Partnership Board for Wales on 18 December.
We have established a specific transition working group to consider future governance arrangements in Wales as part of our Police Governance Reform project, and we will continue to work collaboratively with Welsh stakeholders on the design and implementation of these arrangements.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Llanfaes (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what recent discussions they have had with the devolved administrations about changes to the allocation of funding across the UK on reserved matters.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK and devolved governments have regular discussions about changes to the allocation of funding across the UK, including on reserved matters.
The UK Government remains committed to ensuring that funding across the UK is allocated in line with the Statement of Funding Policy.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Llanfaes (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what recent discussions they have had with the Welsh Government about a new devolution deal.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Labour is the party of devolution in Wales and Westminster. The Secretary of State for Wales and her Cabinet colleagues engage with Welsh Ministers frequently on a wide range of issues, including the future of devolution in key policy areas. This engagement is part of our reset relationship with the Welsh Government based on co-operation and partnership, through which we can achieve and deliver more for people in Wales.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Llanfaes (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much the Welsh Government received in Barnett consequentials in 2025–26 from the childcare offer in England.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Barnett formula applies to all changes to UK Government department Departmental Expenditure Limits (DEL) funding.
At Spending Reviews, the Barnett consequentials associated with individual programmes cannot be identified because the Barnett formula is applied to the overall change in a departments’ DEL, and not to the individual programmes driving the change in a UK department’s DEL budget. This is the case for the additional funding for childcare in England provided at Spending Review 2025.
The Welsh Government are free to allocate Barnett consequentials as they see fit across their devolved priorities, and they are accountable to the Senedd for these decisions.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Llanfaes (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of universal access to Welsh language TV for prisoners in Wales.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) in Wales regularly assesses the availability of S4C, the Welsh language public service broadcasting channel, across the prison estate in Wales through engagement with each prison’s nominated Welsh language champion, and site visits undertaken by regional assurance teams.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Llanfaes (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether it is possible for the Welsh Ministers to make His Majesty’s Probation and Prison Service liable to be required to comply with Welsh language standards, pursuant to the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011, without the Secretary of State’s consent.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
It is for Welsh Ministers to specify, in regulations under the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011, the bodies which the Welsh Language Commissioner may require to comply with Welsh language standards. Where Welsh Ministers seek to provide for standards to apply specifically to a Minister of the Crown, they must obtain the consent of the relevant Secretary of State.
HM Prison & Probation Service has a Welsh Language Scheme (2024-27) which outlines its Welsh language obligations. The scheme, which applies in England as well as Wales, has been approved by the Welsh Language Commissioner, who regulates compliance with Welsh language requirements under the Welsh Language Act 1993 and the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Llanfaes (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential contribution of a youth mobility scheme with the EU to economic growth.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We have agreed that we will work towards the establishment of a balanced youth experience scheme with the EU. This will create new opportunities for cultural exchange between the UK and the EU. It will be good for the economy, good for growth and good for business. Any scheme will be time-limited and capped, and we have also been clear that it should be in line with the UK’s existing schemes with countries like Australia and New Zealand. The Government is committed to providing appropriate analysis of our EU deal but we will not be able to provide a full assessment of the impacts whilst detailed negotiations are ongoing.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Llanfaes (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to regulate, and mandate independent testing of, period products following recent reports of harmful chemicals and heavy metals being found in such products.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Period products are already regulated under the General Product Safety Regulations 2005 which require that only safe products, in their normal or reasonably foreseeable use, are placed on the market. There are obligations on producers and distributors to, where reasonable, sample test products to check safety. The Government employs a risk-based approach to product testing, targeting categories with a high potential for danger and do not test period products. We have no plans to independently test them.
However, during the passage of the Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025, the Government committed to consult on period product safety, and as part of this Officials are also reviewing the need for any further research and testing for harmful chemicals and heavy metals in period products to complement the consultation.