Asked by: Baroness Smith of Llanfaes (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to make provision in England which is similar to the Childcare Offer for Wales, and whether they have had discussions with the Welsh Government in that regard.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
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.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Llanfaes (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to launch the "local transport alternatives" to HS2 in England.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
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.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Llanfaes (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many times the Prime Minister has met the new First Minister of Wales.
Answered by Lord Harlech - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
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.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Llanfaes (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Welsh Government on the implementation of the recommendations of the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales.
Answered by Lord Harlech - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
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.