Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales
Debate between Lord Davies of Gower and Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist
Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Con)
That is a question for later on in the process. I am delighted to take the question back to the department for a steer on what its response will be, but I reiterate that we are keen on pointing out all the advantages that Wales has had through the union, particularly during the Covid pandemic, with help for the Nightingale courts and the help of the Army for the ambulancemen. Wales has had a lot of tangible benefits, not least a huge increase in the amount of money given to it in the spending review—£18 billion, as opposed to £16.9 billion.
Lord Davies of Gower (Con)
My Lords, as was already mentioned, the constitution is a reserved matter and, as such, the findings of this commission will be of little value in a UK context. Does my noble friend the Minister agree that, in addition to the multi-millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money wasted on an airport purchase, to the axed M4 Newport relief road motorway project, which has cost Welsh taxpayers £140 million to date, and to the worst A&E record in the UK—I could go on—this commission is yet another futile spend, whose only purpose is to pander to the nationalist party for support? That is obvious from the choice of co-chair of the committee, who, as already has been mentioned, stood twice for parliamentary election for Plaid Cymru.
Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Con)
My noble friend makes some good points. We do not know how much money has been spent on this commission, but it is a large commission and one can only assume that it has been a priority for the Welsh Government—I am not sure that the people of Wales have the same priority. I note that, in a recent poll in WalesOnline, in October—just before the spending review—of the top 10 concerns of the Welsh people, nine were in devolved areas. The last one was that the UK Government were not giving enough money to Wales—and I think we convincingly negated that argument in the spending review. However, one of the concerns was on infrastructure, and roads in particular. It is still disappointing that the Welsh Government will not allow the M4 relief road around Newport, which would unblock a lot of the problems in south Wales.
Ynys Môn: Economy
Debate between Lord Davies of Gower and Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist
Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Con)
Indeed, the Government are committed to exploring all the possibilities for tidal and wave power—in south Wales there is not only the Swansea tidal lagoon but the Dragon Energy Island project, and we will certainly look at other proposals in the north of Wales as well.
Lord Davies of Gower (Con) [V]
Given the unfortunate news that Horizon Nuclear Power has decided to drop its planning bid for Wylfa Newydd, does my noble friend agree that a freeport would transform the fortunes of Holyhead and Anglesey, encouraging greater development, investment and tourism on the island, as was outlined clearly to the House of Commons Welsh Affairs Select Committee last year? Is the Minister able to inform the House as to whether any progress has been made on a freeport?
Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Con)
The noble Lord, Lord Davies, raises an important point. The freeport bids for England are already in and an announcement is expected shortly. I know that the MP for Ynys Môn, Virginia Crosbie, has worked tirelessly with a group of qualified and interested local stakeholders to put together a bid for a freeport for Ynys Môn. This will be ready to go when we launch the competition for Wales, on which we will work together with the Welsh Government.