Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the adequacy of the Welsh Government’s annual capital borrowing limit of £165 million for 2026–27; and whether they will consider further changes to the borrowing limits as part of any review of the Welsh fiscal framework.
Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
At Autumn Budget 2025, the UK Government announced a significant package of additional fiscal flexibilities for the Welsh Government, including increases to its capital borrowing and Wales Reserve limits. The annual resource and capital Wales Reserve drawdown limits were increased by 10 per cent for 2026-27 and will be uprated annually in line with inflation from 2027-28. The UK Government also provided a temporary waiver of the annual drawdown limits for 2026-27.
The UK Government continues to consider fiscal policy in the usual way. The Chief Secretary regularly engages with her Welsh Government counterparts on the Welsh Fiscal Framework and wider devolved government funding arrangements, including through the Finance: Interministerial Standing Committee.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to review the methodology used to assess relative spending needs in Wales under the Barnett formula; and whether they will publish the evidence supporting the continued use of the existing needs-based adjustment.
Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Fiscal Framework agreed between the UK and Welsh Government added a needs-based factor into the Barnett formula. HM Treasury regularly discusses the operation of the Fiscal Framework with the Welsh Government.
The Welsh Government continue to be funded above their independently assessed level of need in all years of the spending review.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to include the annual withdrawal limits from the Wales Reserve in the proposed review of the Welsh fiscal framework; and when they expect to agree the scope and timetable of that review with the Welsh Government.
Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
At Autumn Budget 2025, the UK Government announced a significant package of additional fiscal flexibilities for the Welsh Government, including increases to its capital borrowing and Wales Reserve limits. The annual resource and capital Wales Reserve drawdown limits were increased by 10 per cent for 2026-27 and will be uprated annually in line with inflation from 2027-28. The UK Government also provided a temporary waiver of the annual drawdown limits for 2026-27.
The UK Government continues to consider fiscal policy in the usual way. The Chief Secretary regularly engages with her Welsh Government counterparts on the Welsh Fiscal Framework and wider devolved government funding arrangements, including through the Finance: Interministerial Standing Committee.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what criteria they use to assess whether expenditure on rail infrastructure projects in England should attract Barnett consequentials for Wales; and whether they intend to publish the methodology and supporting evidence used in determining the comparability classification of heavy rail expenditure.
Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Responsibility for heavy rail infrastructure is reserved to the UK Government in Wales, so the UK Government invests directly in Wales rather than funding the Welsh Government to do so through the Barnett formula.
Comparability classifications used in the Barnett formula reflect the responsibilities of the Welsh Government under the devolution settlement. The England and Wales comparability classification is applied to heavy rail expenditure. A full list of comparability factors can be found in the Statement of Funding Policy.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government which rail enhancement projects in Wales are expected to commence construction before the end of the 2029–30 financial year; and what milestones have been agreed with the Wales Rail Board for monitoring their delivery.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Government recognises the historic underfunding of Welsh rail infrastructure and has endorsed a long-term plan to transform Welsh rail, with £445 million funding already committed this Spending Review. This will support delivery of enhancements to the North Wales Mainline, Wrexham-Liverpool Line, and the South Wales Relief Lines. It will also deliver a major upgrade of Cardiff Central Station, increase services in the Cardiff area, and commence delivery of the six new stations in south Wales recommended by Lord Burns’ South East Wales Transport Commission.
Subject to confirmed value-for-money and development of business cases, all are expected to have commenced construction before the end of the 2029–30 financial year. Their delivery will be subject to continuous monitoring by the Wales Rail Board.
We have endorsed the Transport for Wales (TfW) vision for rail in Wales and His Majesty's Government has agreed that it should form the basis of the Wales Rail Board’s pipeline of projects. TfW currently estimate the total cost of all the schemes under consideration to be up to £14 billion.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the feasibility of increasing investment in rail enhancement projects in Wales by £1 billion during the current Spending Review period, as requested by the Welsh Government; and when they expect to respond formally to that request.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Government is investing an historic £445 million into Welsh rail this Spending Review to right years of underfunding by previous governments and to unleash Wales’ economic potential.
We have endorsed the Transport for Wales (TfW) vision for rail in Wales and His Majesty's Government has agreed that it should form the basis of the Wales Rail Board’s pipeline of projects. TfW currently estimate the total cost of all the schemes under consideration to be up to £14 billion.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Chapman of Darlington on 1 July (HL1363), what changes have resulted from the initiatives listed as milestones in the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative Strategy 2022–2025 in relation to (1) survivors’ access to support and reparations, (2) the investigation, prosecution and conviction of perpetrators, and (3) the adoption and implementation of relevant national laws and policies.
Answered by Baroness Winterton of Doncaster - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government remains resolute in its commitment to preventing and responding to conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV), supporting survivors and tackling impunity.
Since July 2024, UK support has strengthened survivor-centred justice and national capacity to investigate and prosecute CRSV. Most recently, Ukraine adopted new Instructions for the pre-trial investigation of CRSV, developed with UK funding and expertise, which establish consistent, mandatory and survivor-centred standards across relevant Ukrainian investigating and prosecuting authorities.
UK support has helped thousands of survivors and children affected by CRSV to access redress, including through support to the Global Survivors Fund. It has contributed to vital legislative changes in Bosnia Herzegovina and Kosovo, and the opening of a judicial macro-case on sexual violence crimes in Colombia. We are also strengthening survivor participation in our work through our Survivor Advisory Group and Survivor Champions.
We are building on the progress of the 2022-25 Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI) Strategy, with a continued focus on prevention, survivor support, accountability and strengthening international action to tackle CRSV.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support (1) national, and (2) international, investigators and prosecutors to (a) investigate, and (b) charge, conflict-related rape and other sexual violence as torture offenders where the applicable legal elements are satisfied.
Answered by Baroness Winterton of Doncaster - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government remains resolute in its commitment to preventing and responding to conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV), supporting survivors and tackling impunity.
Since July 2024, UK support has strengthened survivor-centred justice and national capacity to investigate and prosecute CRSV. Most recently, Ukraine adopted new Instructions for the pre-trial investigation of CRSV, developed with UK funding and expertise, which establish consistent, mandatory and survivor-centred standards across relevant Ukrainian investigating and prosecuting authorities.
UK support has helped thousands of survivors and children affected by CRSV to access redress, including through support to the Global Survivors Fund. It has contributed to vital legislative changes in Bosnia Herzegovina and Kosovo, and the opening of a judicial macro-case on sexual violence crimes in Colombia. We are also strengthening survivor participation in our work through our Survivor Advisory Group and Survivor Champions.
We are building on the progress of the 2022-25 Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI) Strategy, with a continued focus on prevention, survivor support, accountability and strengthening international action to tackle CRSV.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the outcomes from the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative since July 2024, and (2) how successful the Initiative has been in tackling conflict-related sexual violence.
Answered by Baroness Winterton of Doncaster - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government remains resolute in its commitment to preventing and responding to conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV), supporting survivors and tackling impunity.
Since July 2024, UK support has strengthened survivor-centred justice and national capacity to investigate and prosecute CRSV. Most recently, Ukraine adopted new Instructions for the pre-trial investigation of CRSV, developed with UK funding and expertise, which establish consistent, mandatory and survivor-centred standards across relevant Ukrainian investigating and prosecuting authorities.
UK support has helped thousands of survivors and children affected by CRSV to access redress, including through support to the Global Survivors Fund. It has contributed to vital legislative changes in Bosnia Herzegovina and Kosovo, and the opening of a judicial macro-case on sexual violence crimes in Colombia. We are also strengthening survivor participation in our work through our Survivor Advisory Group and Survivor Champions.
We are building on the progress of the 2022-25 Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI) Strategy, with a continued focus on prevention, survivor support, accountability and strengthening international action to tackle CRSV.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what lessons they have learned from recent conflicts about the adequacy of existing international legal frameworks for addressing conflict-related sexual violence; and what changes to their policy or international engagement have resulted.
Answered by Baroness Winterton of Doncaster - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Noble Lord to the answer given on 17th September to Questions HL3116-3121 (Written questions and answers - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament). Recent conflicts have demonstrated that the principal challenge is often not the absence of international legal frameworks, but ensuring their effective implementation, including through survivor-centred investigations, documentation and accountability. The Government has therefore strengthened its policy and international engagement in these areas, including through our work with justice providers, and promotion of the Murad Code and the International Protocol on the Documentation and Investigation of Sexual Violence in Conflict.