Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had in the past 12 months with Welsh Ministers on issues relating to the trawling of the sea bed for rare minerals within territorial waters of the Welsh coast.
Answered by Lord Harlech - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
UK Government Ministers have regular discussions with Welsh Government Ministers on a wide range of issues. In addition, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs engages regularly at official level with the Welsh Government on areas of shared interest, including marine licensing.
The licensing regime for mineral extraction from the seabed within Welsh waters is a devolved matter for the Welsh Government, and therefore the responsibility of Natural Resources Wales (NRW).
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Harlech on 6 March (HL3092), on how many occasions in the past 12 months has the Government failed to provide an official to attend a meeting arranged between (1) Welsh Ministers and (2) ministers of foreign governments; and whether the meetings were permitted to go ahead in those circumstances.
Answered by Lord Harlech - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Between March 2023 and March 2024, Welsh Ministers have conducted over 20 overseas visits. Close engagement between FCDO and Welsh Government officials ensured that Welsh Ministers were effectively supported on each visit. This included FCDO officials accompanying Welsh Ministers in their meetings with ministers of foreign governments, as appropriate. FCDO officials attended all such meetings.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what directives or guidelines they have issued to the Welsh Government in relation to overseas initiatives on matters related to devolved responsibilities.
Answered by Lord Harlech - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The FCDO remains fully committed to working collaboratively with the Welsh Government and other Devolved Administrations on overseas initiatives which may support the delivery of devolved policy objectives. The FCDO has developed internal guidance to ensure that the foreign affairs reservation is respected, including requiring a UK Government official to be present at meetings between devolved ministers and ministers of foreign governments.
Since April 2023, the FCDO has supported over 15 overseas visits by Welsh Government Ministers. International activity undertaken by each of the Devolved Administrations will continue to be supported appropriately by Posts.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many times since taking office the Prime Minister has met the First Minister of Wales; and whether the Prime Minister plans to meet the current First Minister before the latter’s retirement.
Answered by Baroness Swinburne - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
I refer the Noble Lord to the answer I gave to question HL1907 on 1 February 2024. I also refer the Noble Lord to my Rt Hon Friend the Prime Minister’s comments about the First Minister’s retirement at Prime Minister’s Questions on 13 December 2023. Details of the Prime Minister’s future official meetings and visits will be announced in the usual way.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when the Prime Minister last visited Senedd Cymru, and on how many occasions during 2023 he had discussions in person with the First Minister of Wales.
Answered by Baroness Swinburne - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Prime Minister visits all parts of the United Kingdom regularly.
Details of official visits can be found on the gov.uk website as part of the government’s transparency agenda. The Prime Minister also undertakes party political visits across the United Kingdom.
The Secretary of State for Wales, the Minister for Intergovernmental Relations and the Prime Minister undertake constructive engagement with the Welsh Government and the Senedd Cymru, with relevant meetings as appropriate. Details of future official visits will be announced in the usual way.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what approaches they have had from the Welsh Government concerning the transfer of responsibility to Senedd Cymru of (1) the police service in Wales, (2) the prison service in Wales, and (3) the court service and administration of justice in Wales.
Answered by Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist
Whilst the Welsh Government has called for the devolution of justice and policing to Wales, it has not made a formal request for the powers to be transferred.
There has been no persuasive case made for how devolution would improve the operation of these services. There are therefore no plans to devolve them.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations, if any, they have received from the Welsh Government requesting financial assistance to make safe coal-tips that existed prior to 1999.
Answered by Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist
The Secretary of State for Wales has regular discussions with colleagues in the Welsh Government on a wide range of subjects, including the request for additional financial assistance to make coal tips safe.
The Secretary of State for Wales met with the Welsh Government Minister for Finance and Local Government on 20 October 2021, where they discussed this matter, among others. The matter was also discussed at the recent Coal Tip Safety Summit which was co-chaired by the Secretary of State for Wales and the First Minister. The Secretary of State reiterated that the management of coal tips in Wales is a devolved matter and therefore not a matter the UK Government would expect to provide additional funding for. Nevertheless, as a testament to our commitment, we provided £31 million to the Welsh Government to ensure that vital work to help with the unforeseen consequences of Storm Dennis could be delivered.
The Welsh Government is more than adequately funded to manage the costs of its devolved responsibilities. The UK Government has provided the Welsh Government with an additional £2.5 billion a year over the SR21 period through the Barnett formula. This spending review settlement provides Welsh Government with around £120 per person for every £100 of equivalent funding in England, which is over 20% higher than equivalent funding in England. This is around £1 billion per year more than the agreed level of fair funding set out in the Welsh Government's fiscal framework. Therefore, the Welsh Government can pay for coal tip maintenance and still have more than fair funding for their other devolved responsibilities.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what funding they will provide to the Welsh Government to replace the (1) European Regional Fund, (2) European Structural and Investment Fund, and (3) European Social Fund, for (a) 2022–23, (b) 2023–24, and (c) 2024–25.
Answered by Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) will replace the European Regional Development Fund and the European Social Fund. It will ramp up to £1.5 billion a year in 2024-25 as EU Structural Funds tail off and total funding will at a minimum match the size of EU Funds in all nations, each year. UKSPF funding in the next Spending Review period will total over £2.6 billion.
The UKSPF is key to levelling up the whole of the UK. It will help people access opportunity in places in need, such as former-industrial areas, deprived towns, rural and coastal communities and for people in disadvantaged groups across the UK. Further details about the Fund will be set out later this year.
In addition to the UKSPF, Wales will also receive £121 million from the first round of the Levelling Up Fund, £46 million from the UK Community Renewal Fund and £464,000 from the Community Ownership Fund. We are also providing the Welsh Government with an additional £2.5 billion per year on average through the Barnett formula, on top of its annual baseline funding of £15.9 billion. These are the largest annual block grants of any spending review settlement since devolution began.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government on how many occasions the Prime Minister has discussed matters relating to securing a trade deal between the UK and the EU with the First Minister of Wales since 1 June.
Answered by Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist
The Prime Minister and Cabinet Ministers have regular discussions with Ministers from the Devolved Administrations on a wide range of matters, including our future trading relationships now that we have left the European Union. As part of this regular engagement the Paymaster General holds regular calls with Jeremy Miles, the Welsh Government Counsel General and Minister for Europe Transition. As set out in our approach to negotiations, the UK is looking for a deal that is in the interests of all of the UK.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Wales Office:
Her Majesty's Government on what date the Welsh Government was given a draft copy of the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill; and on what date they received written comments from the Welsh Government on the proposed contents of that Bill.
Answered by Lord Duncan of Springbank
The European Union (Withdrawal) Bill was shared with officials in the Welsh Government and the other devolved administrations on 30 June. Since then, Government officials have continued discussions on the Bill with their colleagues in the Welsh Government. The Government expects those discussions to intensify over the coming weeks and months as we work through the legislative preparations for our exit from the EU.