Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the anticipated increase in defence procurement expenditure placed with businesses operating in (1) Wales, (2) Scotland, and (3) Northern Ireland.

Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Defence Industrial Strategy set out how defence will work with the Devolved Governments to launch Growth Deals in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The level of investment in defence procurement in individual regions will be set out in the Defence Investment Plan, which will be published in the autumn.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have received concerning the making of military awards for bravery for those involved in the activities of Unit 731 in Southeast Asia during the Second World War.

Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

Unit 731 was a Japanese secret research facility which operated between 1933 and 1945 and conducted human experiments to test potential military uses of biological and chemical agents.

The victims, who were all killed, were predominantly Chinese, and to a lesser extent, Russian, Korean and Mongolian. Reports of Western and Commonwealth Prisoners of War being victims of Unit 731 are unverified and there is no confirmed evidence of UK nationals being held there.

The Ministry Of Defence has received no correspondence making representations for military awards for bravery, in respect of those involved in the activities of Unit 731 during the Second World War.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of additional Government expenditure arising from the war in Ukraine in each of the past three years.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

Following Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine over three years ago, the UK has committed £21.8 billion for Ukraine.

The UK has been at the forefront in providing military, financial and humanitarian support to Ukraine for as long as it takes. This has included:

• £13 billion in military support - including our £2.26 billion ‘Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration’ Loan which will be repaid using profits generated on holdings of immobilised Russian Sovereign Assets in the EU
• £5.3 billion in non-military support including bilateral assistance and fiscal guarantees
• £3.5 billion cover limit in export finance via UK Export Finance for reconstruction and defence projects

The UK will continue to honour the Prime Minister’s commitment to provide Ukraine with £3bn of military support each year until the end of the decade or for as long as needed. Securing a lasting peace for Ukraine is in the UK and wider Europe’s economic and security interests.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what representations, if any, they have received so far this year from the Welsh government ales about a review of the operation of the Barnett formula.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Welsh Government has made regular representations to the UK Government this year on reviewing the operation of the Barnett formula at both official and ministerial level, and in person between the Chief Secretary to the Treasury and the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Welsh Language at the Finance: Interministerial Standing Committee.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what changes they have made over the past five years in the application of comparability factors to the Barnett formula for determining cash payments to the Welsh government consequential to expenditure on railway services located solely in England.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

Comparability factors are used to determine the extent to which a UK Government department’s spending is comparable (where policy is devolved) to the Welsh Government.

Comparability factors are generally updated prior to each spending review. In the past five years, the Department for Transport’s comparability factors were updated at the Spending Review in 2020 and again at the Spending Review in 2025. The most recent comparability factor applied to changes in the Department for Transport budgets at the Spending Review in 2025 was 33.5% for Wales. A comparability factor of 36.6% was applied at the Spending Reviews in 2020 and 2021.

Full details of changes to comparability factors over the past five years, including those for the Department for Transport, are published in the relevant Statement of Funding Policy:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/684859e3d0ca5d7801e4e6f6/Statement_of_Funding_Policy.pdf

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the volume and value of trade passing through the ports of (1) Holyhead, and (2) Fishguard; and how these figures compare to corresponding figures from 2015.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The volume and value of trade passing through the ports of Holyhead and Fishguard in 2015 and 2024 (latest complete year of data) is as follows:

Source: HMRC Overseas Trade Statistics, uktradeinfo, compiled on 10^th September 2025

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) does not have port data prior to 2021 for EU trade as the UK was part of the European Union and customs declarations were not required for these movements. Trade data for intra-EU movements was collected via monthly Intrastat declarations which did not collect information on ports.
Figures for EU trade combine EU imports and EU exports. Similarly, figures for non-EU trade combine Non-EU imports and non-EU exports

The figures above exclude trade in low value consignments (namely imports and exports of an individual value of £873 or less) since HMRC does not have port data for trade in low value consignments.

Holyhead is primarily an EU facing port with no reported data for goods moving from/to non-EU countries in 2015.

The data provided covers goods that have been declared for import or export from either Holyhead or Fishguard but excludes data for goods entering Customs warehouses, freezones or freeports, and goods in transit (even when transhipment or temporary admissions are involved).

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is responsible for the collection and publication of data on imports and exports of goods to and from the UK. HMRC releases this information monthly, as an accredited official statistic called the Overseas Trade in Goods Statistics (OTS), which is available via their dedicated website (www.uktradeinfo.com).

Question to the Wales Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Welsh Government regarding the reconfiguration of career patterns within the Civil Service in Wales to maximise recruitment of such staff from Wales.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The UK and Welsh Governments work closely together on matters relating to the civil service. Both governments participate in civil service learning and development schemes aimed at supporting career progression such as the Future Leadership Scheme (FLS) operated by the Cabinet Office. The Places for Growth Programme has also relocated 1,304 civil service roles to Wales, strengthening opportunities and career pathways. As one of the 13 growth areas announced by the then Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in May, Cardiff is set to benefit from the relocation of even more government jobs over the Spending Review period.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the proposal contained in the report The Impact of Changes to Inheritance Tax on Farm Estates, published by the Centre for the Analysis of Taxation in August, to apply 100 percent relief on estates up to £2 million, with no additional relief above that threshhold.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government believes its reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026 get the balance right between supporting farms and businesses, and fixing the public finances and supporting public services. The reforms reduce the inheritance tax advantages available to owners of agricultural and business assets, but still mean those assets will be taxed at a much lower effective rate than most other assets. Despite a tough fiscal context, the Government will maintain very significant levels of relief from inheritance tax beyond what is available to others and compared to the position before 1992. Where inheritance tax is due, those liable for a charge can pay any liability on the relevant assets over 10 annual instalments, interest-free.

The report by the independent Centre for the Analysis of Taxation (CenTax) supports the Government’s analysis of these reforms, including the number of estates affected in 2026-27, and concludes that half of these estates will see an increase in their effective inheritance tax rate of less than 5 percentage points, and almost 90 per cent of these estates could pay their entire inheritance tax bill out of non-farm assets. In CenTax’s opinion, the Government’s proposed reforms improve on the current position and are expected largely to meet the Government’s objectives.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the existing energy storage capacity of (1) hydroelectric pump storage facilities at full capacity, (2) battery storage facilities, and (3) other methods of electricity storage; and what are the target figures for expanding each category in the next 10 years.

Answered by Lord Wilson of Sedgefield - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Power capacity statistics for energy storage capacity in the UK can be found in the annually published Digest of UK Energy Statistics (DUKES), in particular Table 5.16.[1] The government’s Clean Power Action Plan[2] sets out ranges for the energy storage capacity we could need by 2030, as informed by advice from the National Energy System Operator (NESO). While there are no fixed targets set for 2035, NESO regularly publishes Future Energy Scenarios which set out pathways to Net Zero in 2050 and include energy storage capacity

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/electricity-chapter-5-digest-of-united-kingdom-energy-statistics-dukes

[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/clean-power-2030-action-plan

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government what was the average cost per domestic electricity consumer in the most recent year for which data are available of constraint payments made to renewable power companies.

Answered by Lord Wilson of Sedgefield - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The National Energy System Operator (NESO) balances Great Britain’s electricity system, recovering costs through Balancing Services Use of System (BSUoS) charges. These include payments to generators to adjust output due to network constraints covering both turn-up and turn-down actions.

While Government holds aggregate data on constraint payments, it does not hold data by technology type.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reconfigure the electricity grid network in the UK to minimise the need to constrain electricity generation by wind turbines to prevent overload.

Answered by Lord Wilson of Sedgefield - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Government is implementing a strategic network planning approach led by the National Energy System Operator (NESO). This includes two previous published plans, as well as the upcoming Centralised Strategic Network Plan (CSNP), to be published by NESO in 2027. These strategic network plans take a holistic approach, with economic cost - including constraints costs - being one of the key criteria in determining the recommended transmission network design.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to expand the number and capacity of hydroelectric pump storage facilities in (1) Wales, (2) England, and (3) Scotland; how many such facilities have been approved and are under construction; and how many are awaiting planning approval.

Answered by Lord Wilson of Sedgefield - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Clean Power 2030 Action Plan sets an ambition of 4-6GW of long duration electricity storage (LDES) capacity, which includes pumped storage hydropower (PSH), by 2030. This is being enabled through an LDES cap and floor investment support scheme, which government announced in October 2024 and is being delivered by Ofgem. It is open to projects from all parts of Great Britain.

The British Hydro Association maintains a list of PSH projects under development in Great Britain at the following link: https://british-hydro.org/pumped-storage-hydropower/.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government how much was paid in each of the past five financial years as constraint payments to wind farm operators to compensate them for having to turn off their wind turbines to avoid the grid being overloaded in (1) England, (2) Scotland and (3) Wales.

Answered by Lord Wilson of Sedgefield - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The National Energy System Operator (NESO) is responsible for operating Great Britain’s electricity system and managing constraints. NESO publishes monthly constraint costs on their website, which can be found on page 3 of the Monthly Balancing Services Summary (MBSS) dashboard. This data is split by England and Wales and Scotland.

Constraints are a natural part of operating an efficient electricity system and constraint payments are used around the world. However, government is working to reduce the level of constraints and improve energy security by accelerating the delivery of new electricity network infrastructure to increase capacity on the system.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government when they aim to eliminate the need for constraint payments to wind farm generators, and whether they have secured a contractual agreement with existing wind farm operators for that aim.

Answered by Lord Wilson of Sedgefield - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The National Energy System Operator (NESO) is responsible for operating Great Britain’s electricity system and managing constraints. Constraints are part of operating an efficient electricity system and constraint payments are used around the world. Government is working to reduce constraints by accelerating the building of new electricity network infrastructure to increase capacity on the system. The Reformed National Pricing package will also address constraints through improved strategic planning and market reforms. An update on these reforms will be published later this year.

Government has not entered into any contractual agreements with existing wind farm operators to eliminate constraint payments.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government in which UK embassies overseas staff are appointed at the request of (1) the Scottish government, (2) the Welsh government, and (3) the Northern Ireland Executive.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)

Officials from the Devolved Governments are based in various locations. They are commonly - but not always - based within the UK mission.

There are officials from all three Devolved Governments in Washington, Brussels and Beijing.

Scottish Government officials are also based in Berlin, Copenhagen, Dubin, Paris and Ottawa. Welsh Government officials are in Atlanta, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Montreal, Bangalore, New Delhi, Mumbai, Chonqing, Shanghai, Berlin, Dusseldorf, Dubai, Dublin, Doha, Paris and Tokyo.

Staff employed by devolved trade and investment promotion agencies - Invest Northern Ireland, and Scottish Development International - are located in over 20 and 30 locations respectively. Again, these are often based within the UK mission.

Officials are appointed by the sponsoring Devolved Government, or relevant agency.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many UK armed services personnel are currently stationed on a temporary or permanent basis in (1) Latvia, (2) Estonia and (3) Lithuania.

Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The UK’s presence in the Baltics, primarily through the Forward Land Forces (FLF) in Estonia, comprise of around 1,000 Service personnel at any one time.