Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what benefit they estimate will accrue to (1) the Welsh Government, and (2) the Welsh economy, from the Crown Estate's Offshore Wind Leasing Round 5.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

Offshore Leasing Round 5, which covers areas of seabed in both English and Welsh waters, is expected to generate additional revenues that will enhance the profits The Crown Estate pays over to the UK Government, which will then support the delivery of public services across the UK, including in Wales.

The Crown Estate has designed the leasing process so developers commit to deliver social and environmental value as part of the development, including a requirement to provide an apprenticeships plan and a skills development plan. As Leasing Round 5 remains an active and competitive tender process, it is not possible at this stage to quantify those financial and wider economic, social and environmental benefits.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to identify deposits of manganese in the sea bed within UK territorial waters.

Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

His Majesty's Government have not taken any steps to identify deposits of manganese in the sea bed within UK territorial waters.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many people are currently employed by the Crown Estate in Wales.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

I refer the noble Lord to the answer I gave him on 28 March 2025 to question HL5975, reproduced below.

The Crown Estate has a dedicated Cardiff Hub serving as a base for its operations in Wales. On average three members of staff work from the Cardiff hub on a daily basis. However, this number is not representative of the total number of staff who are engaged in Wales matters or otherwise attend the Cardiff hub on a different basis. This is because staff, along with a network of managing agents and other agencies, work flexibly across Wales, Northern Ireland, and England.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will publish the names of all the current Crown Estate Commissioners; the date on which each was appointed; and the date on which their term of service will end.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The names of all Commissioners can be located on The Crown Estate website. They are set out below, along with the information on when they were appointed.

With the exception of Sir Robin Budenberg, all current Commissioners have been appointed on four-year terms. In general, non-executive Commissioners serve an initial four-year period and may be renewed up to a further four years. In exceptional circumstances, a non-executive Board Member may serve for a further two years and for not more than ten years in total. Executive Commissioners (currently the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer) are also generally appointed on four-year terms, but there is no limit on the number of times they may be renewed.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what was the estimated net revenue and profit of the Crown Estate in the financial year 2024–25.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The audited figures for The Crown Estate’s revenue and net revenue profit in 2024-25 will be published as part The Crown Estate’s annual report and accounts, due to be laid in Parliament before summer recess.

The latest published figures are available in The Crown Estate’s 2023-24 annual report and accounts, laid in Parliament on 23 July 2024 and available on The Crown Estate website. This sets out that the 2023-24 figures were £1.6 billion for revenue and £1.1 billion for net revenue profit.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the latest estimate of the income of the Crown Estate in the last financial year; and how much of it, if any, has been paid to the Welsh Government.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

In 2023-24, The Crown Estate returned £1.1 billion to the Consolidated Fund. Wales benefits from spending in reserved areas paid from the UK Consolidated Fund and receives Barnett funding when money from the UK Consolidated Fund is spent in England on areas which are devolved to Wales. In 2023-24, Wales received a total Departmental Expenditure Limit of £19.546 billion from the UK Government.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the latest assessment of the property value of the Crown Estate in Wales; and on what date the assessment was undertaken.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The most recent assessment was completed by The Crown Estate in March 2024. At that time The Crown Estate’s property in Wales was valued at £473,651,170.

The Crown Estate has also committed to provide additional financial reporting in respect of its activities in Wales in its annual report and accounts for 2025-26 onwards.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have regarding the future of the Wylfa nuclear power site on Anglesey.

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

Great British Energy – Nuclear acquired the site at Wylfa (Ynys Môn/Anglesey) last year. The site has positive attributes for new nuclear, although no decisions have yet been taken on any projects to be deployed at the site. We will set out our plans in due course.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what are the employee activity rates for people aged between 16 and 25 in (1) Wales, (2) England, (3) Scotland, and (4) Northern Ireland.

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

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 11th June is attached.

Dear Lord Wigley,

As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking what are the employee activity rates for people aged between 16 and 25 in (1) Wales, (2) England, (3) Scotland, and (4) Northern Ireland (HL8389).

An employee activity rate measures the amount of time employees spend engaged in productive billable work, versus non-billable activities. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) does not collect any information from businesses on their estimated employee activity rates.

We can estimate the proportion of the population aged from 16 to 25 years, that are employed as employees, which may be interpreted as an employee activity rate.

The ONS uses the Annual Population Survey (APS), which is a survey of people resident in households in the UK, to estimate the number of employees in the countries of the UK and the proportion of the population aged from 16 to 25 years that this represents.

Table 1 contains APS estimates of the number of employees aged 16 to 25 years and the proportion of the population of that age this represents, for the countries of the UK, for the period January to December 2024, the latest data currently available.

The ongoing challenges with response rates, response levels and weighting approach mean that labour market statistics based on the Annual Population Survey (APS) are subject to increased volatility and are considered ’official statistics in development’ until further review.

Yours sincerely,

Emma Rourke

Table 1: Number of employees aged 16 to 25 years and the proportion of the population of that age that represents, for the countries of the UK, January to December 2024.

Source: Annual Population Survey

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with Swansea Council regarding the proposal to establish a car ferry between Swansea and south-west England; and what ports in England are being considered for such a project.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

The Department for Transport has had no discussions with Swansea Council regarding the proposal to establish a car ferry between Swansea and south-west England.

The provision of maritime transport services is predominantly left to the commercial market, meaning the Department does not, as a matter of course, get involved in discussions around options for new routes or services. The establishment of the above-mentioned car ferry service is therefore a matter for the relevant local authorities, based on their transport priorities and budgets.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to require local authorities in England to obtain guarantees, backed up by financial penalties, from water and sewerage providers that a new housing development can be served before they can grant planning permission.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Government is committed to ensuring there is adequate water and wastewater capacity to support growth.

It is the responsibility of water and wastewater service providers to plan for and deliver sufficient levels of infrastructure capacity to accommodate planned growth. The majority of water companies have now published their water resources management plans which set out how they will continue to provide secure water supplies in the long term.

The government has created a new duty for water companies in England to produce Drainage and Wastewater Management Plans, which set out how a water company intends to improve their drainage and wastewater systems over the next 25 years, to accommodate growth and mitigate issues related to insufficient capacity.

When granting planning permission, local authorities can seek a section 106 planning obligation from a developer to mitigate the impact of a development to make it acceptable in planning terms.  The obligation may, for example, require certain infrastructure or infrastructure contributions to be provided and specify the periods at which they must be provided. Local authorities have enforcement powers to ensure compliance with any such provisions.

I also refer the noble Lord to the answer given to Question UIN 26106 on 05 February 2025.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of any additional funding allocated to the government of Wales following the 2025 spending review, in line with the Barnett formula.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Welsh Government settlement is growing in real terms between 2024-25 and 2028-29. This is the largest Spending Review settlement, in real terms, since devolution in 1998. The Welsh Government is receiving at least 20% more per person than equivalent UK Government spending in the rest of the UK. This ensures the Welsh Government is funded above their level of need.

The Welsh Government is receiving an average of £22.4 billion per year between 2026-27 and 2028-29, including an additional £1.6 billion per year on average through the operation of the Barnett formula, with £1.4 billion resource between 2026-27 and 2028-29 and £200 million capital between 2026-27 and 2029-30.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the total funding allocated to the police forces in Wales for the financial year 2025–26; and what are the anticipated allocations for (1) 2026–27, and (2) 2027–28.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

Total funding to police forces in England and Wales will be up to £17.6 billion, an increase of up to £1.2 billion compared to the 2024-25 police funding settlement – a significant increase, and more than the increase last year.

Dfyed-Powys Police will receive up to £163.6 million in funding in 2025-26, an increase of up to £12.1 million when compared to the 2024-25 funding settlement.

Gwent Police will receive up to £197 million in funding in 2025-26, an increase of up to £14.3 million when compared to the 2024-25 funding settlement.

Dfyed-Powys Police will receive up to £163.6 million in funding in 2025-26, an increase of up to £12.1 million when compared to the 2024-25 funding settlement.

North Wales Police will receive up to £226.2 million in funding in 2025-26, an increase of up to £16 million when compared to the 2024-25 funding settlement.

South Wales Police will receive up to £441.7 million in funding in 2025-26, an increase of up to £32.6 million when compared to the 2024-25 funding settlement.

Details on force funding allocations for 2026-27 will be set out at the police settlement later this year.

Question

To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what is the annual cost of the House of Lords, including all expenses related to Members, staff and the running and maintenance of all associated parliamentary buildings.

Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble

The most recent audited costs of the House of Lords are the 2023-24 financial year. In that year the costs of the House of Lords excluding non-cash items was £143,814,000. This cost includes costs directly relating to the Members Finance Scheme (including allowances and travel expenses), staffing costs (including House of Lords share of the costs of joint department staff), costs associated with the running and maintenance of parliamentary buildings, and other running costs such as Digital, Broadcasting, Catering and Security. It does not include non-cash items, such as depreciation and revaluation adjustments.

The costs for the 2024-25 financial year are currently being audited.

Further details of the House of Lords accounts are available in the Annual Report and Accounts, published on the parliamentary website.

Found: Hodgson of Abinger; Lord Hope of Craighead; Baroness Pitkeathley; Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick; Lord Wigley

Found: Hodgson of Abinger; Lord Hope of Craighead; Baroness Pitkeathley; Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick; Lord Wigley

Found: Elliott of Mickle Fell; Baroness Goudie; Lord Hope of Craighead; Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick; Lord Wigley

Found: Goudie; Baroness Hodgson of Abinger; Lord Hope of Craighead; Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick; Lord Wigley

Found: of Mickle Fell; Baroness Goudie; Lord Hope of Craighead; Baroness Pitkeathley; Baroness Rock; Lord Wigley

Found: Lord Hope of Craighead; Baroness Pitkeathley; Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick; Baroness Rock; Lord Wigley

Found: Lord Hope of Craighead; Baroness Pitkeathley; Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick; Lord Scriven; Lord Wigley

Found: ; Lord Hope of Craighead; Baroness Pitkeathley; Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick; Lord Scriven; Lord Wigley

Prostate Cancer APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Manchester • Baroness Freeman of Steventon • Lord Bethell • Lord Rogan • The Rt Hon Lord Tyrie • Lord Wigley

University APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: more about recess dates. 6 Written questions and statements Universities: Student Numbers Lord Wigley

Small Modular Reactors APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Hon. the Lord Whitty Rt Hon. the Lord Wigley Viscount Trenchard Viscount Hanworth Rt.

Energy Studies APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: The Lord Wade of Chorlton Lord Wakeham Baroness Walmsley The Rt Hon. the Lord Whitty Lord Wigley

Energy Studies APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: The Lord Wade of Chorlton Lord Wakeham Baroness Walmsley The Rt Hon. the Lord Whitty Lord Wigley

Fusion Energy APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Wheeler MP (Meeting Chair) • Baroness Walmsley • Earl of Liverpool • Liz Saville-Roberts MP • Lord Wigley

Small Modular Reactors APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Margaret Beckett MP;  Lord Wigley;  Lord Whitty;  Chris Green MP;  Baroness Blomfield; and,

Small Modular Reactors APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: MP;  Lord Whitty;  Lord Howell of Guildford;  Viscount Hanworth;  Damien Collins MP;  Lord Wigley

Energy Studies APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: MP Angus MacNeil MP Lord Truscott Secretariat: Matthew Gordon Lord Teverson Lord Whitty Lord Wigley

British Council and Soft Power APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Sharma MP, Catherine West MP, Fabian Hamilton MP, Dan Carden MP, Mark Logan MP, Lord Brennan, Lord Wigley

British Council and Soft Power APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Sharma MP, Catherine West MP, Fabian Hamilton MP, Dan Carden MP, Mark Logan MP, Lord Brennan, Lord Wigley

International Students APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Carol Monaghan MP (Staff in attendance) Lord Jo Johnson Baroness Lister Baroness Blackstone Lord Wigley

Small Modular Reactors APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Apologies:  Lord Wigley;  Mark Eastwood MP;  Chris Green MP;  Lord Howell of Guildford; and

British Council and Soft Power APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: 12th July 2022, 10:00-11:00am Attendees: John Baron MP, Flick Drummond MP, Catherine West MP, Lord Wigley

British Council and Soft Power APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: 12th July 2022, 10:00-11:00am Attendees: John Baron MP, Flick Drummond MP, Catherine West MP, Lord Wigley

Small Modular Reactors APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Virginia Crosbie MP  Baroness Hayman  Josh Male, Trudy Harrison MP  Baroness Bloomfield  Lord Wigley

British Council and Soft Power APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: MP, Richard Holden MP, Baroness Smith, Baroness Bonham-Carter, Baroness Hodgson, Lord Watson, Lord Wigley

British Council and Soft Power APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: MP, Richard Holden MP, Baroness Smith, Baroness Bonham-Carter, Baroness Hodgson, Lord Watson, Lord Wigley

Small Modular Reactors APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: James Davies MP  Katherine Fletcher MP  Lord West  Lord Wigley  Baroness Neville Jones  Lord

Children who need Palliative Care APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Caroline Johnson MP (Co-Chair) Siobhain McDonagh MP (Co-Chair) Peter Dowd MP Chris Green MP Lord Wigley

Children who need Palliative Care APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Caroline Johnson MP (Co-Chair) Siobhain McDonagh MP (Co-Chair) Peter Dowd MP Chris Green MP Lord Wigley

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Baroness Masham of Ilton Kerry McCarthy MP Margaret Ferrier MP Mary Glindon MP Lord Dubs Lord Wigley

Down Syndrome APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: are:            Mr   Virendra   Sharma   MP   Chair   Dr   Hywel   Francis   MP Vice ‐ Chair   Lord   Wigley