Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Holyhead Port Authorities regarding the cause of the closure of the port for passenger ships from Ireland on 7 and 8 March; and what steps they are taking to prevent this happening in the future.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport has had no such discussions with Holyhead Port Authorities; however, we understand that the closure was the result of a technical issue with a vessel, which blocked a key berth and prevented other vessels from operating. As transport in Wales is devolved, it is for the Welsh Government to decide what steps may be necessary. In 2025 the Welsh Government established the Irish Sea Resilience Taskforce, and the Department for Transport continues to engage with and support the taskforce’s work alongside the port to strengthen resilience and operational readiness.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many of the awards made under the Pneumoconiosis etc. (Workers' Compensation) Act 1979 during the 2024–25 financial year were to (1) claimants suffering from pneumoconiosis, (2) claimants suffering from diffuse mesothelioma, and (3) other categories of claimants.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In 2024/25 there were 2,300 awards to sufferers under the Pneumoconiosis etc. (Workers’ Compensation) Act 1979. The breakdown by medical condition is:
Medical Condition | Awards |
Diffuse mesothelioma | 1,250 |
Pneumoconiosis | 640 |
Other | 410 |
Total* | 2,290 |
*Totals may not sum due to rounding.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many of the awards under the Pneumoconiosis etc. (Workers' Compensation) Act 1979 were made to claimants in Wales in the 2024–25 financial year.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Between April 2024 and March 2025, 90 awards were made to claimants in Wales under the Pneumoconiosis etc. (Workers’ Compensation) Act 1979.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to support financial provision for hospices.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have provided a £125 million capital funding boost for eligible adult, and children and young people’s, hospices in England to ensure they have the best physical environment for care.
We are also providing £80 million for children’s and young people’s hospices in England over the next three financial years, giving them stability to plan ahead and focus on what matters most, caring for their patients.
The Government is developing a Palliative Care and End of Life Care Modern Service Framework (MSF) for England. We will consider contracting and commissioning arrangements as part of our MSF. We recognise that there is currently a mix of contracting models in the hospice sector. By supporting integrated care boards to commission more strategically, we can move away from grant and block contract models. In the long term, this will aid sustainability and help hospices’ ability to plan ahead. Officials are working closely with a number of stakeholders from the hospice sector in the development of the MSF.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many claims for payment under the Pneumoconiosis etc. (Workers' Compensation) Act 1979 were made in 2025, or the most recent 12-month period available; how many of these claims were (1) accepted or (2) rejected; and what was the total paid to applicants during the period.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In the period between October 2024 and September 2025, 3,850 decisions were made relating to new claims received under the Pneumoconiosis etc. (Workers' Compensation) Act 1979. 2,510 of these claims were accepted and 1,350 were rejected. Across the same period, £38m was paid to claimants under the Pneumoconiosis etc. (Workers' Compensation) Act 1979.
The rejected claims data supplied is based on bespoke analysis of departmental datasets, and has not been certified as National Statistics or Official Statistics. It may be subject to revision in future.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to provide education and training in Welsh at Berwyn Prison for inmates whose first language is Welsh.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
All learners at HMP Berwyn are entitled to access their education through the medium of Welsh should they choose to do so and are asked their language preference on arrival at the prison, and during their education induction. Although take up is historically low, this is facilitated through translated course materials, opportunities to complete assessments in Welsh, and classroom support provided by Welsh speaking staff working within the Education team. Welsh language courses are available to all prisoners on request, alongside a bilingual course on Welsh traditions and customs.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their target date for the first supply of electricity to the grid from UK-based small modular reactors.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Great British Energy – Nuclear (GBE-N) has selected Rolls-Royce SMR as its preferred bidder to partner with to develop the UK's first small modular reactors (SMRs), subject to final government approvals and contract signature, which will be sited at Wylfa on Anglesey in North Wales.
With the aim of deploying to the grid in the mid-2030s, the project is expected to provide around 1.5GW of low carbon electricity, powering the equivalent of around 3 million of today’s homes.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many Chinese-owned businesses there were in (1) England, (2) Scotland, (3) Wales and (4) Northern Ireland on the latest date for which information is available.
Answered by Lord Stockwood - Minister of State (HM Treasury)
Statistics on foreign owned businesses are published separately by each of the devolved nations. Figures are rounded to the nearest 5 and cover registered businesses only.
Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency:
Scottish Government:
Businesses in Scotland: 2025 - gov.scot
Welsh Government:
Ad-hoc statistical requests: 3 to 14 November 2025 | GOV.WALES
There are no statistics published for Chinese owned business in England.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes statistics for the UK which show that in 2022 there were 349 Chinese-owned businesses in the UK.
Inward foreign affiliates statistics, UK, 2018 to 2022 - Office for National Statistics
The ONS statistics are compiled from a different source and are not comparable to the statistics published by the devolved nations.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to establish grants or tax incentives to convert existing empty buildings into emergency housing for homeless people.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The government wants to see more empty homes brought back into use across the country.
We are allocating £950 million of capital for the fourth round of the Local Authority Housing Fund (LAHF) for councils in England to increase their supply of better-quality temporary accommodation for homeless people and resettlement accommodation for people on the Afghan Resettlement Programme (ARP). MHCLG gives local authorities flexibility to shape their delivery of LAHF according to local circumstances. This can include purchasing empty homes and conversion of other vacant properties to provide more homelessness accommodation.
Local authorities have strong powers and incentives to tackle empty homes. They have discretionary powers to charge additional council tax on properties which have been left unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for one or more years. As we outlined in the English Devolution White Paper, we intend to strengthen the ability of local authorities to take over the management of empty homes. Further details will follow in due course.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many claims for payment under the Pneumoconiosis etc. (Workers' Compensation) Act 1979 in 2025, or the most recent 12-month period available, were from workers in the kitchen and bathroom furniture sector.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested is not readily available as occupation data is not held centrally for Pneumoconiosis Etc. (Workers’ Compensation) Act 1979 (‘1979 Act’) awards.