Ann Davies

The benefits and costs of investing in under grounding power lines were considered following Storm Arwen in 2021. As noted in the Storm Arwen Review Final Report, investing in undergrounding would not be a cost-effective on long spur routes that serve smaller numbers of customers.

It is not possible to make the network be fully resistant to severe weather. Undergrounding comes at a cost of up to 20 times that of overhead lines, before secondary costs and disruption are factored in. Whilst underground cables are prone to fewer faults, they incur longer repair times when a fault does occur.

Ministers and officials working in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport regularly engage with press stakeholders on a range of issues.

The Government clearly laid out its priorities in the manifesto and in the King’s Speech.

As reported in the last HS2 report to Parliament published in November 2023, HS2 Ltd indicated that its projected cost to deliver Phase 1 would significantly exceed the current Funding Envelope of £44.6 billion (2019 prices). Following the significant scope changes and deferrals made under the previous government, the Department is working with HS2 Ltd to review the Estimate at Completion (EAC) for HS2 Phase 1 and will report to Parliament in due course.

Data matching is being used effectively to provide financial help with energy bills to over three million households this winter through the Warm Home Discount.

DWP officials are working closely with the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero and the cross-government Child Poverty Taskforce to explore options for enhanced data sharing and data matching to support the future development of policy to reduce fuel poverty.

No estimate has been made.

Disability Living Allowance and government mobility support is focused on providing additional help with the extra costs of disability to people who are severely disabled early, or relatively early, in life and who as a result, have had fewer opportunities to work, earn and save. Developing mobility needs in older life is a normal consequence of ageing, which non-disabled younger people have had opportunity to plan and save for.

It is normal for pensions and benefits systems to contain different provisions for people at different stages of their lives, because the help provided needs to reflect varying priorities and circumstances.

We constantly review our policies to ensure they meet the needs of our customers.

It is not possible to make direct, like for like comparisons between State Pension amounts received under the pre 2016 State Pension system and the new State Pension. Under both systems, the amount people are entitled to varies according to their National Insurance record. In addition to the basic State Pension, people on the pre 2016 system may also receive some earnings-related additional State Pension and/or Graduated Retirement Benefit

As of the quarter ending May 2023, the number of people in Wales who were the recipients of the:

a) Basic State Pension (BSP) was 458,382.

b) New State Pension (nSP) was 177,404.

The number of those recipients as of the end of May 2023 who received the full rate of the:

i) Basic State Pension was 377,303. This is 82% of the people in receipt of the BSP.

ii) New State Pension was 93,153. This is 53% of the people in receipt of the nSP.

This data is available on Stat-Xplore at https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk in the ‘State Pension - Data from May 2018’ dataset. Quarter ending May 2023 is the latest available data, due to data processing issues with the Get Your State Pension service. More information is available in the Background information note: DWP benefits statistical summaries.

More information on the data included in the ‘State Pension’ dataset can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dwp-statistical-summaries. Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore can be found here: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/index.html. An account is not required to use Stat- Xplore, the ‘Guest Login’ feature gives instant access to the main functions.

This Government is committed to pensioners. Everyone in our society, no matter their working history or savings deserves a comfortable and dignified retirement. We will do this through protecting the triple lock, keeping energy bills low through our Warm Homes Plan, and bringing real stability to people’s lives.

However, given the substantial pressures faced by the public finances this year and next, the Government has had to make hard choices to bring the public finances back under control.

Winter Fuel Payments will continue to be paid to pensioner households with someone receiving Pension Credit or certain other income-related benefits. They will continue to be worth £200 for eligible households, or £300 for eligible households with someone aged 80 and over.

In November we will also be writing to approximately 120,000 pensioners who are in receipt of Housing Benefit and who may also be eligible for, but not currently claiming, Pension Credit. We will be inviting these pensioners to claim Pension Credit by the 21 December, which is the latest date for making a successful backdated Pension Credit claim and still qualify for a Winter Fuel Payment.

For those with long-term health conditions or disabilities, the “extra costs” disability benefits, including those provided for by the Scottish Government, provide a tax free, non-income-related contribution towards the extra costs people with a long-term health condition can face, such as additional heating costs. They are paid in addition to any other benefits received

For example, Attendance Allowance can be worth around £5,600 a year. Further, receipt of AA can provide a passport to additional amounts in means-tested benefits for those on low incomes providing they meet the other eligibility criteria.

These benefits also give rise to a disability addition in Pension Credit, meaning that disabled pensioners are more likely to be entitled to Pension Credit, and at a higher amount, than those without disabilities.

Carers over State Pension age on low incomes can claim income-related benefits, such as Pension Credit. This can be paid to carers at a higher rate than those without caring responsibilities through the additional amount for carers. The additional amount for carers in Pension Credit is £45.60 a week, around £2,400 a year, and around 125,000 carers receive it as a part of their Pension Credit award.

We know there are low-income pensioners who aren’t claiming Pension Credit, and we urge those people to apply. This will passport them to receive Winter Fuel Payment alongside other benefits – hundreds of pounds that could really help them.

All working-age benefits (including Child Benefit, the child element of Universal Credit, and Child Tax Credit) were uprated in full from April 2024, by September 2023 CPI of 6.7%. Beyond the receipt of benefits, the Government is committed to supporting children and families. At the King’s Speech, the Government set out plans to introduce free breakfast clubs in every primary school, to bring down costs for parents. Growth is our number one mission, which will help families by boosting wages and putting more money in people’s pockets.

To give every child the very best start at life, the Government is also prioritising work to develop an ambitious and comprehensive strategy to reduce child poverty through the Ministerial taskforce on Child Poverty.

Applicants to the Community Ownership Fund (COF) were required to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) form and have this approved as a first stage before being able to submit a full application in the next available round of the fund.

The last bidding window Round 4.1 closed on 10 April 2024.

Communities will rightly be seeking clarity regarding the future of the Community Ownership Fund.

We recognise uncertainty is challenging for groups seeking to save vital community assets; the Government is carefully considering all available options and will confirm plans in due course.

Allocations for the UK Shared Prosperity Fund in 2025-26 were published on GOV.UK on 13 December and can be found here.

The Government is committed to supporting both current and retired steelworkers. That is why we are supporting the continuation of steelmaking at Port Talbot and providing up to £100million to support the community through this transition.

The Government is aware of the concerns surrounding the matter of indexation of pre-1997 accruals in the Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS), including for former members of the Allied Steel and Wire pension scheme.

Affected members of the FAS have engaged with the Department for Work and Pensions on this issue, and this was a matter considered by the Work and Pensions Select Committee in its recent inquiry into Defined Benefit pensions.

The Minister for Pensions is looking closely at this issue, supported by the Committee’s final report, published in March 2024, which helpfully outlines areas to be considered.

The Welsh Government’s budget is increasing in real terms and is the largest settlement since devolution. This includes £1.7 billion through the Barnett formula to spend on public services like the NHS, which I noted didn’t feature in the Honourable Member’s pre budget ‘demands’.

The outcome of the formula is actually that the Welsh Government receive 20% more per person than equivalent UK Government spending in other parts of the UK.

The Welsh Government will be provided with a £21 billion settlement in 2025/26 – the largest in real terms since devolution. This includes an additional £1.7 billion through the Barnett Formula with £1.5 billion for day-to-day spending and £250 million for capital investment in 2025/26. The Welsh Government will decide how to allocate funding on devolved matters like the Welsh language strategy Cymraeg 2050.

Although the Welsh language is a devolved matter, the UK Government has a role to play in supporting the Welsh Government’s Cmyraeg 2050 strategy. This is most notably through ensuring that S4C continues to thrive because of its vital role in ensuring the ongoing promotion and use of the Welsh language.