Crown Estate (Wales) Bill [HL]

Baroness Smith of Llanfaes Excerpts

Friday 7th February 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Smith of Llanfaes (PC)]

My Lords, I rise to speak in unequivocal support of this Private Member’s Bill, introduced by my noble friend Lord Wigley. It is a pleasure to follow the contribution from the noble and learned Lord, Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd.

The case for devolving powers over the Crown Estate to Wales is not only strong but timely and just. This is not just a question of where decisions should be made; it is about fairness and ending the continued wealth extraction from Wales. The value of Crown Estate assets in Wales has soared in recent years. A financial report for the year 2006-07 indicated that the Crown Estate’s assets in Wales were valued at £21.1 million, generating net revenue of £2.5 million. In the financial year 2023-24, the Crown Estate announced a profit of £1.1 billion—an increase of £658 million on the previous year. As can be seen, and as a number of noble Lords have discussed, there are gaps in these figures. Why?

Given these figures and the number of projects both currently in development and projected to be operational in the years to come, it is entirely conceivable that the asset value of the Crown Estate’s holdings in Wales will exceed several billion pounds, reflecting hundreds of millions in annual revenue. At present, the revenue derived from the Crown Estate’s activities in Wales is paid directly to His Majesty’s Government, with

“no guarantee that Wales receives an equivalent amount back”.

The National Infrastructure Commission for Wales asserts that the

“current system sees a transfer of wealth from fees arising from the Crown Estate’s commercial activity in Wales, to England, an illogical and bizarre outcome”.

Plaid Cymru believes that arrangements should be made to devolve the functions of the Crown Estate to a new body accountable to the Welsh Government and with the sole duty of improving the well-being of the people of Wales. All commercial activity arising from the Crown Estate in Wales would be invested for the benefit of the people of Wales.

There is popular support for this move. The last major poll on devolution of the Crown Estate to Wales showed that 58% of people supported it. Half of all councils in Wales have passed motions calling for this devolution—including Conwy, Gwynedd, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Powys, Monmouthshire, Ceredigion, Carmarthenshire, Swansea, Neath Port Talbot and Caerphilly—with others with motions ready to be debated in the coming weeks. These councils represent a broad political spectrum, too, including Labour in Swansea Council, the Liberal Democrats, the Greens in Powys, and Plaid Cymru.

Through a number of responses to FOIs, we now know that councils in Wales paid over £345,000 in 2023 in lease fees to the Crown Estate. This is simply to lease the land which is in their area, often public footpaths. A devolved Welsh Crown Estate is an opportunity to address this unfairness, so that councils’ public money is not handed over to the Treasury and on to the sovereign grant but directed back into communities for their benefit.

In light of this, I suggest that the Crown Estate urgently reviews these lease fees and either reduces them or abolishes them entirely. Over £300,000 may seem trivial when profits are at £1.1 billion, but for our councils it is a significant amount, particularly as they face making tough decisions to cut local services.

Looking ahead to a new entity post devolution, Plaid Cymru has proposed targeting money generated from a devolved Crown Estate at deprived communities in rural Wales and our deindustrialised valleys. I look forward to visiting the Crown Estate Scotland soon through the Industry and Parliament Trust, to learn from its similar model that targets communities in the Highlands. On a national level, there is an opportunity to use the money to develop a Wales sovereign wealth fund, modelling those of other countries, such as Norway.

I commend my noble friend for crafting a proposal in the Bill that offers flexibility. While I strongly believe that future frameworks for the devolved Crown Estate could include targeted initiatives such as those that I have outlined, the Bill wisely leaves room for adjustment and negotiation between the Welsh and UK Governments. As the Bill’s broad framework acknowledges, this process cannot happen overnight, but it sets a clear path forward. It allows both the Treasury and the Welsh Government to engage in meaningful dialogue and progress the transition in a structured manner.

If, as Ron Davies said:

“Devolution is a process … not an event and neither is it a journey with a fixed end-point”,


then we must remain true to this principle both in word and in deed. Wales must not be relegated to a subordinate position to Westminster; both Governments should be equal partners in that relationship.

I ask noble Lords to consider whether they believe that Wales should be treated fairly and whether Wales should be granted the same powers enjoyed by other nations—in this case, Scotland. The Bill before us is about delivering that fairness and equality. Surely it is not radical to say that every nation deserves the right to benefit from the wealth generated by its own natural resources.

I hope that His Majesty’s Government carefully consider this opportunity before them and support the safe passage of the Bill.