Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on support for the rural economy in Wales.
Answered by Fay Jones
I regularly have conversations with Ministerial colleagues on support for the rural economy in Wales. I am delighted the Chancellor announced £5m at Budget for an Agri-food launchpad in North and Mid Wales which will deliver jobs, growth, and boost productivity for our rural communities.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, whether he plans to take steps to promote research in Welsh universities in the context of the Welsh universities showcasing event held on 17 October 2023.
Answered by David T C Davies
I was delighted to welcome all eight of the universities in Wales and the Open University to an event showcasing the sector at Lancaster House on 17 October 2023. The event highlighted the strength and breadth of Welsh university research and its ability to deliver tangible benefits to communities in Wales, the UK and across the world. I am committed to ensuring Welsh universities play a vital role in positioning the UK at the forefront of research and development, and I firmly believe the event has helped make progress towards this goal. Senior representatives from each of UKRI’s research councils were present at the event and had the opportunity to see just some of the research excellence found across Wales’ areas of academic strength.
The UK Government is committed to supporting the higher education sector, demonstrated by our ongoing investment of £39.8 billion in research and development between 2022 and 2025. Moreover, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) recently announced a £60 million Regional Innovation Fund to support regions that have lower levels of research and development investment. As part of this, the Welsh Government will receive £3.4 million in Barnett consequentials. I hope this will be invested in the Welsh higher education sector.
Wales is already leading the way in areas as diverse as MedTech, AgriTech and Net Zero and also has a world-leading compound semiconductor cluster based in South Wales. I will continue to champion the strengths of the Welsh university sector. My officials regularly meet with their counterparts in DSIT and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC). Discussions with the Wales Innovation Network (WIN) are ongoing on how to build on the momentum created by the event held at Lancaster House on 17 October 2023.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the Welsh Local Government’s report that higher energy bills could means that councils across Wales have £200 million less to spend than in 2023-24.
Answered by Robert Buckland
We understand the pressure that businesses, charities, and public sector organisations are facing with their energy bills, which is why the UK Government is taking immediate action to ensure customers are protected over the winter period.
Through the new Energy Bill Relief Scheme, the Government will provide a discount on energy prices for local authorities whose bills have been significantly inflated by the global energy crisis.
A Treasury-led review will be launched to inform a decision on future support after March 2023.
Local Government Finance in Wales is devolved and is a matter for the Welsh Government. The Spending Review 2021 set the largest annual block grant, in real terms, of any spending review settlement since devolution. Over the Spending Review period, the UK government is providing the Welsh Government with 20% more funding per person than equivalent UK Government spending in other parts of the UK.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, whether former Merchant Navy personnel will be included in the remit of the new Veterans Commissioner for Wales.
Answered by Simon Hart
The Veterans Commissioner for Wales will work with all veterans across Wales to enhance support for veterans, as well as scrutinising relevant policy. This includes Merchant Mariners who have seen duty on legally defined operations.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, if he will hold discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on support for (a) businesses and (b) people affected by the outbreak of the covid-19 omicron variant in Wales.
Answered by Simon Hart
The UK Government has supported Welsh businesses and people throughout the pandemic, including providing £1.1bn through the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, £2.4bn in business support loans, and supported 475,000 employees through the furlough scheme.
We have further confirmed £270m the Welsh Government can spend in advance of budgets being finalised at Supplementary Estimates.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how much his Department spent on social media advertising in each month since January 2020, and on which platforms that money was spent.
Answered by Simon Hart
Departmental social media advertising spend since January 2020 is shown below:
The above figures relate to direct Wales Office spend only and do not include spending in Wales on advertising by other UK Government departments.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, with reference to his correspondence of 19 February 2021 to the chair of the Welsh Affairs Committee, what (a) discussions and (b) support his Department provided the pharmaceutical company in question; and when engagement with that company began.
Answered by Simon Hart
Officials in my Office had several discussions with the company, including in regard to difficulties the company was experiencing in exporting medicines to the EU after the Transition Period ended. Officials from several government departments offered the company advice, guidance and expertise to help resolve these difficulties.
My officials first contacted the company directly on 12 January. Discussions had taken place earlier via business representative organisations.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what discussions has he had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on funding for sheep farmers after the transition period in the event of the UK not reaching a deal with the EU.
Answered by Simon Hart
The UK-EU Trade and Co-operation Agreement honours the instruction of the British people - expressed in the 2016 referendum and the 2019 General Election - to take back control of our laws, borders, money, trade and fisheries.
The Agreement ensures tariff free and quota free access to the EU market for Welsh farmers. It also provides continued protection in the EU for world-renowned Welsh products such as Welsh lamb, Welsh laverbread and Traditional Welsh Caerffili and establishes a mechanism for protecting future geographical indications in both the EU and the UK.
The Government is also focused on enabling Welsh farming to seize the opportunities of the UK once again being an independent trading nation. We will open new export markets for UK sheepmeat, including Welsh lamb, to provide a profitable and sustainable future for our sheep farmers. As part of our recently signed Trade Agreement with Japan, Welsh lamb is among fifteen world-class Welsh products that could be protected in Japan for the first time.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what recent discussions he has had with the Welsh Government on that Government’s borrowing limit.
Answered by Simon Hart
We have provided the Welsh Government with the tools to manage its budget, including £500m of resource borrowing powers and a £350m Wales Reserve. The Welsh Government can also borrow up to £1 billion for capital investments, up to £150m each year, so far the Welsh Government has only borrowed £65m. Within the agreed limits, there are no restrictions about how the Welsh Government can use its capital borrowing powers to deliver its devolved responsibilities.
We have provided the Welsh Government with a record £5 billion funding guarantee to help tackle coronavirus. However, it has been reported that the Welsh Government are yet to allocate £1.8 billion of this.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Wales Office:
What recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the application of the Barnett formula to Wales.
Answered by David T C Davies
The Barnett formula delivers for Wales. It guarantees that funding per head remains at least fifteen percent higher than corresponding funding in England. The Government has provided the Welsh Government with a five billion pounds additional funding guarantee this year and an additional 1.3 billion pounds next year.