Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she made of the potential merits of including provisions for a statutory Independent Child Exploitation Advocate, modelled on section 48 of the Modern Slavery Act, in the Crime and Policing Bill.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The government is not currently exploring separate exploitation advocates as the Independent Child Trafficking Guardianship (ICTG) service exists as an independent source of advice, advocacy and support for potential child victims of modern slavery, exploitation and human trafficking in the National Referral Mechanism (NRM).
In line with Section 48 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, the Government is committed to providing a national ICTG service in England and Wales.
The ICTG service was initially introduced in 2017 and a staggered approach to rollout was taken to allow time to trial an effective model of delivery. This has enabled the Home Office to test and evaluate different models of service delivery, expanding and adapting as necessary to develop a model that is suitable for national provision. In September 2025, the invitation-to-tender for the national contract was launched, which will expand the current service coverage from two-thirds of local authorities to all child victims referred into the NRM in England and Wales. The tender process is now underway and updates to legislation are currently being considered.
Statutory first responders must refer all potential victims of modern slavery, trafficking and exploitation into the NRM to ensure they are appropriately identified and provided with support. Whilst local authorities are responsible for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children in their area, referring a child potential victim into the NRM ensures that child potential victims of exploitation, modern slavery and human trafficking in the NRM will also get support from the ICTG service.
Independent Sexual Violence Advisers (ISVAs) also play a critical role in supporting victims and survivors and their families. We have commissioned a rapid assessment of the current ISVA support service and resource landscape, specifically for children and young people who are victims of grooming gangs, including technology-facilitated abuse.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has had discussions with Tesla UK regarding the potential child safety implications of vehicle-integrated artificial intelligence systems.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport has not had discussions with Tesla specifically regarding potential child safety implications of vehicle-integrated artificial intelligence (AI) systems.
Many manufacturers use AI tools and techniques to develop and optimise various aspects of vehicles, including their safety systems. For those aspects covered by vehicle technical regulations, the systems are required to be fixed (i.e. they are no longer permitted to evolve) before they are placed on the market and subject to objective testing to verify their performance.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has had discussions with X on the potential impact of the output of its Grok AI on child safety.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The government is clear that no one should have to go through the ordeal of seeing intimate images of themselves online.
There are no excuses not to act, and services must deal with this urgently. Ofcom are looking into this as a matter of urgency, and they have the government’s full backing to take any necessary enforcement action.
Services and operators have a clear obligation to act appropriately. This is not about restricting freedom of speech but upholding the law.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many sub postmasters resident in Wales have had claims related to the Horizon IT system (a) settled and (b) not settled.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade has not, to date, compiled data on Horizon-related claims by the UK’s constituent countries; however, we intend to include this breakdown in a future publication. Overall, across the UK, as of 28 November 2025, approximately 10,000 claims have been settled under the Horizon redress schemes, while around 2,600 received claims remain unsettled.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what are the Zone A rates for retail properties used to calculate the business rates due in (a) Aberystwyth, (b) Tregaron, (c) Aberaeron, (d) Lampeter, (e) Llandysul, (f) Cardigan, (g) St Dogmaels, (h) Crymych, (i) Fishguard, (j) Goodwick and k) Clunderwen.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Retail Zone A rates are specific to individual properties, so there will be a range of Zone A values in each of the locations referred to.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 2 December 2025 to question 95185, what the updated average annual change in the Welsh Government’s capital budget is between 2025-26 and 2029-30; and whether that budget will increase.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
As a result of decisions at Budget 2025, the Welsh Government will receive an additional £185m CDEL through the operation of the Barnett formula on top of the record settlement provided at Spending Review 2025. This will ensure the Welsh Government are funded above their independently assessed level of need in all years of the Spending Review 2025 period.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to the public purse has been of UK military flights over Gaza since October 2023.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
While I am unable to disclose these costs for reasons of operational security and as a matter of policy, Defence operational spend in relation to the Israel-Gaza conflict and the wider Middle East has been published in its Annual Reports and Accounts for financial years 2023-24 and 2024-25.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the number of additional people who will paying the (a) basic rate and (b) higher rate of income tax broken down by country, in the context of the extension of the income tax threshold freeze announced in the Autumn Budget 2025
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The number of people forecast to pay tax by marginal rate can be found in Table 3.19 in the OBR’s November 2025 Economic and fiscal outlook – detailed forecast tables: receipts, linked below:
The previous Government made the decision to maintain income tax thresholds at their current levels from April 2021 until April 2028.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, will the 10% increase in the size of the Welsh Government's (a) annual capital borrowing limit (b) cumulative capital borrowing (c) overall limit on the size of the Wales Reserve, (d) annual limit for drawing down from the Wales reserve for day-to-day spending and (e) annual limit for drawing down from the Wales reserve for capital spending, as announced in the Autumn Budget 2025, fully restore the real terms value losses that these limits have experienced to due inflation since they were initially fixed in cash terms.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The updates to the Welsh Government’s Fiscal Framework announced at Autumn Budget 2025 increase the real value of the Welsh Government’s budget management tools.
The annual uprating of the limits from 2027-28 will maintain the real value of the Welsh Government’s capital borrowing and Wales Reserve.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment has she made of the impact of the additional Barnett Formula consequential funding for the Welsh Government announced at the Autumn Budget 2025 on the average annual growth of the Welsh Government’s capital budget between 2025-26 and 2029-30.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The additional funding that the Welsh Government will receive as a result of decisions at Autumn Budget 2025 and through the operation of the Barnett Formula increases the average annual growth of the Welsh Government’s capital budget between 2025-26 and 2029-30 compared to the settlements provided at Spending Review 2025.