Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference her Department's policy paper entitled Finance: Interministerial Standing Committee – 17 October 2025, what options were discussed for enhancing the fiscal flexibilities available to devolved Governments; what elements of the operation of the Barnett formula were identified as areas which could be improved; and whether a formal review of (a) Wales's fiscal framework and (b) the operation of the Barnett Formula in Wales were discussed.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
It is important that the Finance: Interministerial Standing Committee remains a space for confidential discussions between governments, so it would not be appropriate to comment on the detail of those discussions.
I look forward to continued engagement with devolved government finance ministers on a wide range of topics.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of increasing the level of the Digital Services Tax.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Decisions on tax are a matter for the Chancellor and any changes will be announced at the budget in the usual way.
The Digital Services Tax is an interim solution to widely held concerns with the international corporate tax framework, and the UK remains committed to remove it once a global solution on the reallocation of taxing rights is in place.
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 3 April 2025 to Question 42630 on Employers' Contributions: Welsh Government, what mechanism her Department will use to provide compensation for public services in Wales for the increase in employers’ National Insurance contribution costs after 2025/26.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Welsh Government’s budget is growing in real terms between 2024-25 and 2028-29 and their Spending Review settlement is the largest in real terms since devolution in 1998. At Autumn Budget 2024, the Chancellor agreed to provide funding to the public sector to support with the changes to employer National Insurance.
The devolved governments received funding through the Barnett formula in 2025-26, including on this support. This is the normal operation of the funding arrangements as set out in the Statement of Funding Policy.
The current Welsh Government Spending Review settlement is the largest settlement in real terms of any since devolution.Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether future compensation funding provided to the Welsh Government for increased National Insurance contributions costs for the public sector in Wales will cover this cost in full.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Welsh Government’s budget is growing in real terms between 2024-25 and 2028-29 and their Spending Review settlement is the largest in real terms since devolution in 1998. At Autumn Budget 2024, the Chancellor agreed to provide funding to the public sector to support with the changes to employer National Insurance.
The devolved governments received funding through the Barnett formula in 2025-26, including on this support. This is the normal operation of the funding arrangements as set out in the Statement of Funding Policy.
The current Welsh Government Spending Review settlement is the largest settlement in real terms of any since devolution.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, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October to Question 82973 on Broadband: Rural Areas, if she will make her policy to include direction to Ofcom on revising the Physical Infrastructure Access pricing model to ensure consistent competitive conditions in the forthcoming Statement of Strategic Priorities.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
In July, DSIT published a consultation on the draft Statement of Strategic Priorities for telecommunications, the management of radio spectrum, and postal services that sets out the Government’s view on infrastructure sharing in the fixed telecoms sector. The draft Statement sets out the government’s view on the importance of competition to promote investment in broadband deployment across the UK, including in rural areas.
We are currently reviewing responses to the consultation and will publish our response in due course.
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 total amount of funding to be allocated to the Welsh Government through the Barnett Formula following the the full rollout of free childcare in England.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Barnett formula is applied when departmental budgets change – not when departments announce how they are spending their budgets or when policy is delivered. The Barnett formula was applied in the usual way following Spending Review 2025
The published Block Grant Transparency document provides a detailed breakdown and the most recent iteration was published on October 2025: Block Grant Transparency: October 2025 - GOV.UK
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment she made has made of the potential impact of providing compensation to local authorities in Wales via the Barnett Formula on the adequacy of funding to cover the additional Employer National Insurance costs announced at the Autumn Budget 2024 incurred by Local Authorities in Wales.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
At Autumn Budget 2024, the Chancellor agreed to provide funding to the public sector to support with the changes to employer National Insurance.
The devolved governments received funding through the Barnett formula in 2025-26, including on this support. This is the normal operation of the funding arrangements as set out in the Statement of Funding Policy.
The current Welsh Government Spending Review settlement is the largest settlement in real terms of any since devolution.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of the freeze on local housing allowance on levels of homelessness in Wales.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The causes of homelessness are multi-faceted and often complex; they interact dynamically making it very difficult to isolate the relative importance of individual factors. Responsibility for housing and homelessness is devolved to the Welsh Government, while social security is reserved to the UK Government.
In April 2024, Local Housing Allowance (LHA) was increased to the 30th percentile of local market rents, including across Wales, costing an additional £1.2bn in 2024/25 and approximately £7bn over 5 years.
The Secretary of State reviews LHA rates annually in the Autumn, this includes consideration of latest rental data, stakeholder evidence from organisations across GB, including in Wales, homelessness levels and the current challenging fiscal environment. Future funding decisions will be taken in the context of Government priorities.
For those who need further support, Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available from local authorities.
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, whether he has received representations from the Welsh Government on the amount of funding to allocated to Wales from the steel fund.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK Government has committed up to £2.5 billion to support the steel industry, which is being delivered in part through the National Wealth Fund. This is in addition to £500 million towards Tata’s transformation of Port Talbot steelworks. The National Wealth Fund, which is operationally independent, is already engaging with companies across the UK on projects that meet its investment principles.
The Welsh Government is represented on the Steel Council, which is a key body for developing our Steel Strategy, to be published later this year.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of reducing VAT on domestic energy bills on fuel poverty in Wales.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government believes that we need to support households who are struggling with energy bills now whilst we transition to cheaper clean power by 2030. We are providing targeted support that reaches low income households directly across Great Britain, including Wales.
This winter, 2.7 million extra households will receive £150 off their energy bills as the Warm Home Discount is expanded - putting money directly into people’s pockets. This increases the number of households who are eligible to over six million in total - including 900,000 families with children and a total of 1.8 million households in fuel poverty.
More widely, gas and electricity are subject to a reduced rate of VAT at five per cent, rather than the standard 20 per cent. The reduced rate for domestic fuel and power cost the Exchequer £8 billion in 2023-24, and going further would come at a significant additional cost.