David Chadwick

The House of Commons is committed to engaging and informing the public about its work. We currently use a range of social media platforms and channels to reach a diverse range of audiences. We continuously review all social media platforms used by the House, and emerging channels.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 14th March is attached.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 11th March is attached.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 11th March is attached.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 27th January is now available in the House Library.

The UK-US relationship is already very strong, with trade of around £300 billion, and shared investment of over £1.2 trillion at the end of 2023. The Prime Minister and President Trump met on 27 February and agreed to deepen this relationship and to work together on a trade deal focused on tech. The Secretary of State for Business and Trade has also been engaging with the US Administration including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, to make the case for stronger UK-US trade that benefits both our countries, and will continue to make every effort to support British business.

For new free trade agreements (FTAs), the Government publishes impact assessments to support the parliamentary scrutiny process of FTAs. The analysis will include an assessment on the UK's regions and nations as well as UK growth and trade.

The UK Government assessed the environmental impacts of the UK-Australia FTA and the UK-New Zealand FTA within the independently scrutinised impact assessments which were published in December 2021 and February 2022 respectively when the FTAs were signed. These covered both the economic and environmental impacts.

In addition, the independent Trade Agriculture Commission gave both the UK-Australia FTA and the UK-New Zealand FTA a clean bill of health, concluding both FTAs are consistent with the maintenance of UK statutory protections in relation to animal or plant life or health, animal welfare and environmental protection.

The UK Government continually assesses the implementation of free trade agreements to maximise their benefit and to support economic growth. The Department is working to ensure the UK-Australia and UK-New Zealand Free Trade Agreements continue to work well for business.

The Government aims to respond to any job losses from company distress cases swiftly and coherently, to reduce the local impact and support people back to work.

Through the Redundancy Payments Service (RPS), part of the Insolvency Service, employers can access funding for redundancies, if required. For employers who are considering making 20 or more employees redundant at any one site, the RPS also notify the appropriate government departments and agencies, in confidence. This includes Jobcentre Plus and other service providers in their local area who will reach out with offers of assistance during the notification/consultation period.

The Department for Work and Pensions locally deploy the Rapid Response Service to provide support to people affected by redundancy, regardless of whether they are receiving benefits. The aim is to help people into new employment as quickly as possible. The service supports people during their notice period and up to 13 weeks after they leave work.

Additionally, the Welsh Government directly delivers services supporting redundant workers. ReAct Plus is a grant programme, offering tailored support to those trying to re-enter the labour market by removing barriers and providing grant support for vocational training, travel costs and care (including childcare) related to training.

Details of Ministers' and Permanent Secretaries' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.

The British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme (BCSSS) has some differences to the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme, but we will be working with the BCSSS Trustees to consider their proposals. Any outcome will need to be agreed with the Trustees and the Treasury following analysis of the potential impacts.

Details of Ministers' and Permanent Secretaries' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.

The maintenance of our electricity network is critical to deliver clean, secure power to homes and businesses across the country. Electricity network operators are private companies which build, own, operate, and maintain electricity network infrastructure. As regional monopolies, they are regulated by the independent energy regulator, Ofgem. Transmission owners and Distribution Network Operators are required by Ofgem’s license conditions to ensure the maintenance of an efficient, economic, and coordinated system of electricity transmission and distribution respectively.

As a private transmission owner National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET) develops project proposals in England and Wales where a transmission need is identified by the National Energy System Operator (NESO). In all proposals evidence demonstrating due consideration of alternative options is required. In this case proposals remain in early development.

NESO submitted proposals to Ofgem to reorder the connection queue, which would impact on generator connection agreements. Ofgem is expected to announce its decision in March.

Project Gigabit funding is not allocated at a constituency or regional level. Instead, it is targeted at premises across the UK that need it most, specifically those outside of suppliers' commercial plans.

The latest Project Gigabit contracts announced on 7 January 2025 do not cover Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe as eligible premises in the constituency have already been included in an earlier Project Gigabit contract with Openreach. This contract is currently expected to deliver gigabit-capable connections to approximately 3,600 premises in the constituency.

To date, over £1 million in public subsidy has been spent in the Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe constituency through the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme and its previous iterations, passing nearly 800 premises with gigabit-capable broadband. This includes top-up funding from Welsh Government. Additionally, almost 6,700 premises across the constituency have received a gigabit-capable connection through the government’s Superfast and GigaHubs programmes. We do not hold constituency-level data of spend for these schemes.

The Government Digital Service (GDS) monitors the accessibility of public sector websites and mobile applications under The Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018. Between January 2022 and September 2024, GDS monitored 1,203 websites and 21 mobile applications.

Accessibility monitoring of public sector websites and mobile applications is ongoing.

The monitoring process for each website consists of both automated and manual accessibility checks, including keyboard testing.

More information on the monitoring methodology can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/accessibility-monitoring-how-we-test .

I have already held a series of productive meetings with the Wales Office, Welsh Government, Arts Council England, and Welsh National Opera to understand the issue in more detail and to see how, within the parameters of the arm’s length principle, DCMS can best help ensure a strong and secure future for the WNO.

The core point of agreement across all these meetings and across all partners was a recognition of the value of the Welsh National Opera and its work - both for the people of Wales, but also for people elsewhere in the UK. It was clear that all partners are keen to achieve a positive long-term future for the organisation, and are working towards that goal.

I am pleased to see additional funding of £755,000 has been allocated by the Arts Council to WNO.

I was also pleased that this series of meetings was able to reassure everyone that all partners wanted to see a positive future for Welsh National Opera, that the funding bodies across the border will work more collaboratively in future and that the new leadership at the WNO have a clear idea of how to progress. Everyone wants to sustain the WNO so that as many people as possible in Wales and England have a chance to enjoy world class opera close to home. Funding decisions are for the Welsh Arts Council and Arts Council England, but I am confident that the WNO is in a strong place to succeed.

I refer the hon. Member for Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe to the answer of 29 January 2025 to Question 26025.

I refer the hon. Member for Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe to the answer of 29 January 2025 to Question 26025.

Water abstraction licensing in Wales, and conditions that may be attached to licences, are a devolved matter for Natural Resources Wales and the Welsh Government. Defra and the Environment Agency do not have a role in that. Issues of concern about the supply of water for the Monmouth and Brecon Canal are an operational matter for the Canal and River Trust, as the independent charity owning the canal, to resolve with Natural Resources Wales.

Water abstraction licensing in Wales, and conditions that may be attached to licences, are a devolved matter for Natural Resources Wales and the Welsh Government. Defra and the Environment Agency do not have a role in that. Issues of concern about the supply of water for the Monmouth and Brecon Canal are an operational matter for the Canal and River Trust, as the independent charity owning the canal, to resolve with Natural Resources Wales.

Water abstraction licensing in Wales, and conditions that may be attached to licences, are a devolved matter for Natural Resources Wales and the Welsh Government. Defra and the Environment Agency do not have a role in that. Issues of concern about the supply of water for the Monmouth and Brecon Canal are an operational matter for the Canal and River Trust, as the independent charity owning the canal, to resolve with Natural Resources Wales.

In line with our manifesto commitment, the Government is committed to resetting our EU relationship, including by seeking to negotiate a SPS agreement. We have been clear that an SPS agreement could boost trade and deliver significant benefits on both sides. We will not be providing a running commentary on discussions with the EU. We cannot provide further information at this stage whilst negotiations are continuing.

The cost burden for water company fines is borne by their shareholders, not by customers.

Ofwat have been clear that when financial penalties are imposed on water companies, customers should not bear the costs and water companies cannot surcharge their customers to recover the funds.

During its first week in office, the Government announced that funding for vital infrastructure investment is ringfenced and can only be spent on upgrades benefiting customers and the environment. Ofwat will ensure that when money for investment is not spent, companies refund customers.

The Department of Transport continues to engage closely with the Global Centre of Rail Excellence (GCRE) in developing its proposal for world-class research, testing and certification site in South Wales. Department for Transport officials contribute through the cross-government GCRE steering group, which also includes representatives from the Department for Business and Trade and Welsh Government, to discuss options for Government support for the proposal and to ensure alignment with Government Industrial Strategy and other priorities.

The Department of Transport continues to engage closely with the Global Centre of Rail Excellence (GCRE) in developing its proposal for world-class research, testing and certification site in South Wales. Department for Transport officials contribute through the cross-government GCRE steering group, which also includes representatives from the Department for Business and Trade and Welsh Government, to discuss options for Government support for the proposal and to ensure alignment with Government Industrial Strategy and other priorities.

The Department of Transport continues to engage closely with the Global Centre of Rail Excellence (GCRE) in developing its proposal for world-class research, testing and certification site in South Wales. Department for Transport officials contribute through the cross-government GCRE steering group, which also includes representatives from the Department for Business and Trade and Welsh Government, to discuss options for Government support for the proposal and to ensure alignment with Government Industrial Strategy and other priorities.

The Department of Transport continues to engage closely with the Global Centre of Rail Excellence (GCRE) in developing its proposal for world-class research, testing and certification site in South Wales. Department for Transport officials contribute through the cross-government GCRE steering group, which also includes representatives from the Department for Business and Trade and Welsh Government, to discuss options for Government support for the proposal and to ensure alignment with Government Industrial Strategy and other priorities.

Research, Development and Innovation (RD&I) play a critical role in helping the rail industry reduce its emissions and costs, optimise operations, improve resilience and safety and enhance passenger experience. The Department of Transport continues to engage closely with Horizon Europe, through the European Rail Joint Undertaking (ERJU), to collaborate. DfT officials represent the UK on the ERJU States Representative Group (SRG) to promote the UK rail sector and, working alongside Network Rail, access available funding for projects that are aligned to UK Government priorities. The Department of Transport also supports UK rail industry RD&I though funding the Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), First of a Kind (FOAK) programme, amongst other RD&I programmes. The FOAK programme aims to accelerate and increase the adoption of innovation within rail and received approximately £7.7m between FY2022-23 and FY2024-25.