Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Hywel Williams and Oliver Dowden

Wednesday 12th July 2023 Commons Chamber

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

I pay tribute to my right hon. and gallant Friend and to all those whom he commanded in the 1990s. We must honour the memory of those killed, and pay tribute to the extraordinary courage shown by their families, survivors and all those members of our armed forces, who served so gallantly in that situation.

[Hywel Williams (Arfon) (PC)]

Q8. In the Welsh Affairs Committee, my hon. Friend the Member for Ceredigion (Ben Lake) asked the Chief Secretary to the Treasury about the varying comparability factors for Wales of Crossrail, Thameslink and HS2. His answer began:“you are dragging me into quite complex technical details.”Then, he gave no complex technical details. I am sure that the people of Wales would be delighted to tackle any complex technical details were the Deputy Prime Minister to explain to the House why we are paying £5 billion for a white elephant in HS2,which, by now, comes nowhere near our country.

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

It is thanks to the strength of our United Kingdom that record sums are going to Wales under the Barnett consequentials. Indeed, in the spring Budget we increased devolved Administration funding by £630 million, which included £180 million for the Welsh Government. We are ensuring that resources are going to Wales, so that they can enhance their transport infrastructure.

UK Telecommunications

Debate between Hywel Williams and Oliver Dowden

Tuesday 14th July 2020 Commons Chamber

[Oliver Dowden]

My hon. Friend makes an important point about software versus hardware; indeed, that goes to some of the wider discussions around open RAN. We will of course always put national security first, which is what we have done with this statement today.

[Hywel Williams (Arfon) (PC) [V]]

The Secretary of State said that countries around the world have become reliant on too few vendors. That included the UK just half a year ago. Are his Government in any way to blame?

[Oliver Dowden]

There has been a failure of successive Governments both in the United Kingdom and around the world in ensuring that we have sovereign capability not just in telecoms vendors but in other areas of emergent technology. That is precisely why we are bringing forward an investment security Bill to greater empower the Government to take decisions to protect our national interest in relation to investment in companies.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Hywel Williams and Oliver Dowden

Wednesday 12th September 2018 Commons Chamber

[Oliver Dowden]

The hon. Gentleman makes an important point, and I would be happy to discuss the example that he has raised. Local authorities have frequently bid for these GovTech funds. As I said, Monmouthshire County Council has been successful, as have local authorities in Northern Ireland, and I encourage others to make a bid when the next round opens shortly.

[Hywel Williams (Arfon) (PC)]

What progress is being made to ensure that my constituents can claim universal credit online through the medium of Welsh?

[Oliver Dowden]

The Government Digital Service is committed to ensuring full accessibility to all public services, including in our home nation languages, and it will certainly look into that point.

Capita

Debate between Hywel Williams and Oliver Dowden

Thursday 1st February 2018 Commons Chamber

[Oliver Dowden]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Our focus has been to ensure the continued delivery of public services. In respect of all the key strategic suppliers, we ensure that we are confident that public services will continue to be delivered if there is an interruption to those companies. That is what the House saw in respect of Carillion, and it is exactly what we prepare for all the time with regards to all our strategic suppliers.

[Hywel Williams (Arfon) (PC)]

This is a very worrying time for Carillion employees in Wales, including the hundreds employed at the call centre in Bangor in my constituency. It is also a very worrying time for disabled people, as all personal independence payment assessments in Wales are carried out by the company. Will the Minister give these people a cast-iron guarantee that their jobs are safe, and that their benefits assessments will be carried out properly and accurately?

--- Later in debate ---

[Oliver Dowden]

I believe that the hon. Gentleman is referring to Capita, not to Carillion.

[Hywel Williams]

indicated assent.

[Oliver Dowden]

I assure the hon. Gentleman that it is the priority of the Government—this is what we are working on—to ensure that there will be no interruption to the very important public services that he outlined, no matter what happens to their delivery. That is what happened with Carillion. On the very day it was announced that Carillion was going into liquidation— the announcement was made at 7 o’clock in the morning—we ensured that the people delivering public services could continue to turn up to work and to be paid, and that the public services they delivered could continue to be delivered.