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Written Question
Food: Wales
Tuesday 12th March 2024

Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)

Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, whether he has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade on the potential application of new geographical indications for Welsh food and drink products in Japan.

Answered by David T C Davies - Secretary of State for Wales

As Secretary of State for Wales, I am proud to promote protected Welsh products, and was delighted to celebrate Single Malt Welsh Whisky on a recent visit to India.

I was also pleased to see that on 29 February 2024, 37 Geographical Indications received protected status in Japan, including famed products such as Welsh Lamb, Anglesey Sea Salt, Conwy Mussels, Pembrokeshire Early Potatoes, Traditional Welsh Caerphilly, Welsh Beef, Welsh Laverbread and Welsh Wine joining the seven GIs already protected in our agreement.

The UK Government is continuing work to secure protection for further products. The GI additions have been split into two tranches running in parallel to aid processing time, and officials will continue work to finalise the completion of UK and Japanese processes for the second and final tranche.


Written Question
Hospitality Industry: Wales
Monday 22nd January 2024

Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)

Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what recent discussions he has had with hospitality businesses in Wales on commercial energy costs.

Answered by David T C Davies - Secretary of State for Wales

My officials and I regularly meet with businesses across Wales, including those in the hospitality sector, to discuss a variety of issues.

The Government provided an unprecedented package of support of £7.4 billion through the Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS) which ended on 31 March 2023, shielding businesses and saving some around half of their wholesale energy cost.

The EBRS was replaced by the Energy Bills Discount Scheme (EBDS), which provides support to all eligible non-domestic energy users paying the highest energy prices starting from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024. Since the scheme was introduced, wholesale energy prices have now fallen significantly, and inflation has fallen from its peak of 11.1% to 4%.

In addition, at Autumn Statement 2023, the government announced that it is freezing Climate Change Levy rates for 2025-26 to continue achieving CCL’s environmental objectives without increasing the impact to businesses’ energy bills.

The UK Government is providing further support to the hospitality sector by freezing alcohol duty until August 2024, and increasing the new Draught Relief duty from the initially proposed 5% to 9.2%. In addition, in England, we have extended the 75% relief on business rates available to hospitality, retail and leisure businesses. I am concerned about the impact of the cut to non-domestic rates relief for hospitality businesses proposed by the Welsh Government in their recent draft budget.


Written Question
Post Office: Wales
Monday 22nd January 2024

Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)

Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the payment of compensation to sub-postmasters in Wales affected by issues with the Horizon system.

Answered by David T C Davies - Secretary of State for Wales

The Government has already paid out over £153 million to over 2,700 victims. In the overturned convictions scheme, 95 convictions have been overturned, with 31 claimants agreeing full and final settlements. Over £33 million has been paid out to those with overturned convictions, which includes interim payments and partial settlements.

Of the original trailblazing postmasters in the “GLO” group who took the Post Office to court and exposed the Horizon Scandal, £27 million has been paid out to 477 claimants. The original 2,417 postmasters who claimed through the original Horizon Shortfall Scheme have now all had offers of compensation. Offers have totalled over £107m and over £93 million has been paid out in this scheme, with Post Office now dealing with late applications and with those cases where the initial offer was not accepted.

In the coming weeks, we will introduce new primary legislation to quash all convictions that were reliant on erroneous Horizon evidence. Once this legislation is passed, and convictions have been overturned, they will be entitled to at least £600,000 in compensation to rebuild their lives.


Written Question
Railways: Wales
Thursday 18th January 2024

Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)

Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, whether he has had recent discussions with (a) the Secretary of State for Transport and (b) Network Rail on the potential impact of Control Period 7 funding on (i) rail services and (ii) the condition of rail infrastructure in Wales.

Answered by David T C Davies - Secretary of State for Wales

My officials and I have regular discussions with counterparts in the Department for Transport and Network Rail on a wide range of transport matters in Wales.

Between 2024 and 2029, the UK Government will be providing a record £44.1 billion settlement for Network Rail in Control Period 7 across England and Wales. This £44.1 billion settlement is roughly a 4% increase in real terms when compared to the previous control period.

The UK Government is committed to improving rail infrastructure in Wales and has allocated £1 billion to electrify the North Wales Mainline, delivered the £76 million electrification of the Severn Tunnel, contributed £144 million to the upgrade of the Core Valley Lines and provided £77.7 million for improvements to Cardiff Central Station.


Written Question
Tata Steel: Port Talbot
Thursday 18th January 2024

Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)

Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, when the Tata Steel/ Port Talbot Transition Board will next meet.

Answered by David T C Davies - Secretary of State for Wales

The Tata Steel/Port Talbot Transition Board plan to next meet on 1 February 2024.

I chair the Transition Board which was set up to support people, businesses and communities affected by Tata Steel’s decarbonisation transition. The Transition Board will have access to up to £100 million to invest in skills and regeneration programmes for the local area.


Written Question
North Wales Coast Line: Electrification
Thursday 18th January 2024

Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)

Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, whether he has had recent discussions with (a) the Secretary of State for Transport, (b) Network Rail and (c) the Welsh government on the electrification of the North Wales Main Line.

Answered by David T C Davies - Secretary of State for Wales

My officials and I have regular discussions with counterparts in the Department for Transport, Network Rail and the Welsh Government on a wide range of transport matters across Wales.

The UK Government is committed to providing £1 billion to fund the electrification of the North Wales Main Line. This investment will have a transformative impact for the many residents, commuters and tourists who use the North Wales Main Line, driving economic growth across the region.

The Department for Transport is working closely with Network Rail and industry partners to develop and deliver on the Government priorities outlined in the Prime Minister’s Network North announcement, including electrification of the North Wales Main Line. The Government is currently considering next steps, including delivery timelines, and will share further information when this work is complete. All schemes will be subject to the development and approval of business cases and will undergo all formal governance, in line with relevant fiscal and legal duties.

The UK Government is already providing significant investment to improve rail infrastructure and travel in Wales, including £144 million for the Core Valley Lines, delivering the £76 million electrification of the Severn Tunnel and £77.7 million for improvements to Cardiff Central Station.


Written Question
Wales Office: Domestic Visits
Thursday 14th September 2023

Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)

Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, on how many occasions (a) he and (b) the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales visited a (i) Government Hub and (ii) ministerial office outside London in (A) 2022 and (B) 2023.

Answered by David T C Davies - Secretary of State for Wales

I have worked from the Hub on 21 occasions between 2022 and 2023 and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State has done so twice. We both also attend a large number of events, meetings and visits across Wales on a regular basis.


Written Question
South Wales Main Line: Repairs and Maintenance
Wednesday 6th September 2023

Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)

Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, when he plans to announce upgrades to the South Wales mainline railway.

Answered by David T C Davies - Secretary of State for Wales

In February 2023, the UK Government announced £2.7 million funding for a study to improve transport connectivity by developing options for new stations and services on the South Wales Main Line, including the development of 5 brand new stations between Cardiff and Severn Tunnel.

In addition, a proposed upgrade to the South Wales relief lines is being progressed to a full business case by Network Rail for consideration by the Department for Transport.

The UK Government has committed over £390 million to rail improvements in Wales in recent years.


Written Question
Railways: South Wales
Thursday 9th February 2023

Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)

Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2023 to Question 133961 on Railways: South Wales, when funding will be made available for the delivery of the South Wales relief line upgrades.

Answered by David T C Davies - Secretary of State for Wales

The Government will publish an update to the Rail Network Enhancement Pipeline as soon as possible to provide clarity on funding for the delivery of rail upgrades in Wales.

We are fully committed to rail infrastructure improvement in Wales with recent investment totalling £390m. This is in addition to our recent announcement of £2.7m in funding to develop improvements along the South Wales Main Line in order to ease transport congestion along the South Wales corridor.


Written Question
Railways: South Wales
Friday 3rd February 2023

Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)

Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, whether he has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Transport on (a) upgrades to the South Wales relief line and (b) the rail-related recommendations in the report by Lord Burns entitled South East Wales Transport Commission: final recommendations, published on 26 November 2020.

Answered by David T C Davies - Secretary of State for Wales

I have regular discussions with the Transport Secretary on a range of transport issues, including infrastructure in Wales.

We have recently announced a further £2.7 million study with Welsh Government, funded by the UK Government, to develop options for new stations and services on the South Wales Main Line.

The study follows Lord Hendy’s recommendations from his review of transport connectivity across the UK, which put forward the need to relieve congestion on the M4. A series of options will be considered as part of this study, among which is the development of five brand new stations between Cardiff and Severn Tunnel.