Found: Ref: 056MISC25 Rt Hon Jo Stevens MP Secretary of State for Wales Ysgrifennydd Gwladol Cymru

Found: Secretary of State for Wales Jo Stevens said:  Wales’s growing clean energy industry is delivering the

Found: Secretary of State for Wales Jo Stevens said:  The UK Government is working with the Welsh Government

Found: Secretary of State for Wales Jo Stevens said: Our landmark trade deal with India will boost jobs and

Found: Secretary of State for Wales Jo Stevens said:   We are making the UK a clean energy superpower while

Found: Secretary of State for Wales, Jo Stevens said:   This investment in defence will bring a real boost

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Found: offered hospitality Type of Hospitality Received Accompanied by Guest Value of Hospitality (£) Jo Stevens

Found: Given or Received Who gift was given to or received from Value (£) Outcome (Received gifts only) Jo Stevens

Found: Secretary of State for Wales Jo Stevens said: The UK Government is laser-focused on delivering economic

Found: In July 2025, the Secretary of State for Wales, Jo Stevens MP, described Trawsfynydd as “one of a number

<p>The first thing I have to say is good afternoon to all of you. It's a pleasure to be here, and it's a pleasure to answer questions. Thank you for the invitation.</p>
<p>I think that this Government recognises that railways in Wales have recently and historically seen very low levels of enhancement spending, and that's why we've worked really hard with the current Welsh Government to put that right. I think it's important to recognise that the spending review and the 10-year infrastructure strategy recognises Wales's long-term infrastructure needs, and will deliver at least £445 million-worth of rail enhancements to release them, and no doubt we'll talk about that.</p>
<p>And of course, you will all know, I hope, that I know what the position has been because I chaired Network Rail for nine years, and in those nine years I don't think we saw anything like the level of commitment to railway infrastructure investment that has occurred in the spending review as a result of the collaborative work with both your Cabinet Secretary, Ken Skates, with whom I'm very pleased that I get on well, and Jo Stevens, the Welsh Secretary in our Cabinet here at Westminster.</p>

<p>Thank you, Lord Hendy. In 2022, Jo Stevens MP said that it's utterly illogical to designate HS2 as an England-and-Wales project, estimating that Wales was owed £4.6 billion in consequential funding from the full scheme. Many of us in the Senedd have also called for that funding. In 2023, you said that something is amiss with the way that the Barnett formula is applied to HS2.&nbsp;Do you believe that the designation for HS2 will change?</p>

<p>Well, you have to start somewhere, and the truth of this is that these significant projects take quite a long time to start up and deliver. So, even if you'd aspired to do more in the spending review period, because there's been no project development, it seems to me to be pretty unlikely that there would have been anything much more to be delivered. And one of the reasons I keep going on about the further £95 million is that the real benefit of this is to produce the business cases for further investment after the spending review period that enable both you and us to recognise what else needs to be done to Wales's railways. And I'm not suggesting at all that these are the only things that need to be done, but they're the only things that are developed enough to spend any meaningful amounts in the spending review period.</p>
<p>The real benefit of the very cordial relationship that we have in the department with Jo Stevens, as the Welsh Secretary in the Cabinet, and with the Cabinet Secretary, Ken Skates, is that, actually, if we agree that what Wales needs is a pipeline of investment of good things to do for the benefit of the Welsh railways, economy and society, then, for the first time, not only have we started this pipeline with the projects that we've talked about, but we've enabled some money to be committed to developing the further things that need to be done, so that they are good projects, so that they can be advocated with confidence and get to the top of the list. And nobody would be more delighted than me to see more Welsh projects. But, actually, there's a whole difference between a document that says, 'We've got all these things we'd like to do'—. But, actually, you'll all know, just as with Welsh Government spending, just as I know with UK Government spending, that you don't get anywhere with that unless you've got the detailed business cases, you've done the work, you know how much they're going to cost. And I think that, actually, apart from the projects that we're talking about in this period, in the spending review period, that's the real benefit of this, which is this Government is committing money that enables the Wales rail board to develop a programme of future worthwhile investment for the Welsh railways in a way that just hasn't been done for a very long time.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Thank&nbsp;you again for your response, Cabinet Secretary. I know too well some of those challenges that council leaders have in balancing those books and, you're right, far too many promises can be made by those at times seeking election.</p>
<p>Talking of fantasy finances, we heard from Plaid Cymru again their pursuit of independence from the United Kingdom. It was interesting to hear the Secretary of State for Wales, Jo Stevens, pointing to the tax burden that would cause on people here in Wales, if Plaid Cymru's promise of independence was pursued further than it is to date. Jo Stevens pointed out that £21 billion tax annually would have to be found here in Wales—that's £11,000 per person per year here in Wales. What would be your assessment, Cabinet Secretary, if Plaid Cymru got their way and had an independent Wales? What would be your assessment both for public services here and our economy? Diolch yn fawr.</p>

<p>Thank you, diolch, Llyr, for raising this, because, for&nbsp;over a decade now, north Wales has been promised a north Wales metro. The £2.1 billion allocated to transform our railway networks is welcome, but it does fall short of what is needed to complete the works. We know £1.1 billion has been spent on the south Wales metro and 36 tram-trains have been stationed in Taff's Well. You just said, First Minister, that next May there will be an increase on the main line—big promises&nbsp;for next May.&nbsp;You may not even be here or your party in Government after May, so I'm not sure you should really be making promises for after next May. North Wales has frequently been left behind, even the Secretary of State for Wales, Jo Stevens, has cast doubt over your own funding for the electrification of the north Wales line, which was a commitment by our UK Conservative Government. This, along with a lack of HS2 funding, should rightly be allocated to Wales. Does the Cabinet Secretary—First Minister, even—agree with me that funding should be provided by both the Welsh and UK Governments? Now, you were all talk before the last election that the UK Government should be doing this. You're not doing it. When are you going to start? And can I have an update on the north Wales metro? Diolch.</p>

<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">is a core principle for us here.</span> Health and dentistry, which is an important part of health provision, isn't a luxury for anyone, it should be a right. Working in partnership is also a core principle. Only if there are changes to a health service developed in real collaboration with those providing care on the front line can that be successful. And finally, I believe in accountability. The Government has a duty to be transparent on the decisions that it makes. So, in setting that context, I want to turn to the proposed dental changes.</p>
<p>There are things to be welcomed. The fact that people with good oral health will not be sent to the DAP is a good thing. The higher fee is also to be welcomed, although the costs of dentists have increased significantly as a result of increases in national insurance contributions introduced by the Labour Government in London. So, I welcome the shift that's taken place on the initial starting point. And, of course, there's recognition that the current framework is failing.</p>
<p>Now, exactly a year ago today, Jo Stevens said that the Labour Westminster Government, and I quote, would take inspiration from dentistry in Wales, but today we hear the Cabinet Secretary here saying that the dental contracts are not fit for purpose. I welcome this recognition, but the Government was warned of this at least six years ago. We have therefore lost six years, and the result of that is that dozens of dentists have handed their NHS contracts back and patients have suffered, and there's more pressure on our community dentists and A&amp;E departments as a result of this.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Thank you very much, Llywydd. It's exactly a year, First Minister, since the Labour Governments in the UK and Wales announced what they called a cross-border health plan, which would, according to Jo Stevens, the Secretary of State for Wales, lead to more surgical procedures. Can the First Minister provide an update on this programme and how many more patients from Wales have been treated in England over the past 12 months?</p>