Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jo Stevens and Liz Saville Roberts

Wednesday 6th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Jo Stevens]

I refer the hon. and learned Gentleman to my previous answer about the resetting of the relationship with the Welsh Government, and about working together and respecting the devolution settlement with all devolved Governments.

[Liz Saville Roberts (Dwyfor Meirionnydd) (PC)]

The Secretary of State talks about respecting the devolution settlement. Mark Drakeford wrote to the Chancellor before the Budget asking for a review of Wales’s Barnett formula for transport funding, which had fallen from 81% in 2015 to 36% in 2021. However, the Budget revealed a further cut in the Welsh transport comparability factor, which is now down to 33%. How come strengthening the Union under Labour means that every major rail project in England results in Wales losing out?

[Jo Stevens]

We are having ongoing discussions with the Welsh Government about funding flexibilities and their fiscal framework. We will deliver our manifesto commitment to work with the Welsh Government to address the outdated fiscal framework. As the right hon. Lady knows, heavy rail infrastructure is not devolved in Wales as it is in Scotland and Northern Ireland, and the Department for Transport settlement provides a £1.1 billion cash increase to total budgets in 2025-26 compared to 2024-25.

--- Later in debate ---

[Jo Stevens]

I know that the Health and Social Care Secretary wants to ensure that the national health service across all of our four nations is fit for the future.

[Liz Saville Roberts (Dwyfor Meirionnydd) (PC)]

The British Medical Association in Wales says that GP funding has decreased as a percentage of the Welsh Government’s budget by over 2.6% since 2005. Treflan surgery in Pwllheli cannot afford to fill key staff roles, and Budget measures will cost it an extra £19,000. The Secretary of State for Wales knows the state of the NHS in Wales, so why is she instrumental in Labour at both ends of the M4 threatening GP surgeries?

[Jo Stevens]

We are not threatening GP surgeries. If the right hon. Lady does not think that the £1.7 billion additional funding to spend on the NHS in Wales as a result of the Budget is a great idea, she needs to say what she would do instead.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jo Stevens and Liz Saville Roberts

Wednesday 11th September 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call Liz Saville Roberts.

[Liz Saville Roberts (Dwyfor Meirionnydd) (PC)]

Diolch yn fawr iawn, Llefarydd. I am sure the Secretary of State will join me in sending every sympathy to the friends and family of the late, great singer and comedian Dewi Pws.

On-the-day cancellations on the north Wales to London lines stood at 15.4% in August. We consistently have the highest on-the-day cancellation rates for the entire Avanti network, three to four times higher than the next worst part of the network. How will the Secretary of State use her role to stop Avanti punishing Welsh travellers?

[Jo Stevens]

I thank the right hon. Lady for her question, and concur with her remarks. The Government are clear that the performance of Avanti West Coast has not been good enough. Many times in this Chamber, we have heard about the appalling service—too many cancellations and too many delays. This Government have required Avanti West Coast to improve its performance on services, and I discussed this matter with the Transport Secretary last week. Ministers and officials are holding regular performance reviews with Avanti West Coast and Network Rail to hold them to account, closely monitoring compliance with contractual obligations and driving improvements using the contractual mechanisms.

[Liz Saville Roberts]

Sadly, it seems that between the Welsh Government and Labour in government here in the UK, that service in north Wales is not a priority—we see that in the rate of on-the-day cancellations. The truth is that the railways are broken, and Labour’s plan fails to address the chronic underfunding that is the cause, particularly in Wales. In 2022, the Secretary of State—then shadow Secretary of State—said that it was “utterly illogical” to designate HS2 as an England and Wales project, and called on the Conservatives to “cough up” the billions owed to Wales. Will she cough up now?

[Jo Stevens]

We cannot go back in time and change the way that project was commissioned, managed and classified by the previous Conservative Government. They need to accept responsibility for the chaos, delay and waste on their watch. What we can do, though, is work closely with our Senedd and local authority colleagues to develop and invest in transport projects that improve services for passengers right across Wales.