Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Jo Stevens and Peter Swallow(1 week, 1 day ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Peter Swallow (Bracknell) (Lab)
The Secretary of State for Wales (Jo Stevens)
May I send congratulations to Cardiff City on the team’s promotion at the weekend?
The Government are putting Wales at the heart of our clean energy mission. Just this month, Great British Energy Nuclear signed a contract with Rolls-Royce to deliver the UK’s first small modular reactors at Wylfa, creating 3,000 jobs in north Wales and thousands more across the supply chain. That is on top of the £64 million Government investment to transform the port of Port Talbot into the first floating offshore wind port in the Celtic sea.
Peter Swallow
The war in Iran has put in stark relief the importance of clean energy to the UK. From Bracknell to Bangor, we have all seen the effects on our bills. Will the Secretary of State update the House on the role that clean energy is playing in Wales and its importance to the future of Wales?
Jo Stevens
My hon. Friend is absolutely right: achieving energy independence is crucial for Wales and we will be better off because of it, with more jobs created and bills brought down. That is why we have made the investments at Port Talbot and Wylfa that I mentioned. The Greens oppose the investment at Wylfa and would scrap the 3,000 jobs it will bring, and Plaid Cymru is silent on it because party members cannot agree among themselves whether they support it. Labour is the only party working to achieve energy independence, create thousands of jobs and bring down bills.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Jo Stevens and Peter Swallow(1 month, 3 weeks ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Jo Stevens
Our £50 million defence growth deal will harness Wales’s unique strengths in autonomy. It is focused on supporting the growth of dual-use industry right across Wales, so that the benefits will be felt beyond the defence sector. This deal is another example of the choice facing Wales at the Senedd election in May. We have Plaid Cymru, who would rather reject defence investment and pull us out of NATO at this critical moment of global instability, and we have Reform, whose foreign policy will probably be determined by its friend, President Putin. Only Labour can be trusted to invest in our national security and our economy.
Peter Swallow
One challenge faced by young people from Bracknell to Bangor is a lack of affordable housing, and not building enough homes affects our economy, too. I was pleased that the Secretary of State recently announced that our UK Government would be devolving powers to create a vacant land tax to the Welsh Government. Does she agree that this move will prevent land banking, and will lead to more houses being built in Wales, which would be good for the economy and good for our young people?
Jo Stevens
I was pleased to announce last month that this Government plan to devolve powers to the Welsh Government to introduce a vacant land tax, subject to consultation. This will help the Welsh Government to encourage even more house building, fuelling construction jobs and economic growth, and it is a perfect example of how this Labour Government approach enhancing devolution. We will never miss an opportunity to enhance devolution in ways that make a practical and positive difference to the people and economy of Wales.