Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Liz Saville Roberts and James Davies(1 year, 1 month ago)
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Dr Davies
I welcome the hon. Member to her position. She shares Welsh lessons with me, and I hope she will continue to do so. I urge her to be somewhat more positive about the £1 billion that has been announced for infrastructure development in north Wales by means of the electrification. Also, in terms of the steel industry at Port Talbot, the half a billion pounds has saved many jobs and means that decarbonisation can occur.
Liz Saville Roberts (Dwyfor Meirionnydd) (PC)
HS2 is
“going to benefit Wales, it’s going to benefit people in North Wales who will benefit from better access at Crewe to London.”
That was the Secretary of State’s central argument for withholding billions of pounds from Wales by claiming that HS2 benefits us. Now that the link at Crewe is another casualty of Tory chaos, will Wales Office Ministers stay true to their own logic and urge the Treasury to class HS2 as English-only?
Dr Davies
As the right hon. Lady knows, rail infrastructure is not devolved. I would argue that investment in Great Britain’s rail infrastructure is of value to those in north Wales and the rest of Wales. Furthermore, HS2 is an important connection to the west midlands from London. Passengers from London to north Wales are likely to still use that.
Liz Saville Roberts
We all know that the money that has been committed is illustrative. In a major boost to Plaid Cymru’s campaign, the National Infrastructure Commission for Wales has proposed devolving the Crown estate and reinvesting profits in communities through a sovereign wealth fund. The commission criticised the current system of wealth transfer from the poorest country in Britain to Westminster as “illogical and bizarre”. Whose side is the Minister on: Welsh communities or a system that extracts our natural wealth?
Dr Davies
We have had this discussion on previous occasions in various settings, but I would argue that the Crown estate allows this country to share risks and opportunities that it deals with. It does a fantastic job and I simply do not agree.
Spring Budget: Wales
Debate between Liz Saville Roberts and James Davies(1 year, 8 months ago)
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Westminster Hall is an alternative Chamber for MPs to hold debates, named after the adjoining Westminster Hall.
Each debate is chaired by an MP from the Panel of Chairs, rather than the Speaker or Deputy Speaker. A Government Minister will give the final speech, and no votes may be called on the debate topic.
This information is provided by Parallel Parliament and does not comprise part of the offical record
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Dr James Davies)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Hollobone. I congratulate the hon. Member for Newport West (Ruth Jones) on securing this important debate, which has triggered many views from opposing directions. I am grateful to all those who have contributed, including my hon. Friend the Member for Ynys Môn (Virginia Crosbie), the hon. Members for Cynon Valley (Beth Winter), for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr (Jonathan Edwards), for Ceredigion (Ben Lake) and for Neath (Christina Rees), and of course the Opposition spokesperson, the hon. Member for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney (Gerald Jones).
I am pleased to have this opportunity to discuss the recent spring Budget and my right hon. Friend the Chancellor’s plan for long-term, sustainable, healthy growth in Wales and across the United Kingdom. I will come to the questions raised by hon. Members in due course.
I was incredibly pleased to see my right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Wales on Ynys Môn last week announcing not just one but two new freeports for Wales. The jobs and investment that will come as a result of that announcement will help deliver on our commitments to level up Wales and grow the economy. The fact that we have been able to deliver two freeports for Wales jointly with the Welsh Government is a testament to what can be achieved when the two Governments work together. We saw friendly competitors from Ynys Môn and Preseli Pembrokeshire sitting next to each other earlier, and both of them had a critical role to play in that development, so many thanks to them.
Earlier this month, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor set out a Budget that ensures that the benefits of economic growth are felt everywhere, including in Wales. It promotes the conditions for enterprise to succeed and encourages the inactive back into employment. At the autumn statement in 2022, the Government took the difficult decisions on tax and spending needed to restore economic stability, support public services and lay the foundation for long-term growth. At the spring Budget two weeks ago, the Government built on that foundation with a plan to deliver on three of the Prime Minister’s five key priorities: to get debt falling, halve inflation and grow the economy.
I want first to highlight the funding that the Budget included for multiple projects that will specifically benefit Wales. We are supporting the restoration of the grade II* listed Holyhead breakwater with £20 million of funding for the Welsh Government to ensure the long-term viability of that vital transport hub and, through it, trade links with Ireland.
My right hon. Friend the Chancellor set out that the Government will provide up to £20 billion over the next two decades to support the development of carbon capture, utilisation and storage. That is not something we have heard about today, but the HyNet cluster in north-east Wales and north-west England is already benefiting from our existing £1 billion commitment through the cluster sequencing programme. Decarbonising heavy industry is vital to driving economic growth and creating high-quality, sustainable jobs across the region, while helping us meet our climate commitments. The increased £20 billion ambition will further expand CCUS across industry, which will be vital for economic growth across Wales.
The Government are launching Great British Nuclear to address constraints in the nuclear market and support new nuclear builds as the Government work towards net zero.
Liz Saville Roberts
It has already been mentioned that an SMR at the Trawsfynydd site, as well as at Wylfa, is very much in the anticipation. The Minister will be aware that there are proposals for a national medical isotope centre at Trawsfynydd, known as Project ARTHUR. What discussions have there been with the Welsh Government about bringing that forward? There are concerns that there will be a shortage as reactors across Europe and the world cease to produce. When it comes to the medical security of the United Kingdom, there is real potential here.
Dr Davies
The right hon. Lady is right to raise that point. If I may, I will write to her with the latest position on that, but she may find that there will be announcements in the relatively near future on Great British Nuclear and its plans, which might assist in that regard. We know that Wales has the best British sites for new nuclear, including Trawsfynydd in her constituency and Wylfa Newydd. I look forward to working with GBN to champion a revived nuclear future for north Wales.
Investment zones were mentioned. Wales, too, will benefit from the Government delivering 12 investment zones across the UK, including at least one in Wales. The programme will provide each successful area with up to £80 million over five years to grow a cluster in one of our key future sectors, bringing investment into areas that have traditionally underperformed economically.
The UK Government are working with the devolved Administrations to develop an investment zone programme for each of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. In addition, the UK Government and devolved Administrations will work together to explore potential options for delivery of new levelling-up partnerships in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, such as those announced for England by the Chancellor in the Budget.
The Budget set out a number of measures that will create the right conditions for enterprise in Wales in all sectors, based on competitive taxes, access to capital and smarter regulation. We will support growth in Wales by attracting the most productive companies to set up, invest and grow in Wales and in the rest of the UK. We expect about 220,000 businesses in Wales to benefit from a range of administrative changes to simplify the tax system, allowing Welsh small and medium-sized enterprises to spend more time on their business and less on meeting their tax obligations.
During the debate, there were a multitude of questions on all sorts of issues. I will do my best to address as many of those as possible. I should declare first that I am a member of the British Medical Association, although I do not expect to benefit from the pension changes myself. Last week, I met the chair of the BMA, Philip Banfield, whom I know from his time as a consultant at Glan Clwyd Hospital. Glan Clwyd, like many in Wales, is struggling, as the Healthcare Inspectorate Wales report has detailed yet again today, so anything that can help to retain senior doctors’ hours and their presence in departments is certainly to be welcomed.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Liz Saville Roberts and James Davies(1 year, 8 months ago)
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Liz Saville Roberts (Dwyfor Meirionnydd) (PC)
Diolch yn fawr iawn, Lefarydd, a dydd gŵyl Dewi hapus i chithau ac i bawb—happy St. David’s Day to everybody.
Although the Minister might blame the mountains, it is evident that poor connectivity in rural areas is clearly one of the factors holding businesses back. Another is trade barriers, particularly for Holyhead. Pre-Brexit, about 30% of all trade through the port went on to Northern Ireland from Dublin. That trade has collapsed and it is not protected by green lanes. Stena Line says that there needs to be a solution to this disparity. Can he come up with a solution to protect Holyhead from his Government’s policy?
Dr Davies
The right hon. Lady recently attended a debate that I responded to in Westminster Hall, where she was making the case for a freeport in Holyhead. She knows that there are opportunities, through freeports, to boost the trade through Holyhead and other ports in Wales that are seeking the same designation. I urge her to continue that fight.
Liz Saville Roberts
I urge his Government to come forward with news, because Wales desperately needs two freeports at least.
The Prime Minister said yesterday that Northern Ireland is in the “unbelievably special position” of having privileged access not just to the UK market, but hey, to the EU single market. That is an excellent argument for Plaid Cymru’s policy to rejoin the single market. Why is it not good enough for Wales?
Dr Davies
Wales voted to leave the EU quite decisively. The right hon. Lady knows that the situation in Northern Ireland is really quite different from that in Wales, and this is a carefully put together deal to accommodate that situation. I feel quite sure that the EU is not in the business of allowing what she suggests.
Freeports: Wales
Debate between Liz Saville Roberts and James Davies(1 year, 9 months ago)
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Westminster Hall is an alternative Chamber for MPs to hold debates, named after the adjoining Westminster Hall.
Each debate is chaired by an MP from the Panel of Chairs, rather than the Speaker or Deputy Speaker. A Government Minister will give the final speech, and no votes may be called on the debate topic.
This information is provided by Parallel Parliament and does not comprise part of the offical record
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Dr James Davies)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Vickers, and to make the winding-up speech in a Westminster Hall debate for the first time.
I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Ynys Môn (Virginia Crosbie) on securing the debate—I know how hard she works for the island—and thank other Members for articulating their views. Happily, we have heard a range of opinion, from north Wales and from south Wales, in support of the Anglesey bid and the Celtic freeport bid. For balance, there is a third bid in Wales, centred around Newport.
We have had an excellent debate, and I am pleased to have the chance to set out the opportunities being created by the freeports programme in Wales, as well as how it, along with other UK Government support and investments, will help to level up communities the length and breadth of the UK. As my right hon. Friend the Chancellor said last month, the Government are committed to ensuring that the benefits of economic development are felt everywhere—not just in London and the south-east, but across the UK. The Government intend to do that by spreading opportunities more equally across the country, empowering local leaders and bringing left-behind communities up to the level of more prosperous areas.
In that regard, freeports are already playing a key role in creating hundreds of thousands of jobs across the UK and helping to drive economic growth by attracting investment to their local areas and regions. Our new freeports programme in Wales, which is being delivered with the Welsh Government and backed by £26 million, of which £25 million is seed capital and £1 million Government support, will help us to make the vision a reality.
The freeports programme is one of the core parts of the Government’s levelling-up agenda, and it will look to incentivise private businesses to invest in new opportunities in Wales. We have worked constructively with the Welsh Government to design a bespoke freeports model that will deliver for Wales. It will make the most of the unique opportunities in Wales, which will ultimately benefit businesses, ports and communities across Wales.
The Wales freeports model is based on three main objectives: promoting regeneration and high-quality job creation, establishing at least one freeport as a hub for global trade and investment across the economy, and fostering an innovative environment. Freeports are magnets for investment, and businesses located in freeports will benefit from a generous package of measures comprising tax reliefs, customs advantages, business rate relief, innovation, and trade and investment support. Those tools, paired with the ambitious £26 million of public investment in seed funding, will unlock much-needed investment and high-quality jobs not just for businesses located in the freeport, but for the surrounding areas and regions.
The freeports programme will drive forward our ambitions for Wales to compete at a global level while creating new high-skill, high-wage and local jobs, putting Welsh communities on the path to long-term growth and prosperity. The freeport programme in Wales will, once the competitive process concludes, join the freeports in England and the green freeports in Scotland to help to deliver the UK Government’s levelling-up ambitions.
The operational freeports in England are already delivering jobs and investment across local areas such as Plymouth, Solent and Teesside. The newest operational freeports—the Liverpool city region freeport and freeport east, announced at the end of last year—will also drive investment and industrial growth to deliver thousands of skilled jobs for local communities and regions.
The process in Wales is well under way and I, like many others, look forward to the benefits the programme can bring to communities in Wales. We and the Welsh Government have committed to delivering at least one freeport in Wales, and we both remain open to considering the designation of an additional freeport if there are sufficient exceptional bids. Unfortunately, as we are still in a competitive process for Wales, I am unable to comment on individual applications. However, I look forward to seeing the outcome of the competition process and thank all those who developed the bids submitted in Wales.
I very much welcome the contributions to the debate. My hon. Friend the Member for Ynys Môn powerfully articulated her arguments for the Anglesey freeport. She focused on net zero, the need to boost trade flows, energy and, of course, jobs.
The hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) asked about Northern Ireland. He is no longer in his place, but I should say that discussions about extending the freeport programme to Northern Ireland are ongoing.
The hon. Member for Aberavon (Stephen Kinnock) spoke about green energy—in particular, his desire to see the success of the floating offshore wind agenda—and energy security. My right hon. Friend the Member for Preseli Pembrokeshire (Stephen Crabb) echoed those comments. He particularly wanted to highlight the importance of job opportunities, energy companies in his patch, and the decarbonisation of the industrial cluster in his part of the world. He, too, spoke about floating offshore wind and the importance of the supply chain.
The right hon. Member for Dwyfor Meirionnydd (Liz Saville Roberts) kindly presented me with a lengthy list of questions, which I will do my best to answer. First, she asked about national insurance. Freeports will introduce secondary class 1 NI contributions relief for eligible employers on the earnings of eligible employees working at a freeport tax site. I am happy to find out further detail for her in due course if she writes or speaks to me.
I welcomed the right hon. Lady’s general support for the concept of freeports and having as many as possible in Wales. She highlighted her long-standing view that the Crown Estate should be devolved. Particularly in the Celtic sea, the opportunities for floating offshore wind relate also to south-west England, not just Wales, so my personal view is that breaking up the Crown Estate would not assist in that endeavour.
The right hon. Lady asked what constitutes an exceptional case. Essentially, the process is being judged equally by officials in the Welsh Government and the UK Government, and Ministers in both Governments will have equal decision-making powers. It is for them to judge the exceptionality of the cases based on what is submitted to them, but all will become clear in due course.
The right hon. Lady asked whether, were there to be more than one freeport, there would be two or more allocations of the £26 million. I can tell her that yes, that is the intention. She asked about the freeport in Liverpool. As she knows, Growth Track 360 held a reception here yesterday. Liverpool is of course an important element of the north-east Wales economy, and success in Liverpool’s economy benefits north-east Wales, so I urge her to bear that in mind.
Liz Saville Roberts
I am grateful for the Minister’s explanations and responses to my questions. It is worth putting on the record that Liverpool will have an effect on the whole of north Wales, along the A55 and into Ynys Môn. That is another argument for a counterbalance in the north-west for Caergybi, because that will, I hope, see developments across the north-west of Wales and into other counties, such as Gwynedd and Conwy.
Dr Davies
In many respects, the right hon. Member is making the case for investment across north Wales and into Anglesey. The agenda to upgrade infrastructure to link in with the north-west of England is also important to benefit north Wales. I hope that I covered most of her questions; should she have others, I am happy to answer them.
Liz Saville Roberts
There was one other question about reconsidering grid capacity in Wales. I would be grateful for a response to that.
Dr Davies
The right hon. Member makes a good point. Clearly, the Welsh Affairs Committee has considered these issues in detail. They are important to me, and the role of the Wales Office is to liaise with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, as it is now called, to ensure that grid capacity meets aspirations. I assure her that I hope to have that influence.