Oral Answers to Questions

Liz Twist Excerpts

Wednesday 8th May 2024 Commons Chamber

[Fay Jones]

My right hon. Friend lives this issue on a daily basis, and I commend him for highlighting the plight of his constituents, who have to endure the impact of such devastating environmental pollution. Any way we look at it, this donation stinks, and it is shameful that the Welsh Government are evading scrutiny on the issue. His constituents can have no confidence that this matter will be investigated. There is no independent scrutiny here. Labour Members should explain why they are scared of scrutiny on this question.

[Liz Twist (Blaydon) (Lab)]

3. What recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the cost of living in Wales.

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[The Secretary of State for Wales (David T. C. Davies)]

The UK Government fully recognise the challenges posed by cost of living pressures that have come about as a result of covid and the invasion of Ukraine. That is why they have committed to the triple lock on pensions for this Parliament, increased the living wage, benefiting 140,000 people in Wales, and put an average £701 back into the pocket of a typical worker in Wales through national insurance cuts.

[Liz Twist]

The Trussell Trust says that one fifth of people in Wales have cut back on or skipped meals in the last 12 months. What conversations is the Secretary of State having with supermarkets about holding down the cost of food for customers?

[David T. C. Davies]

I know that many supermarkets are supporting food banks within their local areas, and the UK Government have certainly supported those with the least by making sure that pensions, benefits and the minimum wage all go up in line with inflation, and making extra payments on top to pensioners, those on benefits and households where there is disability. However, if the hon. Lady is truly concerned about cost of living pressures in Wales, perhaps she ought to ask her colleagues in the Welsh Labour Government why, on this very day, Welsh Labour Ministers are supporting a plan to create dozens of extra Senedd Members at a cost of £120 million—all money that could be far better spent on supporting those with the least.

Oral Answers to Questions

Liz Twist Excerpts

Wednesday 24th May 2023 Commons Chamber

[David T. C. Davies]

Far from taking powers away from the Welsh Government, the Conservative Government have, on a number of occasions, actually increased powers to the Welsh Government. By leaving the European Union, we have repatriated powers from Brussels, where we were being governed by an unelectable elite, and brought them back to both Westminster and Cardiff. If the right hon. Lady wants to stop money being wasted, she should have a word with her colleagues in Plaid Cymru, who are propping up the Welsh Labour Government as they waste hundreds of millions of pounds in the Betsi Cadwaladr health service, hundreds of millions of pounds on an airport with no planes, and over £100 million on plans for a relief road that will never get built.

[Liz Twist (Blaydon) (Lab)]

2. What discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the impact of changes in the level of mortgage interest rates on homeowners in Wales.

[The Secretary of State for Wales (David T. C. Davies)]

I have regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues. Interest rates are rising across the world as countries manage rising prices due to the pandemic and Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. However, I am very pleased to see that the UK average two and five-year fixed mortgage rates have declined in recent months.

[Liz Twist]

The Chancellor failed to bring in a proper windfall tax in the Budget in March. Does the Secretary of State agree that there are still huge holes in that levy, which mean that billions of pounds that could be used to help Welsh households with the cost of living are being ignored?

[David T. C. Davies]

The Chancellor and this Conservative Government have brought in windfall taxes on energy companies taking oil and gas out of the North sea. Energy companies are paying around three times more in taxation than other companies. I hope the hon. Lady will be supportive of the companies that want to take more oil and gas out of the North sea, so we can raise even more in taxation to support the least well-off in the United Kingdom.

Oral Answers to Questions

Liz Twist Excerpts

Wednesday 19th April 2023 Commons Chamber

[Dr James Davies]

The hon. Gentleman will be aware that the local housing allowance rates were raised to the 30th percentile in 2020 and that there is also support through the discretionary housing payment scheme. There is, in addition, the whole array of support that has been provided through the recent cost of living pressures.

[Liz Twist (Blaydon) (Lab)]

4. What recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on rail infrastructure in Wales.

[Ashley Dalton (West Lancashire) (Lab)]

12. What recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on rail infrastructure in Wales.

[The Secretary of State for Wales (David T. C. Davies)]

I regularly engage with Cabinet Ministers on a range of transport measures. Over £390 million has already been provided for rail improvements in Wales since 2020, including at Bow Street Station, with the electrification of the Severn tunnel and through Cardiff Crossrail.

[Liz Twist]

Avanti chaos has hit services between Holyhead and Crewe. For communities in north Wales and the north-west of England, the line is an ongoing nightmare. What guarantees will the Secretary of State provide that those services will be restored?

[David T. C. Davies]

The hon. Lady has a point. A number of complaints have been made about Avanti by Members of Parliament of all parties and I think there is a recognition that things could be a lot better than they are. Avanti is well aware of that and has been told that it needs to improve the service quickly. I can assure her that the Department for Transport is well aware of the problems she raises.

Oral Answers to Questions

Liz Twist Excerpts

Wednesday 1st March 2023 Commons Chamber

[Jeff Smith (Manchester, Withington) (Lab)]

3. What recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on support for renewable energy in Wales.

[Liz Twist (Blaydon) (Lab)]

4. What recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on support for renewable energy in Wales.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Dr James Davies)]

The UK Government are committed to supporting renewable energy generation in Wales, including for innovative tidal stream technologies at Morlais through our flagship contracts for difference scheme. I will continue to work across Government to ensure that we can capitalise on the huge renewable energy opportunities Wales has to offer.

[Dr Davies]

The Government have an ambitious programme to decarbonise the country by 2050, and we have provided £21.5 million to the south Wales industrial cluster to decarbonise heavy industry and support the transition to net zero. Of course, the opportunities for floating offshore wind in that region could be critical too.

[Liz Twist]

A Labour Government will more than quadruple offshore wind to make the UK a clean energy superpower, making the most of the fantastic natural resources in Wales. When will the Government match that ambition so that sectors such as Welsh offshore wind can achieve their full potential?

[Dr Davies]

As I mentioned in my previous answer, there is an ambitious programme for offshore wind, including floating offshore wind in south-west Wales and south-west England. There is an intention for 4 GW of power to be provided through the Celtic sea by 2035 and many more gigawatts in the future.

Oral Answers to Questions

Liz Twist Excerpts

Wednesday 23rd November 2022 Commons Chamber

[Chris Elmore (Ogmore) (Lab)]

3. Whether he has had recent discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the potential impact of Channel 4 privatisation on the television production industry in Wales.

[Liz Twist (Blaydon) (Lab)]

13. Whether he has had recent discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the potential impact of Channel 4 privatisation on the television production industry in Wales.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Dr James Davies)]

The Government are carefully considering the business case for the sale of Channel 4. Whatever the outcome—as I heard from the chair of Teledwyr Annibynnol Cymru at the recent S4C 40th anniversary event, the quality of Wales’s independent television production sector is unparalleled—I am sure it will continue to thrive.

[Dr Davies]

The hon. Member will know that the independent television production sector in Wales is thriving, with at least 50 organisations. That needs to continue into the future. The important thing is that Channel 4 can survive in a new landscape, with streaming and competition from abroad.

[Liz Twist]

I too welcome the Minister to his place. Channel 4’s training, apprenticeship and digital skills programme, 4Skills, has reached more than 100,000 people since 2015. How will the Government ensure that this door for young people into the industry is not slammed shut?

[Dr Davies]

The hon. Lady raises a very important point, and I feel sure that it will be at the forefront of the Government’s considerations when they look at the business case and the implications of Channel 4 privatisation.

Oral Answers to Questions

Liz Twist Excerpts

Wednesday 17th March 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend makes a really good point about the mental health impacts of flooding. Anybody who has been a victim of flooding or who visits a family that has been hit by flooding will know the immense distress that flooding causes. That is why the NHS will get an extra £500 million to address those issues and to give more support for the mental health needs.

[Liz Twist (Blaydon) (Lab)]

Prime Minister, in December 2019’s election campaign you visited Samantha Parker at her home in Darlington. Samantha has the rare genetic condition PKU—phenylketonuria. You vowed to do your utmost to get her access to the life-changing drug Kuvan on the NHS.

[Mr Speaker]

Order. The hon. Lady just said “you.” We cannot use “you.” I am not responsible for this.

[Liz Twist]

Apologies. The Prime Minister vowed to do his utmost to get Samantha access to life-changing drug Kuvan. Last month NICE published draft guidance, which would make Kuvan available to children but not to adults like Samantha—great for children, but devastating and discriminatory for adults like Samantha. Prime Minister, speaking as chair of the all-party parliamentary group on PKU, I now ask, what action will you take to deliver on your commitment to Samantha Parker, and make Kuvan available for her and for other adults with PKU?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank the hon. Lady very much for raising the case, which I well remember. I am glad that the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has now extended the treatment’s availability to children with PKU. Clearly, we need to do more, and I am very happy to take it up.

Oral Answers to Questions

Liz Twist Excerpts

Wednesday 16th December 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Mr Speaker, the whole of the country and the taxpayers of this country play that role; it is our job to make sure that we spend the money sensibly, and that is what we were doing. I am delighted that, thanks in part to the campaigning by my hon. Friend, his constituency is attracting an average of 3.8% more per pupil next year compared with this year through the national funding formula—a total of £4.8 million more, in addition, of course, to our commitment to pay every teacher a starting salary of £30,000.

[Liz Twist (Blaydon) (Lab)]

  The hospitality sector, and in particular pubs in my constituency such as the Black Bull in Blaydon, a wet pub with a fine live local music tradition, has been devastated by the restrictions placed on it, in our case since September. Pubs such as the Black Bull are at the heart of our communities. The various compensation schemes do not offer enough support to allow those pubs to survive. Will the Prime Minister commit to bringing forward a financial support scheme that will allow our pubs and hospitality sector to survive?

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Member is quite right to raise the problem in the hospitality sector. We are committed to doing everything we can. She knows about the £3,000 grant, the additional £2,100, plus the £1,000 for wet pubs. But the best thing of all—in addition to the cuts in business rates and VAT that I have already mentioned—is for areas in the west midlands to work together—

[Liz Twist]

North-east.

Oral Answers to Questions

Liz Twist Excerpts

Wednesday 1st November 2017 Commons Chamber

[Laura Smith (Crewe and Nantwich) (Lab)]

1. What recent assessment he has made of the effect on the Welsh economy of the Government’s decision not to electrify the main line to Swansea.

[Liz Twist (Blaydon) (Lab)]

4. What recent assessment he has made of the effect on the Welsh economy of the Government’s decision not to electrify the main line to Swansea.

[Alex Norris (Nottingham North) (Lab/Co-op)]

15. What recent assessment he has made of the effect on the Welsh economy of the Government’s decision not to electrify the main line to Swansea.

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[Alun Cairns]

The hon. Lady will be well aware that advances in bimodal technology mean that electrification between Cardiff and Swansea would not save passengers any significant journey time. She makes an interesting point about north Wales, and I hope that she is aware of the £43 million of signalling improvement that has taken place in north Wales to improve speed and reliability along the line. In addition, the Crewe hub offers great potential for bringing the benefits of HS2, a major UK rail investment programme, to north Wales as well as to the north of England.

[Liz Twist]

What will the Secretary of State be doing to create a more competitive and cost-effective environment for rail infrastructure in Wales?

[Alun Cairns]

A major multibillion investment programme is benefiting rail passengers in Wales. Earlier this year, the Public Accounts Committee asked us to reassess the electrification programme on a stage-by-stage basis, and that was what we did. We are therefore using the latest advances in modern technology to ensure that passengers in Swansea and west Wales get the benefits of the most modern trains on the network immediately, rather than perhaps waiting for the traditional technology of electric-only trains.