Asked by: Llinos Medi (Plaid Cymru - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what impact has the decision to designate two AI Growth Zones in Wales had on NESO’s plans for improving grid connections in both (a) north Wales and (b) south Wales.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Both sites had grid connections being realised before 2030, so are already accounted for in NESO’s planning.
Asked by: Llinos Medi (Plaid Cymru - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of changing the inflation indexation in the Feed in Tariffs scheme from Retail Price Index to Consumer Price Index on (a) households and (b) businesses in Wales.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has consulted on the proposed changes to how Feed-in Tariff payments are adjusted for inflation. The consultation included an analytical annex setting out the assessment of the potential impacts of the policy. An updated version of this will be published alongside a Government Response, next year.
Asked by: Llinos Medi (Plaid Cymru - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate he has made of the average price per kilowatt that businesses receive from suppliers when selling power to the grid under the Smart Export Guarantee compared to domestic households.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
It is a commercial decision for suppliers as to how they choose to set export tariffs, and whether to treat domestic and business customers differently for the purpose of tariffs offered under the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG). Most suppliers offer SEG tariffs that are available to both domestic and business customers, but some do provide distinct tariff offerings.
Details of the tariffs can be found in Ofgem’s SEG annual report. The latest report can be found at the SEG Smart Export Guarantee Annual Report - April 2024 to March 2025 | Ofgem
Asked by: Llinos Medi (Plaid Cymru - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the impact of the current costs of energy standing charges on businesses in North Wales.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has not made such an assessment specific to North Wales. Levels of standing charges in the non-domestic market are a commercial decision for suppliers and are not regulated by Ofgem as they are in the domestic market.
Standing charges predominantly recover ‘fixed’ costs that do not vary by energy use. This includes supplier’s operational costs for serving each customer and the cost of essential network maintenance and upgrades, which are necessary to keep all consumers connected, minimise constraint costs, meet the capacity needed to deliver clean power by 2030, and help bring down bills for households and businesses for good.
We know that too much of the burden of the bill is placed on standing charges, and we are committed to ensuring that standing charges are fair to all consumers.
As part of this, Ofgem have launched a Cost Allocation and Recovery Review to consider how energy system costs can be recovered from consumers in a fairer and more efficient way and government will continue to engage closely with Ofgem on the work.
Asked by: Llinos Medi (Plaid Cymru - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what Barnett consequential funding will Wales receive as a direct result of measures set out in the UK Government’s child poverty strategy published on 5 December 2025.
Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales
The Barnett formula has been applied in the normal way to changes in UK Government Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL). Spending Review 2025 provided the Welsh Government with their largest spending review settlements in real terms since devolution. As a result of decisions at Budget 2025, the Welsh Government will receive an additional £320 million RDELex and £185 million CDEL through the operation of the Barnett formula on top of these record settlements. This means the Welsh Government’s settlement continues to grow in real terms between 2024-25 and 2028-29.
Tackling child poverty is at the heart of this government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child the best start in life. The Government is investing in the future of our children and introducing a fundamental change by removing the two-child limit on Universal Credit, benefitting 69,000 children in Wales. This comes alongside a package of measures that will drive down working poverty by raising the minimum wage, creating more secure jobs by strengthening rights at work.
The Strategy builds on the reform plans already underway across government and the important work underway in Welsh Government. We are committed to continued collaboration with the Welsh Government to tackle child poverty across Wales, particularly through the implementation phase that will now follow.
Asked by: Llinos Medi (Plaid Cymru - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what is the process used to determine which neighbourhoods within Welsh local authorities will receive support under the Pride of Place programme; and when those neighbourhoods will be announced.
Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales
Through the Pride in Place Programme, nine more communities in Wales will receive up to £20 million each over the next 10 years. Every local authority in Wales will also receive a share of £34.5 million through the Pride in Place Impact Fund. This £214 million investment will support communities to drive forward the changes they want to see and will deliver visible improvements to drive growth, break down barriers to opportunity, and restore pride and confidence in local areas.
The nine local authorities in Wales receiving funding under the Pride in Place Programme are currently in the process of identifying the places within their area that will serve as the focus for this investment. This process combines objective data on local need with engagement from the local community and strategic alignment with other investments such as the Welsh Government’s Transforming Towns Programme and other placemaking plans. The selected places will be confirmed early in the new year.
Asked by: Llinos Medi (Plaid Cymru - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, for what reason he has adopted a different approach to Pride in Place Programme Phase 2 funding in Northern Ireland than in Wales and Scotland.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Although phase two of the Pride in Place programme will not be delivered in Northern Ireland, corresponding funding will be made available in Northern Ireland through the Local Growth Fund, with a total UK Government investment of £45.5m per annum over the Spending Review period.
This decision was made in consultation with the Northern Ireland Executive.
Asked by: Llinos Medi (Plaid Cymru - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what is the financial breakdown for the Local Growth Fund, including capital and revenue split, for (a) Wales (b) Scotland (c) Northern Ireland and (d) England.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The UK Government is working with partners across the nations to develop and implement a new Local Growth Fund, which is part of a wider targeted, long-term approach to regional growth across the UK. Under this approach, funding for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will remain at the same overall level in cash terms as under the UK Shared Prosperity Fund in 2025-26.
In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, we will confirm funding and delivery arrangements for the Local Growth Fund in due course. In England, the financial breakdown, including capital and revenue split, was published on 26 November: Local Growth Fund: Place selection and allocation methodology note - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Llinos Medi (Plaid Cymru - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, for what reason the value of the Local Growth Fund for Wales was reduced from £633million to £547million.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The UK Government is working with the Welsh Government to develop and implement a new Local Growth Fund, which is part of a wider targeted, long-term approach to regional growth across the UK. Under this approach, funding for Wales will remain at the same overall level in cash terms as under the UK Shared Prosperity Fund in 2025-26. Taken alongside Wales’ four City and Regional Growth Deals, Investment Zones and Freeports, this represents a significant investment to boost growth and create jobs across Wales.
Asked by: Llinos Medi (Plaid Cymru - Ynys Môn)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the statement by the Welsh Government entitled Funding to Support Devolved Public Sector Employers with Increased National Insurance Costs, published on 30 May 2025, what steps her Department is planning to take to address the remaining £36 million shortfall in funding for Welsh public sector employers arising from the increase in employer National Insurance Contributions.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
At Autumn Budget 2024, the Chancellor agreed to provide funding to the public sector to support them with the additional cost associated with changes to employer National Insurance Contributions policy.
The Welsh Government received £185 million of this support through the Barnett formula. This is the normal operation of the funding arrangements as set out in the Statement of Funding Policy. It is for the Welsh Government to allocate this funding in devolved areas including funding for local authorities as it sees fit, reflecting its own priorities and local circumstances, and it is accountable to the Senedd for these decisions.
HM Treasury ministers regularly engage with their Welsh Government counterparts, including through forums such as the Finance: Interministerial Standing Committee (F:ISC), to discuss a range of issues affecting Wales, including the impact of changes to employer National Insurance contributions on Welsh Government funding. The most recent F:ISC was on 17 October where these topics were discussed.