Nia Griffith
Main Page: Nia Griffith (Labour - Llanelli)Department Debates - View all Nia Griffith's debates with the Wales Office
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John Lamont (Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk) (Con)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Dame Nia Griffith)
The UK Labour Government have announced the largest nuclear building programme in a generation, investing £14.2 billion in Sizewell C and selecting Rolls-Royce SMR to build the UK’s first small modular reactors. The memorandum of understanding between the Welsh Government and Sizewell C Consortium could bring £900 million-worth of jobs into the Welsh nuclear supply chain. The Government also recognise Wylfa as one of the UK’s top sites for future nuclear development.
John Lamont
I thank the Minister for that answer. Nuclear must be an important part of our energy security strategy. It is both clean and reliable, and creates good jobs for local communities. What more can the Secretary of State do to encourage and incentivise new nuclear power in Wales and across all parts of the United Kingdom?
Dame Nia Griffith
As the hon. Gentleman will know, Great British Energy Nuclear has confirmed that, subject to final Government approvals and contract signature, it has selected Rolls-Royce SMR to build the UK’s first small modular reactors. No decisions have yet been taken on siting. We will be setting out our plans in due course. Further to that, as I have already mentioned, the project at Sizewell C will create enough power for 6 million homes and in the peak of construction support 10,000 jobs. It will boost supply chains across the UK. Some 70% of the construction value is predicted to go to 3,500 British suppliers, including companies such as William Hare Group in south Wales, supporting new jobs in construction, welding and hospitality.
Claire Hughes (Bangor Aberconwy) (Lab)
I was thrilled to hear that Boccard will today be opening its new nuclear manufacturing facility in north Wales. Does the Minister agree that north Wales has the skills and the sites to realise the economic potential of our nuclear industry, and two Labour Governments ready to deliver on it?
Dame Nia Griffith
Absolutely; I agree with my hon. Friend. I am very pleased indeed today that Boccard is opening its new nuclear manufacturing facility in Deeside. This is an example of the UK Government and the Welsh Government working together to onshore our nuclear supply chain, thus safeguarding 59 jobs in this instance and creating in excess of 150 new positions.
Christine Jardine (Edinburgh West) (LD)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Dame Nia Griffith)
Our industrial strategy will unlock growth right across Wales and support tens of thousands of new jobs. We will target areas of strength from aerospace in north Wales to the world’s first compound semiconductor cluster in south Wales. We have announced a new centre for doctoral training in compound semiconductors led by Swansea university, plus a new defence growth deal and £30 million for a local innovation partnership fund—to name just a few developments.
Sarah Edwards
Like many Members in this House, I welcome the Government’s industrial strategy and its focus on growth for our local communities. Across Wales, we have a number of former mining towns, which face the challenge of retraining and upskilling their local workforce. My constituency of Tamworth, a former mining town, faces similar challenges. Will the Minister tell me how the industrial strategy will support former mining towns across Wales and in my constituency of Tamworth?
Dame Nia Griffith
There are many job opportunities coming to Wales through the industrial strategy. We are also ensuring that local communities have the money available to secure the safety of the coal tips, which is the industrial legacy of those communities. That means £118 million of additional funding on top of the £25 million that we have already dedicated to those areas. As my hon. Friend will know, we are also forging ahead with the industrial zones and freeports in Wales and also the supply chains for the various industries that I mentioned in my previous answer, and they will include, I know, industries in Tamworth.
Mims Davies (East Grinstead and Uckfield) (Con)
Let us have some reality. Today, inflation hit 3.6%, the highest across the G7. This UK Labour Government have a glossy shine on their so-called industrial strategy, but it is simply proving that their actions and ethos deliver only worse outcomes for Wales. Businesses across Wales are now facing a disgraceful double whammy, as just this week Labour in Cardiff passed plans to impose a dire tourism tax. Has the Minister actually carried out any meaningful assessment with the Welsh Government of how many jobs will be lost, as the vital 100,000-strong Welsh tourism sector will be impacted by this tax and by the failing approach to Wales by the two Labour Governments?
Dame Nia Griffith
The Welsh tourism sector is thriving. Last year, British residents took over 7 million overnight trips to Wales and spent more than £2 billion. As the shadow Secretary of State will know, more than 40 countries and holiday destinations around the world, including Greece, Amsterdam, Barcelona and California, have introduced a form of visitor levy, and many of us have paid taxes abroad without even noticing. If a visitor levy were introduced by all Welsh local authorities, it could raise up to £33 million, which would help support the long-term thriving industry in Wales, as well as provide facilities such as toilets that local people can use. I am confident that the Welsh Government will work with businesses and tourists alike to get this right.
Gregory Stafford (Farnham and Bordon) (Con)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Dame Nia Griffith)
The Government are steadfastly committed to family farms in Wales, which is why we protected the farm budget at its current level and allocated £337 million to the Welsh Government at the autumn Budget. Furthermore, at the UK-EU summit on 19 May the Prime Minister announced that the UK would deliver a new agrifood deal with the European Union. Routine sanitary and phytosanitary border checks will be eliminated, with less paperwork and fewer costs. British goods such as dairy, fish, eggs and red meat currently subject to 100% documentary checks and up to 30% physical checks will see those removed entirely.
Gregory Stafford
Although the aims of the sustainable farming scheme are laudable, many farmers across Wales are expressing real concern about its complexity, the potential reduction in food production and the adequacy of the financial support on offer. What assurances can the Minister give that the scheme will be simplified, sufficiently funded and implemented in a way that supports both the environmental goals and the economic viability of Welsh farming communities?
Dame Nia Griffith
The scheme will have a transition period, with the basic payment scheme available for those not in the SFS, although that will be reduced by 40% next year. The Welsh Government are prioritising their money on the SFS to encourage farmers to join the scheme and start benefiting from it. The Farming Union of Wales has said that the plan provides
“workable payment rates and much needed stability for the sector.”
Catherine Fookes (Monmouthshire) (Lab)
The Welsh Government’s budget contains over £300 million to support Welsh farmers. Is it not the case that Plaid Cymru and the Tories put Welsh farmers’ livelihoods at risk by voting against that crucial money?
Dame Nia Griffith
Indeed, it is absolutely shocking that Plaid Cymru and the Tories in the Senedd voted against a budget that is giving that money to Welsh farmers.
Perran Moon (Camborne and Redruth) (Lab)
Olivia Bailey (Reading West and Mid Berkshire) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Dame Nia Griffith)
We are committed to spending 5% of the UK’s GDP on national security by 2035. The spending review invested to keep our people safe, with a £10.9 billion real-terms increase to the Ministry of Defence budget. This will help grow the Welsh economy and our thriving defence sector, which is home to over 160 companies employing more than 20,000 people right across Wales.
Olivia Bailey
This Government’s commitment to spending 5% of GDP on national security will be transformational for Wales and for my constituency, where thousands are employed in the defence sector and where we welcomed a £15 billion boost for the Atomic Weapons Establishment. Do the Secretary of State and the Minister agree that both our national security and our local economies are better off with Labour?
Dame Nia Griffith
Absolutely; our ambition is to become a defence industrial superpower by 2025. We are making defence an engine for growth, boosting prosperity, jobs and security for working people across the UK. As part of this, we will establish the UK defence innovation fund, with £400 million to fund and grow UK-based companies. We are also launching the new regional defence growth deals across the UK, including a cluster in Wales.