Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to restore the UK's Official Development Assistance budget to 0.7 per cent of GDP.
Answered by Edward Argar
In July 2021 the former Chancellor set out the fiscal circumstances under which the UK will make the return to spending 0.7% of its GNI on ODA. This is set out in detail in a written ministerial statement, here: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2021-07-12/hcws172.
Each year, the Government will continue to monitor future forecasts closely and will review and confirm, in accordance with the Act, whether a return to spending 0.7% of GNI on ODA is possible against the latest fiscal forecasts.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the adequacy of that Department's budget in helping meet the Government’s environmental objectives.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
The government is committed to protecting and enhancing our natural environment in line with the ambitious approach set out in our 25 Year Environment Plan and legislated in the Environment Act 2021.
These long-term objectives will be achieved through a combination of public expenditure, private finance, and other policy levers.
The budget allocated to the Department for the Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs will enable them to drive continued progress during this parliament.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of staff employed by his Department are women.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
The Treasury is committed to building a Department that reflects those it serves, drawing on diversity of background and expertise, to enable it to offer the best possible advice to ministers, strengthening policymaking.
As at 31 March 2021, 48.7% of Core Treasury staff were female. Further information on the diversity of Treasury staff can be found on page 44 of Treasury’s Annual Review and Accounts, which can be accessed at ES983664_CCS001_CCS0620768248-001_COVER_1-1.pdf (publishing.service.gov.uk)
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of people in his Department are from Black and ethnic minority backgrounds.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
The Treasury is committed to building a Department that reflects those it serves, drawing on diversity of background and expertise, to enable it to offer the best possible advice to ministers, strengthen policymaking.
As at 31 March 2021, 19.4% of Core Treasury staff were from ethnic minorities. Further information on the diversity of Treasury staff can be found on page 44 of Treasury’s Annual Review and Accounts, which can be accessed at ES983664_CCS001_CCS0620768248-001_COVER_1-1.pdf (publishing.service.gov.uk)
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the strength of the UK economy.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade
The economy grew by 0.8% in Q1, faster than the United States, France, Germany and Italy.
Unemployment is at a near 50-year low of 3.8% for the three months to June, with the total number of pay rolled employees consistently above pre-pandemic levels.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with representatives from the Welsh Government on the state of the UK economy.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
HMT Ministers meet regularly with representatives from the Welsh Government to discuss the state of the UK economy. The Chief Secretary to the Treasury is the Minister with responsibility for devolved administration funding.
The former Chief Secretary to the Treasury attended a Finance Interministerial Standing Committee meeting on 15 June and a meeting of the Inter-Ministerial Standing Committee on 29 June, together with Welsh Government Ministers, where discussions covered the latest economic outlook. The former Chief Secretary to the Treasury also held a bilateral meeting with the Welsh Government Minister for Finance and Local Government ahead of the F:ISC meeting on 15 June where economic and fiscal matters were raised.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many times he has visited Wales since July 2022.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
In his role as Chancellor of the Exchequer, Nadim Zahawi visited Wales once since July 2022 on the 12 August 2022.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many times he has visited Northern Ireland since July 2022.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
In his role as Chancellor of the Exchequer, Nadim Zahawi visited Northern Ireland once since July 2022 on 10 August 2022.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many members of staff have left his Department since 12 December 2019.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
As at 6th September 2022, for staff who would be included in HM Treasury’s overall reported full time equivalent headcount figures, there have been 879 leavers between 12/12/2019 and 06/09/2022.