Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, whether they will require their department and agencies to offer payroll deductions to all employees to enable them to join a credit union.
Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales
Staff in my Department are employed by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), which provides payroll services on our behalf.
The MoJ does not currently operate a payroll‑deduction facility for credit union membership, however, staff who wish to join a credit union can already do so independently. My department continues to support staff financial wellbeing through the MoJ’s wider financial wellbeing offer, which provides access to information, tools, and advice.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what discussions she has had with her counterpart in the Welsh Government on how much and what proportion of the £450 million investment in Welsh railways will be spent in the current spending review period; and whether her Department has issued guidance to Network Rail on the expected delivery schedule for that funding.
Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales
The UK Government has announced at least £445 million for rail enhancements in Wales, to right years of underfunding by previous Conservative Governments and unleash Wales’ economic potential.
The vast majority of this investment will be spent in this Spending Review period, with a small amount profiled beyond this Spending Review period to help the development of the next set of projects.
This will mean new stations, more and faster trains on the key lines across North and South Wales, connecting people with the new, well-paid jobs we are creating across Wales.
The UK Government will set out more detail on the pipeline of projects that we will deliver very shortly.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what discussions she has had with her counterpart in the Welsh Government on how much of the £445 million funding for Welsh railways will be spent on (a) electrification, (b) railway station development, (c) railway station development and track upgrade and (d) any other category of expenditure.
Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales
I have regular discussions with Welsh Government Ministers on a range of issues, including this Government’s historic investment in Welsh rail.
The UK Government has announced at least £445 million for rail enhancements in Wales, to right years of underfunding by previous Conservative Governments and unleash Wales’ economic potential.
This will mean new stations, more and faster trains on the key lines across North and South Wales, connecting people with the new, well-paid jobs we are creating across Wales.
The UK Government will set out more detail on the pipeline of projects that we will deliver very shortly.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, if she will provide a breakdown by operations, maintenance, renewals and enhancement of funding committed by the UK Government to Welsh railways between 2025–26 and 2028–29.
Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales
Estimated Operations, Maintenance and Renewals (OMR) expenditure for Wales during Control Period (CP) 7 is broken down as follows:
2024-25 - £502 million
2025-26 - £447 million
2026-27 - £503 million
2027-28 - £499 million
2028-29 - £487 million
In addition to this, the UK Government has announced at least £445 million for rail enhancements in Wales, to right years of underfunding by previous Conservative Governments and unleash Wales’ economic potential.
This will mean new stations, more and faster trains on the key lines across North and South Wales, connecting people with the new, well-paid jobs we are creating across Wales.
The UK Government will set out more detail on the pipeline of projects that we will deliver very shortly.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, whether the investment announced for Welsh railways forms part of a multi-year funding settlement; and how much of the investment is guaranteed beyond 2025–26, including planned spend in 2026–27 and 2027–28.
Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales
The UK Government has announced at least £445 million for rail enhancements in Wales, to right years of underfunding by previous Conservative Governments and unleash Wales’ economic potential. The vast majority of this investment will be spent in this Spending Review period.
This investment will mean new stations, more and faster trains on the key lines across North and South Wales, connecting people with the new, well-paid jobs we are creating across Wales.
The UK Government will set out more detail on the pipeline of projects that we will deliver very shortly.
Correspondence Feb. 11 2026
Committee: Welsh Affairs Committee (Department: Wales Office)Correspondence Feb. 11 2026
Committee: Welsh Affairs Committee (Department: Wales Office)Correspondence Feb. 11 2026
Committee: Welsh Affairs Committee (Department: Wales Office)Correspondence Feb. 11 2026
Committee: Welsh Affairs Committee (Department: Wales Office)