Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what discussions her Department has had with a) the Welsh Government and b) Cyngor Gwynedd on the regeneration of the former Trawsfynydd nuclear site.

Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales

The UK Government has regular discussions with the Welsh Government on a range of issues including our joint ambition for Wales to be at the forefront of the clean energy transition.

The UK Government is committed to delivering a secure, reliable, and low-carbon energy future for the UK and we have committed almost £17bn across the Spending Review period to the most ambitious nuclear new build programme for a generation.

This includes making available over £2.5bn across the Spending Review period to enable one of Europe’s first Small Modular Reactor (SMR) programmes. Great British Energy – Nuclear has selected Rolls-Royce SMR as its preferred bidder to partner with to build the UK’s first small modular reactors, subject to government approvals and contract signature.

The government values the work undertaken by Cwmni Egino to develop socio-economic growth opportunities from new nuclear development in North Wales. Trawsfynydd could be a candidate for new nuclear in future and is one of a number of potential sites that could host new civil nuclear projects, subject to national planning policy, regulatory approvals and technical assessments.

Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help create new jobs in Wales.

Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales

In just twelve months, this Labour government has supported over £3.4 billion in private investment into Wales, creating and sustaining over 8000 jobs.

Wales now punches above its weight, landing nearly 5% of all UK inward investment projects, up from 3.4% before the election.

Our Industrial Strategy will create tens of thousands of jobs in Wales, backed by our trade deals, Freeports, Investment Zones, and Defence Growth Deal.

This is the difference two Labour governments working together makes for Wales.

Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of increases in the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage on people in Wales.

Answered by Nia Griffith

Up to 160,000 workers across Wales received a record pay rise through increases to the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage.

Full-time workers on the National Living Wage will see a real-terms pay increase of £1,400 per year, whilst 18-to-20-year-olds will get a record boost of £2,500 each year. This will help provide people across Wales with better financial stability.

Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what discussions she has had with the Welsh Government on strengthening the Union.

Answered by Nia Griffith

The Spending Review demonstrated how our two Labour Governments are investing in Wales’ future and strengthening our Union for generations to come.

With a record settlement for the Welsh Government, an historic investment of at least £445m into Welsh rail, money to keep coal tips safe and protecting every penny of Wales’ growth funds, we have ended Tory austerity.

Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what proportion of her Department's procurement contracts were awarded to UK companies in the last financial year.

Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales

Details of central government contracts above £12,000 for procurements commenced before 24 February 2025 are published on Contracts Finder (https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder).

Contracts procured under the Procurement Act 2023 above £12,000 inc. VAT are published on the Central Digital Platform Find a Tender service. This includes a note of the winning supplier (https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Search).

Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to her oral answer in response to the question from the hon. Member for Lichfield of 16 July 2025, Official Report, Column 282, what the evidential basis is for her statement on historic underfunding.

Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales

I regret that the Hon. Member seems to refuse to accept or acknowledge the historic underfunding. When I gave evidence to the Welsh Affairs Committee in January, there was widespread agreement that this was the case and many others have expressed similar sentiments.

The low levels of enhancement spending we have seen in recent years makes it more difficult to realise the modal shift needed to sustain a continuous enhancements pipeline. Denying that there has been underfunding is not the way address the problem. This government prefers to tackle the issue head on, starting with at least £445m of spending, front-loaded to support delivery of Wales' priorities for rail infrastructure during this next Spending Review period.

Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many employees in her Department earn (a) £100,000 and (b) £166,000 or more per year.

Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales

My Department publishes an Annual Report on GOV.UK which contains salary details for senior officials in the Wales Office.

Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to her oral answer in response to the question from the hon. Member for Lichfield of 16 July 2025, Official Report, Column 282, over what period that £445 million covers; and what the allocated spending is in each financial year.

Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales

Following the Spending Review, the UK Government is investing at least £445m into Welsh rail infrastructure upgrades, with the vast majority of this funding to be spent within the Spending Review period.

This investment will mean new stations and more and faster trains on the key lines across North and South Wales. The UK Government is working in collaboration with the Welsh Government, Network Rail and Transport for Wales, through the Wales Rail Board.

Question to the Wales Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact and allocation of the funds budgeted to support those who lose their jobs as a result of the transformation of Port Talbot.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Tata Steel/Port Talbot Transition Board, chaired by the Secretary of State for Wales, supports those affected by Tata Steel UK’s decarbonisation transition and is supported by £100 million of funding. £80 million of which is provided by the UK Government, as confirmed by the Chancellor in the Budget on 30 October, and the remaining £20 million is provided by Tata Steel UK. The joint investment by UK Government and Tata Steel UK of £1.3 billion in an Electric Arc Furnace at Port Talbot has helped to protect 5,000 jobs and many more within the supply chain.

The Transition Board, in under a year, allocated the full UK Government £80 million funding to help those people and businesses affected by the transition, and to regenerate the local area. The UK Government Funds have created:

• The Supply Chain Transition Fund, to help businesses adapt to new markets.

• The Employment and Skills Fund, to help individuals re-train and find new well-paid jobs.

• The Business Start-Up Fund, to help people affected start new businesses.

• The Business Growth and Resilience Funds to help businesses reliant on Tata Steel UK but not in the supply chain, such as shops and cafes, adapt to the changes.

• Mental health and wellbeing support, to provide additional help to those affected.

• Regeneration projects, to create new business space for local businesses; to help remediate land and flood mitigation for the creation of an innovation centre in Port Talbot; and to create a skills centre for future green skills in green energy.

• An Economic Growth and Investment Fund is in development, to attract inward investment into Port Talbot, to create new, well-paid jobs for those affected by job losses.

The Transition Board receives updates on the impact of the funds at every Board meeting, containing data provided by delivery partners, such as Neath Port Talbot Council and Business Wales. The Transition Board last met on 26 June, and the following progress was reported up until that date:

• The Employment and Skills Fund: more than 2,800 training courses and qualifications have been funded so far.
• The Supply Chain Fund: 240 jobs have been safeguarded, and 26 new jobs have been created so far.
• The Resilience and Growth Funds: a total of 192 enquiries for support have been received so far.
• The Business Start-Up Fund: 12 new business have been created.

Funding for growth and regeneration projects in Port Talbot have also been funded by the Transition Board:

• On 6 February, the Secretary of State for Wales announced over £8m of the Transition Board funding to support the South Wales Industrial Transition from Carbon Hub project. This will redevelop a four-acre site at Harbourside, Port Talbot which will include the construction of additional shared space, undertake flood mitigation and the provision of specialist equipment. This investment will help establish an Innovation District in Port Talbot. This will support more than 100 jobs and bring an estimated £87.7 million in GVA benefits to the local economy.

• Three additional growth and regeneration projects were announced by the Secretary of State for Wales on 22 May, which committed over £20m for the creation of an Advanced Manufacturing Production Facility (AMPF) and National Net Zero Skills Centre of Excellence; and for the redevelopment of Metal Box and Sandfields Business Centre. These two projects will support over 270 jobs, and bring an estimated £119 million in GVA benefits to the local economy.

The growth and regeneration projects will also create construction jobs during the building, refurbishment and remediation phases.

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Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the proportion of violent crime that is linked to gang activity.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The ONS Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) and Home Office police recorded crime data contains information on violent crime and is published by the ONS (Crime in England and Wales - Office for National Statistics and the nature of violent crime: appendix tables - Office for National Statistics).

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