Asked by: Baroness Smith of Llanfaes (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they intend to take to increase weekly pay for adults in full-time work in the regions of the UK with the lowest pay.
Answered by Lord Leong - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
This Government is committed to raising living standards across every part of the UK, including in regions with the lowest pay. We are boosting productivity and regional growth by reforming the skills system, expanding apprenticeships, and delivering the Youth Guarantee so more people can access better-paid jobs.
We continue to raise pay through annual increases to the National Living Wage (NLW) and National Minimum Wage (NMW), in line with the recommendations of the Low Pay Commission. These increases directly benefit a higher share of workers in regions with the lowest pay, with 10.5% of workers in Wales benefitting from the 2026 increase, compared to 4.5% in London.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Llanfaes (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to regulate, and mandate independent testing of, period products following recent reports of harmful chemicals and heavy metals being found in such products.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
Period products are already regulated under the General Product Safety Regulations 2005 which require that only safe products, in their normal or reasonably foreseeable use, are placed on the market. There are obligations on producers and distributors to, where reasonable, sample test products to check safety. The Government employs a risk-based approach to product testing, targeting categories with a high potential for danger and do not test period products. We have no plans to independently test them.
However, during the passage of the Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025, the Government committed to consult on period product safety, and as part of this Officials are also reviewing the need for any further research and testing for harmful chemicals and heavy metals in period products to complement the consultation.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Llanfaes (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of labour market statistics up to July, and what plans they have to target industrial development investment in areas where employment rates are lowest.
Answered by Lord Leong - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
This Government assesses the labour market as resilient and strong by historic standards, with high employment and falling inactivity. However, we recognise ongoing challenges, particularly for young people and those with health conditions. The Employment Rights Bill will support improvements by enhancing protections, expanding flexible working, and tackling insecure contracts. These reforms are central to our Plan to Make Work Pay, ensuring a fairer, more inclusive labour market that supports both economic growth and individual opportunity.
The Industrial Strategy is a 10-year plan to back our strengths and realise Britain’s potential. Through the Industrial Strategy we are targeting investment towards our eight-growth driving sectors (IS-8). All regions benefit from the Industrial Strategy’s national policy offer – there are clusters of the IS-8 sectors across the whole country, and our package addresses the biggest constraints to growth highlighted by businesses in these sectors. Regions across the UK will also benefit from a targeted and ambitious place policy package, focussing our efforts on the city regions and clusters where the IS8 concentrate.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Llanfaes (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much public money is being spent on steelmaking in Scunthorpe.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch
We will report regularly to Parliament on the use of the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act and I updated the House with latest information in a Written Ministerial Statement on 20 May 2025.
All funding required for the Scunthorpe site will be drawn from existing budgets, within the spending envelope set out by the government at Spring Statement 2025. As the Prime Minister and Chancellor have made clear, the UK's fiscal rules remain non-negotiable.
To date, we have provided approximately £100m for working capital. This covers items such as raw materials, salaries, and addressing unpaid bills, including for SMEs in the supply chain. This does not take into account future revenue. The Department for Business & Trade’s accounts for 2025/26 will reflect the financial support that the department has given to British Steel.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Llanfaes (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to protect jobs at Tata Steel, and how much of their £3 billion plan for steel has been committed to this.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch
This Government's manifesto committed £2.5 billion to rebuild the steel sector, in addition to £500 million already earmarked for Port Talbot steelworks. This funding will harness public and private investment to secure jobs and boost growth in Wales and the UK. We are working closely with Tata and Unions to ensure a better deal.
At the most recent meeting of the Transition Board (11 July), chaired by the Secretary of State for Wales, the Board agreed it would move into a delivery phase to support those affected staff and the local area. The Transition Board will meet again in August to consider next steps.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Llanfaes (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many workers across the hospitality, leisure and services sectors in Wales will be affected by the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023; and how much additional money they estimate workers in Wales will take home.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston
The Government published an impact assessment for the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023: https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3197/publications. The impact assessment estimates that around 2 million workers in the hospitality, leisure and services sectors across the UK will benefit by having their tips protected.
Of those, around 1 million workers are estimated to benefit from an increase in gross pay of around £200 per year on average. The Government has not published regional breakdowns, but the number of workers in tipping industries in Wales can be obtained through the Nomis website at: https://www.nomisweb.co.uk.