Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of the £2.5 billion fund to support the steel industry has been allocated to be spent in Wales.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The steel strategy reaffirms the government’s intention to spend up to £2.5 billion on the steel sector. This is in addition to the £500 million for Port Talbot.
Building on the direct financial support the government has provided to the sector so far, the National Wealth Fund will be the UK government’s main mechanism for providing financing for investment in the steel sector. Investment decisions are made by the National Wealth Fund on a case-by-case basis and it supports promising projects across the United Kingdom
Specifically for Wales, the Secretary of State for Wales will convene the National Wealth Fund and the private sector in a new initiative to help attract investment to Welsh steel projects, to support communities across Wales that rely on the industry.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to speed up the reduction of the proportion of the UK's energy needs met by oil and gas.
Answered by Lord Whitehead - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Through our Clean Power 2030 mission, we are reducing dependency on volatile global fossil fuel markets and delivering a diverse, secure and clean energy system based on renewables and nuclear, backed by a reserve of gas supply to be used only when essential.
Our work to date - reforming the connections queue, taking a clear decision on REMA and publishing roadmaps for key technologies like Solar and Clean Flexibility - has given a clear signal to industry. And we have now delivered the most successful renewables auction in history, with AR7 securing a record-breaking 8.4 gigawatts of offshore wind, which will power the equivalent of around 12m homes.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the total number of full time permanent employees of the NHS in England; and how many of those employees are (1) UK nationals, and (2) overseas nationals with permission to work in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold information on the number of overseas nationals with permission to work in the United Kingdom who are employed in the National Health Service in England. The following table shows, for January 2026, the self-reported nationality of staff employed by NHS hospital trusts and integrated care boards in England:
All nationality groups (headcount) | United Kingdom nationality | Non-UK nationalities | Unknown nationality |
1,545,602 | 1,197,793 | 330,982 | 17,119 |
Source: NHS Workforce Statistics, NHS England
Note: total staff number is not equal to the sum of components due to some staff working in more than one role.
Self-reported nationality may sometimes reflect an NHS employee’s heritage rather than their current citizenship.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government on what date the role of the police commissioners in Wales will cease; whether the responsibility of the work of those commissioners will be transferred to the Senedd; if so, on what date; and if not, what plans they have for a replacement system, and when they will make a final decision on this matter.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government announced on 13 November 2025 that it plans to abolish the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) model across England and Wales at the end of their current term of office in May 2028.
Policing is a reserved matter. We are working closely with the Welsh Government, as well as other Welsh Stakeholders including Welsh local government, police forces and other partners, to ensure new governance arrangements provide strong and effective police governance in Wales. We will bring forward legislation to set out the new policing governance system for England and Wales when Parliamentary time allows.
We will continue to engage with Welsh Government and other Welsh stakeholders on matters relating to policing to ensure that Welsh priorities are fully considered within the existing devolution settlement.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what further steps they plan to take to safeguard a reliable supply of radioisotopes for use in the NHS.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The resilience of United Kingdom supply chains is a key priority, and the Department and NHS England are committed to helping to build long term supply chain resilience for medicines. We recognise the importance of ensuring a resilient and reliable supply of medical isotopes and how important that is for patients and for the National Health Service. We regularly engage with industry partners to support continued supply of medical radioisotopes to the NHS, including responding to supply disruptions. The Department is working with the NHS and other parts of the Government to better understand future needs for medical radioisotopes.
In respect to isotope production and associated research in the UK, the Government has made up to £520 million available through the Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund to support UK manufacture of medicine and medical technology products. This includes applications looking to establish, expand, or improve UK-based manufacture of medical radioisotopes for diagnostic or therapeutic applications. In addition, last year, the Government also announced a £54 million funding package for eight innovative research and development projects, including £9.9 million earmarked for Project Alpha to explore how to make medical treatments from legacy nuclear material, something that could unlock the UK’s potential to develop promising new cancer therapies.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many overseas students have started undergraduate degrees at UK universities in each of the past 10 years.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) is responsible for collecting and publishing data on the UK higher education sector. This data is shared with the department and includes a wide range of information on students in UK higher education providers (HEPs), including their country of domicile.
Between 2015/16 and 2024/25, international entrants to undergraduate courses at UK HEPs have increased from 103,000 to 123,000. Year on year details are in the table below.
Academic Year | International Entrants to Undergraduate courses at UK HEPs |
2015/16 | 103,295 |
2016/17 | 104,970 |
2017/18 | 107,850 |
2018/19 | 114,470 |
2019/20 | 127,240 |
2020/21 | 124,115 |
2021/22 | 110,145 |
2022/23 | 121,915 |
2023/24 | 121,630 |
2024/25 | 123,325 |
Counts of entrants to UK HEPs by domicile are published in Table 1 of HESA’s Student Data.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many UK citizens currently located in Iran and neighbouring countries affected by recent military hostilities have asked the UK government for assistance in returning to the UK; how many have been promised such assistance; and how many have returned to the UK to date.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
I refer the Noble Lord to the statement Lord Collins made to the House on 19 March (Official Report, vol. 854, cols. 1121-1124), where he provided the latest details on our consular support to British nationals in the region.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what funding they have provided in the current financial year to support chess in schools in England.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In line with my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s announcement last year, we intend to invest up to £250,000 per year for 3 years (a total of £750,000) from the 2026/27 financial year to partner with an organisation to deliver a national chess in schools programme. This programme will aim to increase pupils’ participation in chess in schools across all nine regions of England.
It will prioritise mainstream primary and secondary schools with higher proportions of pupils eligible for free school meals, as well as special schools and alternative provision settings, and will include work to improve access for girls and pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their latest estimate of the total cost of the compensation claims against the Post Office for wrongful action against sub-postmasters.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
As of 27 February 2026, approximately £1.475 billion has been paid to over 11,500 claimants across the Horizon redress schemes. The Department publishes monthly reports updating this figure. Total spend to date and future commitments for victims of the Horizon scandal are estimated at £2.3 billion. In addition, over £1.6 million has been paid to claimants under the Capture redress scheme since its launch on 29 October 2025
The Government has not set a cap on either the Horizon or Capture redress schemes. The final cost will depend on how many victims come forward and the specific circumstances of their claims.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have received from former Allied Steel and Wire workers who lost part of their pension entitlement, and what response, if any, have they made.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
My hon. Friend the Minister for Pensions has met with representatives of Financial Assistance Scheme members, including former Allied Steel and Wire workers, and has heard first-hand how they have been affected by their scheme qualifying for the Financial Assistance Scheme. These meetings follow correspondence from these members, parliamentarians and from members of the Welsh Assembly.
We know that the pension compensation system and the safety net it offers needs to work harder for members. That is why we have brought forward legislation to introduce annual increases on compensation payments from the Pension Protection Fund and Financial Assistance Scheme based on pensions built up before 6 April 1997. These increases will be CPI-linked (capped at 2.5%) and apply prospectively (i.e. to payments going forward) for members.
I am happy to confirm that former members of Allied Steel and Wire will benefit from these changes.