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 cost of payments arising from clinical negligence in England during the most recent 12-month period for which figures are available.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The total value of payments for clinical negligence claims in 2025/26, as reported in NHS Resolution annual Report and accounts: 2025 to 2026, published on 9 July 2026, was £3.2 billion, for all clinical schemes. This includes payments for damages, National Health Service legal costs, and claimant legal costs on both open and settled claims.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the cost of the UK's support to the government of Ukraine in the current financial year.
Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Russia’s illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine poses a direct threat to UK and European prosperity and security. We are proud to be a leading partner in providing vital support to Ukraine since the onset of the war in 2022, and we will continue to do so.
This calendar year, the UK has provided up to £5.6bn to date in support to Ukraine. We track support across a calendar year rather than the financial year to align with Ukrainian budget timescales. Ukrainians are defending their country against Russian aggression at immense personal cost, and their fight is in our national security interests. Supporting Ukraine helps to deter further Russian aggression across Europe, and protect the security and prosperity of the United Kingdom.
In total, the UK has committed up to £25bn for Ukraine since Russia’s illegal invasion: this includes £16bn in military support, £3.5bn cover limit in UK export finance and up to £5.6bn in non-military support including bilateral assistance, humanitarian and fiscal support.
This Government has pledged to sustain £3 billion a year in military aid to Ukraine until 2030 to 2031 and for as long as it takes until a just peace is achieved.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government when the compensation scheme for workers who have suffered from silicosis by inhaling crystalline silica dust after cutting kitchen worktop stones will be published; and when they will open applications.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Workers who develop asbestos-related and dust-related diseases like mesothelioma and pneumoconiosis caused by their work can claim a one-off payment from the Government if they haven’t already secured compensation from their employer.
The Government has no plans to introduce a separate compensation scheme for workers who have suffered from silicosis by inhaling crystalline silica dust from cutting kitchen worktop stones.
Individuals with silicosis may be eligible for financial support through existing arrangements, including a lump-sum payment under the Pneumoconiosis etc. (Workers' Compensation) Act 1979 where the relevant entitlement conditions are met.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made to improve access to the EU for musicians.
Answered by Baroness Mackenzie of Sherwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government has been working to deliver its manifesto commitment to support touring artists through sustained engagement with European partners and practical domestic action. This includes building on the commitment to cultural exchange made at the inaugural UK-EU Summit through the first UK-EU High-Level Meeting on Culture in March 2026 with Commissioner Glenn Micallef in Brussels. The UK also became one of the first countries to adopt digital ATA Carnets on 1 June, has increased resources to speed up the processing of A1 forms, and will shortly update relevant online guidance to the sector.
Our recently published report ‘The economic benefits of touring and impact of EU Exit’ also provides the strongest evidence to date on touring barriers across the UK and EU. This will help to inform the Government’s ongoing work with European partners to pursue practical improvements for touring in the EU, as well as support industry engagement with EU counterparts, led by the Cultural Exchange Coalition.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effects of this summer's drought on the supply of potatoes grown in the UK; and what plans they have to ensure the adequate supply of potatoes over winter.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
It is too early to assess the full impact of this summer's drought on potato production. While some growers have experienced challenging conditions, there is currently no indication that supplies of potatoes over winter are at risk.
Our diverse and resilient food system, supported by both domestic production and international trade, has historically responded well to withstand localised production shocks. Defra continues to monitor domestic and international supply closely, including through the UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group, to identify any potential risks to food supply chains.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they gave to the impact, if any, on steel supplies to the defence industry in the UK when assessing the changes to tariff-free quotas on category 4 galvanised steel imports.
Answered by Lord Sarwar - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The measure aims to strike the right balance for UK industry, protecting domestic production while maintaining a secure supply. We need more UK steel in our defence industries - relying on imports at a time of global uncertainty puts the resilience and security of supply chains at risk. We have engaged extensively with industry, including the defence sector, to inform the design of the measure and have sized our quotas appropriately.
The Government continues to engage with producers and downstream users to understand the impact of the measure and will carry out a full review after 12 months.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what response they have given, or propose to give, to the Welsh Government’s request for its borrowing powers to be made equivalent to those available to the Scottish Government.
Answered by Lord Katz - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Spending Review 2025 provided the Welsh Government with its largest real-terms Spending Review settlement since devolution, with nearly £6.5 billion of additional spending power over the Spending Review period. At Autumn Budget 2025, the Government announced changes to the Welsh Fiscal Framework, including a 10% increase in annual and cumulative capital borrowing limits and Wales Reserve limits from 2026-27, with annual indexation from 2027-28.
The Fiscal Frameworks for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have been agreed separately with each devolved government to reflect the different needs of each nation.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what changes, if any, have been made to the terms of reference or the responsibilities of the Wales Office.
Answered by Lord Katz - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
There have been no changes to the terms of reference or the responsibilities of the Wales Office.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many new pumped storage hydro electricity generation plants have been authorised in (1) England, (2) Scotland, and (3) Wales, since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Lord Whitehead
Planning consent is a matter for the relevant planning authority, which varies by country. The UK Government would only be responsible for consenting pumped storage hydro (PSH) projects in England above 50MW. In practice, these do not exist given more suitable topography in other parts of Britain.
On 26 June 2026, Ofgem published its "minded-to" decisions on projects to be supported under the Long Duration Electricity Storage (LDES) cap and floor investment support scheme. This includes three PSH projects, all located in Scotland: Loch Kemp, Coire Glas and Earba. The latter two projects already have planning consent. No PSH projects in England applied to the scheme, and none in Wales passed an earlier eligibility assessment. Ofgem is now consulting on these decisions before confirming final awards in autumn 2026.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many drones for military use were produced in the UK in each of the last three calendar years.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence does not hold a central record of all drones produced within the UK for military use.
Nevertheless, as highlighted by the Strategic Defence Review, drones now play an essential role in warfare across the land, maritime and air domains, which is why the Defence Investment Plan prioritises uncrewed systems, investing more than £5 billion in a plethora of platforms over the next four years alone. This funding will accelerate the transformation of our Armed Forces, rebuilding warfighting readiness and ensuring our forces are equipped for modern warfare.
To give just a few examples, £230 million will be spent on autonomous systems for seabed warfare to protect critical national infrastructure; £400m will be spent to deliver a suite of inexpensive, expendable autonomous systems and weapons to rapidly enhance the lethality of the Army, Commando Force and Special Forces; and we will invest £50 million on a variety of novel payloads, such as swarms of small drones, able to be launched from a wide range of crewed and uncrewed aircraft.