Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what sums they have spent on supporting the steel industry in Wales in each of the past five years.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Industrial sectors, including the steel sector in Wales, have been able to bid into Government funds worth hundreds of millions of pounds to support energy efficiency and decarbonisation. In February, we announced the British Industry Supercharger – decisive measures to reduce energy costs for energy intensive industries, including steel, in line with those charged across the world’s major economies. We have provided extensive energy costs relief to the steel sector since 2013, including through the Energy Bill Relief Scheme. Steel producers will continue to receive support until 31 March 2024 through the Energy Bills Discount Scheme (EBDS).
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what sums have been allocated to projects in each nation of the UK respectively under the levelling-up strategy.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Levelling Up programme is an ambitious programme of reform with an agenda to transform the United Kingdom and address this country's regional inequalities. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities run some dedicated funding programmes that help us achieve the missions set out in the Levelling Up White Paper, but they are only one part of a broader set of measures.
Our newer programmes are specifically UK-wide and as of July 2023 we allocated significant funding across the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, Community Renewal Fund, Levelling Up Fund and Community Ownership Fund. This includes £4,720 million across England, £261 million across Northern Ireland, £612 million across Scotland and £963 million across Wales.
We are committed to setting aside at least £800 million in Levelling Up Funding for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland until 2024/25 and for the Community Ownership Fund we are committed to targeting a minimum of £4.3 million for Northern Ireland, £12.3 million for Scotland and £7.1 million for Wales over the lifetime of the fund up to March 2025.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their most recent estimate of the annual number of overseas visitors to (1) the UK and (2) Wales.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
In 2022, overseas residents made an estimated 31.2 million visits to the UK according to the Office for National Statistics. The ONS estimated a total of 686,000 visits to Wales for the same year.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with Avanti North West concerning the withdrawal of direct trains between London and the North Wales coast between 15 and 23 July; and what estimate they have made, if any, of the effect that this may have on tourist destinations in Wales.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department has not made an assessment of the impact of Network Rail engineering works. Avanti West Coast has kept the Department sighted on plans to mitigate the impact of the Network Rail works taking place between Rugby and Stafford (via Nuneaton) between 15 July and 23 July, which affect direct services between London and North Wales.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what the average income per head in the latest financial year for which figures are available was in each of Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the regions of England.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Noble Lord’s Parliamentary Question of 10th May is attached in the answer.
The Rt Hon. the Lord Wigley
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
17 May 2023
Dear Lord Wigley,
As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking what the average income per head in the latest financial year for which figures are available was in each of Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the regions of England (HL7765).
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) does not produce average income per head estimates of this nature. However, the Effects of Taxes and Benefits on UK Household Income is routinely produced at household-level, in line with international recommendations [1]. This is done so under the assumption that household income is the optimum measure of economic well-being and living standards on individuals given the likelihood that household members share resources.
Table 1 provides UK household disposable income at the International Territorial Level 1 (ITL1) for financial year ending 2021. A more detailed breakdown of income components is available at the ITL1 region is available as part of the ONS’ annual release of Effect of Taxes and Benefits on UK Household Income [2]. Published data currently covers up to financial year ending 2021, with financial year ending 2022 provisionally scheduled for June 2023.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Sir Ian Diamond
[1] https://unece.org/statistics/publications/canberra-group-handbook-household-income-statistics-2ndedition
[2] https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/personalandhouseholdfinances/incomeandwea lth/bulletins/theeffectsoftaxesandbenefitsonhouseholdincome/financialyearending2021/relateddata
Table 1: Average household disposable income by Region, financial year ending 2021, UK
Region | Disposable income (£) |
North East | 36,730 |
North West | 41,755 |
Yorkshire and The Humber | 39,538 |
East Midlands | 45,489 |
West Midlands | 41,011 |
East | 48,011 |
London | 61,000 |
South East | 55,817 |
South West | 43,042 |
England | 47,734 |
Wales | 39,331 |
Scotland | 39,670 |
Northern Ireland | 40,198 |
All individuals | 46,473 |
Source: Office for National Statistics, Effects of Taxes and Benefits
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to transfer responsibility for the Crown Estate in Wales, including the coastline and seabed, to Senedd Cymru.
Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
The Crown Estate has played a significant role in attracting international investment into Wales to support the UK’s net zero target and will continue to do so through future leasing rounds for offshore wind developments, including floating wind projects in the Celtic Sea. They work closely with Welsh Government and Natural Resources Wales in support of shared priorities, ensuring that these resources are sustainably managed for the long term.
Introducing a new entity would fragment the market, complicate existing processes, and likely delay further development offshore, undermining investment in Welsh waters.
Therefore, the government is not planning to transfer responsibility of the Crown Estate to Senedd Cymru.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what approaches they have had from the Welsh Government concerning the transfer of responsibility to Senedd Cymru of (1) the police service in Wales, (2) the prison service in Wales, and (3) the court service and administration of justice in Wales.
Answered by Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist
Whilst the Welsh Government has called for the devolution of justice and policing to Wales, it has not made a formal request for the powers to be transferred.
There has been no persuasive case made for how devolution would improve the operation of these services. There are therefore no plans to devolve them.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what will be the Barnett Consequential Financial Provision for (1) Scotland, (2) Northern Ireland, and (3) Wales, as a result of their expenditure on the HS2 railway project in England.
Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
Spending on HS2 contributes to the Barnett consequentials generated from changes in the Department for Transport’s settlement. The Block Grant Transparency publication which is available on GOV.UK sets out all Barnett consequentials generated at both departmental and programme level.
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 discussions they have had with the Welsh Government regarding proposals being developed by United Utilities, Severn-Trent Water and Thames Water to divert water from reservoirs in Wales to the Thames basin.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As agreed in the Intergovernmental Protocol on Water Resources, Water Supply and Water Quality, Defra and the Welsh Government work together on water resources management as a matter of course.
Water companies in England and Wales have a statutory duty to provide a secure supply of water for customers, efficiently and economically. Statutory water resources management plans show how companies will continue to meet this duty and manage water supply and demand sustainably for at least the next 25 years. In their plans, water companies must consider all options, including demand management and water resources infrastructure. Collaborative regional water resources groups and water companies have been consulting on their draft water resources management plans. This includes United Utilities, Severn Trent Water and Thames Water.
Ofwat, the Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales issued joint water resources planning guidance to water companies, which takes account of policy in England and Wales. They are also statutory consultees on the plans, as relevant. The plans will be referred to the Secretary of State and Welsh Ministers for decisions on whether the plans can be finalised later in the year.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to enable the teaching of the Welsh language as a subject in state secondary schools in England.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
It is up to schools to decide which languages are taught as part of their curriculum at secondary phase.
The Welsh language is a valuable part of our nation’s heritage and is an important aspect in fostering UK wide cohesion. When deciding which languages to offer their pupils, state funded secondary schools in England are likely to consider the needs of the communities that they serve and may decide to offer Welsh.