Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October to Question 82973 on Broadband: Rural Areas, if she will make her policy to include direction to Ofcom on revising the Physical Infrastructure Access pricing model to ensure consistent competitive conditions in the forthcoming Statement of Strategic Priorities.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
In July, DSIT published a consultation on the draft Statement of Strategic Priorities for telecommunications, the management of radio spectrum, and postal services that sets out the Government’s view on infrastructure sharing in the fixed telecoms sector. The draft Statement sets out the government’s view on the importance of competition to promote investment in broadband deployment across the UK, including in rural areas.
We are currently reviewing responses to the consultation and will publish our response in due course.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the total amount of funding to be allocated to the Welsh Government through the Barnett Formula following the the full rollout of free childcare in England.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Barnett formula is applied when departmental budgets change – not when departments announce how they are spending their budgets or when policy is delivered. The Barnett formula was applied in the usual way following Spending Review 2025
The published Block Grant Transparency document provides a detailed breakdown and the most recent iteration was published on October 2025: Block Grant Transparency: October 2025 - GOV.UK
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment she made has made of the potential impact of providing compensation to local authorities in Wales via the Barnett Formula on the adequacy of funding to cover the additional Employer National Insurance costs announced at the Autumn Budget 2024 incurred by Local Authorities in Wales.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
At Autumn Budget 2024, the Chancellor agreed to provide funding to the public sector to support with the changes to employer National Insurance.
The devolved governments received funding through the Barnett formula in 2025-26, including on this support. This is the normal operation of the funding arrangements as set out in the Statement of Funding Policy.
The current Welsh Government Spending Review settlement is the largest settlement in real terms of any since devolution.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of the freeze on local housing allowance on levels of homelessness in Wales.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The causes of homelessness are multi-faceted and often complex; they interact dynamically making it very difficult to isolate the relative importance of individual factors. Responsibility for housing and homelessness is devolved to the Welsh Government, while social security is reserved to the UK Government.
In April 2024, Local Housing Allowance (LHA) was increased to the 30th percentile of local market rents, including across Wales, costing an additional £1.2bn in 2024/25 and approximately £7bn over 5 years.
The Secretary of State reviews LHA rates annually in the Autumn, this includes consideration of latest rental data, stakeholder evidence from organisations across GB, including in Wales, homelessness levels and the current challenging fiscal environment. Future funding decisions will be taken in the context of Government priorities.
For those who need further support, Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available from local authorities.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has received representations from the Welsh Government on the amount of funding to allocated to Wales from the steel fund.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK Government has committed up to £2.5 billion to support the steel industry, which is being delivered in part through the National Wealth Fund. This is in addition to £500 million towards Tata’s transformation of Port Talbot steelworks. The National Wealth Fund, which is operationally independent, is already engaging with companies across the UK on projects that meet its investment principles.
The Welsh Government is represented on the Steel Council, which is a key body for developing our Steel Strategy, to be published later this year.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of reducing VAT on domestic energy bills on fuel poverty in Wales.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government believes that we need to support households who are struggling with energy bills now whilst we transition to cheaper clean power by 2030. We are providing targeted support that reaches low income households directly across Great Britain, including Wales.
This winter, 2.7 million extra households will receive £150 off their energy bills as the Warm Home Discount is expanded - putting money directly into people’s pockets. This increases the number of households who are eligible to over six million in total - including 900,000 families with children and a total of 1.8 million households in fuel poverty.
More widely, gas and electricity are subject to a reduced rate of VAT at five per cent, rather than the standard 20 per cent. The reduced rate for domestic fuel and power cost the Exchequer £8 billion in 2023-24, and going further would come at a significant additional cost.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of lowering the population thresholds of the Pride in Place programme to include smaller rural communities in the eligibility criteria.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
On 25 September, the Government launched its overarching Pride in Place Strategy, committing up to £5 billion in funding and support to 339 communities.
The flagship Pride in Place Programme will provide up to £20 million in flexible funding and support to 244 places over the next decade. This will serve as the cornerstone of this Government’s support for communities, incorporating the existing 25 trailblazer areas announced at Spending Review and the 75 Phase 1 Plan for Neighbourhoods programme areas that were announced in March.
Neighbourhoods in England were selected through a robust, metric-based methodology, which uses a composite measure of deprivation (Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD)) and community need (Community Needs Index (CNI)) to identify areas with the poorest social and economic outcomes and create a single index of need. Our allocation methodology targets need everywhere (regardless of type of community) and includes a number of rural communities.
We’re working closely with devolved governments to make sure funding supports local priorities everywhere. Further details on our approach in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland will follow.
The full list of areas and place selection methodology is set out here: Pride in Place Programme Phase 2: Methodology note.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions she has had with the Welsh Government on the Autumn Budget 2025.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
There have been regular discussions with the Welsh Government on the Budget. This ensures that we are taking account of their views to ensure that we are delivering for the people of Wales.
The Chancellor met with the First Minister for Wales on the 7th of August in Wales.
I also met with the Welsh Government’s Finance Minister on the 17th of October at the Finance: Interministerial Standing Committee (F:ISC), to discuss a range of issues affecting Wales, including funding arrangements and his priorities for the Autumn Budget .
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions she has had with the Welsh Government on a formal review of Wales’s fiscal framework.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
We have ongoing discussions with the Welsh Government about funding flexibilities and updating their Fiscal Framework and remain committed to working in partnership to ensure the smooth delivery of their funding settlement.
HM Treasury ministers regularly engage with Welsh Government counterparts, including through forums such as the Finance: Interministerial Standing Committee (F:ISC), to discuss a range of issues affecting Wales, including funding arrangements. The most recent F:ISC was on 17 October.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions her Department has had with the Welsh Government on (a) Wales’s comparability factor for transport and (b) the impact of that factor on funding for the Welsh Government.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
HM Treasury ministers and officials regularly engage with Welsh Government counterparts, including through forums such as the Finance: Interministerial Standing Committee (F:ISC), to discuss a range of issues affecting Wales. The most recent F:ISC was on 17 October.