Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what the total budget was for his Department in each year since 2010.
Answered by Robert Buckland
The total budget for the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales since 2010 is provided below:
Financial Year | Total Budget (£m) |
2010-11 | 5,700 |
2011-12 | 6,736 |
2012-13 | 6,870 |
2013-14 | 5,922 |
2014-15 | 4,954 |
2015-16 | 4,412 |
2016-17 | 4,728 |
2017-18 | 5,236 |
2018-19 | 4,952 |
2019-20 | 5,375 |
2020-21 | 5,417 |
2021-22 | 6,144 |
2022-23 | 5,687 |
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how much his Department spent on energy in each of the last three years.
Answered by Robert Buckland
The Office of the Secretary of State for Wales spend on energy in the last three years is provided below:
Financial Year | Spent on energy (£) |
2019-20 | 17,155 |
2020-21 | 13,648 |
2021-22 | 12,186 |
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what recent discussions he has had with the Welsh Government on the Government's proposals for the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Answered by Lord Hart of Tenby
The Foreign Secretary wrote to the Minister for Economy in the Welsh Government ahead of introduction of the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill to inform the Minister of the forthcoming legislation and seek the consent of the Senedd for provisions in the Bill that are within devolved competence. FCDO officials have also met with officials in the Welsh Government to discuss the content of the Bill.
FCDO ministers and officials will continue to engage with the Welsh Government and other devolved administrations on the Northern Ireland Protocol during the Bill's passage through Parliament.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what recent discussions he has had with the Welsh Government ahead of the Government's proposals to open an offshore asylum processing centre in Rwanda.
Answered by Lord Hart of Tenby
While immigration is a reserved matter, representatives from across Government have met with counterparts in the Welsh Government regarding the New Plan for Immigration announcements and will continue to do so as part of regular engagement with the Devolved Administrations.
This is part of the United Kingdom’s plan to address the international challenge of illegal migration, control our borders and break the business model of people smuggling gangs.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, whether he has had recent discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the potential impact of the privatisation of Channel 4 on residents in Newport West constituency.
Answered by Lord Hart of Tenby
I have regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of matters, including on matters relating to public service broadcasting and the ownership of Channel 4.
The Government consulted extensively on a change of ownership of Channel 4, and the views and evidence gathered from a wide range of stakeholders – including from stakeholders in Wales – have informed the Government’s assessment and wider policy-making.
Following this consultation, the Culture Secretary has come to a decision that, although Channel 4 as a business is currently performing well, public ownership is holding it back in the face of a rapidly-changing and competitive media landscape.
The Government will set out the future of Channel 4 in a White Paper shortly.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what assessment he has made of the impact on Welsh tourism of the introduction of electronic travel authorisation passes for travel between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Answered by Lord Hart of Tenby
The UK Government is committed to strengthening the security of the UK border by ensuring that everyone wishing to travel to the UK (except British and Irish citizens) has permission to do so in advance of travel.
People travel to the UK, including Wales, for a whole host of reasons and while the cost or requirement to obtain an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) in advance of travel may be a consideration, the experience of other countries with similar schemes shows it is very unlikely to deter a genuine visitor. Obtaining an ETA is likely to incur a very small additional cost for travellers relative to the cost of travel and the benefits of visiting the UK, including Wales; therefore, it is unlikely to deter the majority of visitors. Moreover, the process for obtaining an ETA will be quick and light touch.
Many of the UK’s international partners have taken a similar approach to border security, including the U.S.A., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, meaning it is a familiar concept for travellers.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, whether he has had recent discussions with Cabinet colleagues on proposals to introduce electronic travel authorisation passes for travel between Northern Ireland and Ireland.
Answered by Lord Hart of Tenby
The UK Government is committed to strengthening the security of the UK border by ensuring that everyone wishing to travel to the UK (except British and Irish citizens) has permission to do so in advance of travel. The Government will introduce an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme to close the current gap in advance permissions and to enhance our ability to prevent the travel of those who pose a threat to the UK.
The Government has been very clear in emphasising our continuing commitment to the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement. An important part of this remains an absolute commitment not to operate routine immigration controls on journeys from within the Common Travel Area, with no immigration controls whatsoever on the Ireland-Northern Ireland land border.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what discussions he has had with the Welsh Government on the legislative changes required to ban cargo of Russian origin from being unloaded in Welsh ports.
Answered by Lord Hart of Tenby
The UK Government is engaging regularly with the Welsh Government and all the Devolved Administrations to keep them appraised of the developing situation on Ukraine and matters related to the UK’s response.
The Government’s sanctions are targeted against those sectors and individuals close to President Putin. This includes banning all ships that are Russian owned, operated, controlled, chartered, registered or flagged from entering British ports from 1 March. Ships carrying cargo from Russia were not within the scope of these sanctions, however the Government continues to consider what further trade measures may be necessary.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what discussions he has had with the Welsh Government on the effect on food supply to (a) Wales and (b) Newport West constituency of the invasion of Ukraine.
Answered by Lord Hart of Tenby
I have regular discussions with colleagues in Welsh Government on a wide range of subjects. The Minister for Farming, Fisheries and Food recently met with her Devolved Administrations counterparts to discuss the implications of the ongoing Ukraine crisis on EFRA sectors, including supply chains.
With regard to food supply and commodities, our food import dependency on the Eastern Europe region is very low and we do not expect significant direct impacts on UK food supply. However, the UK Government has been engaging with industry and the devolved administrations to fully understand the impact of the Russian invasion on individual industries and supply chains and will continue to monitor the situation.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what discussions he has had with cabinet colleagues on the effect on food supply to (a) Wales and (b) Newport West constituency of the invasion of Ukraine.
Answered by Lord Hart of Tenby
I have regular discussions with cabinet colleagues on a wide range of subjects, including the conflict in Ukraine and the effect on food supply.
With regard to food supply and commodities, our food import dependency on the Eastern Europe region is very low and we do not expect significant direct impacts on UK food supply. However, the UK Government has been engaging with industry to fully understand the impact of the Russian invasion on individual industries and supply chains and will continue to monitor the situation.