Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, if he will hold discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on support for (a) businesses and (b) people affected by the outbreak of the covid-19 omicron variant in Wales.
Answered by Simon Hart - Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury (Chief Whip)
The UK Government has supported Welsh businesses and people throughout the pandemic, including providing £1.1bn through the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, £2.4bn in business support loans, and supported 475,000 employees through the furlough scheme.
We have further confirmed £270m the Welsh Government can spend in advance of budgets being finalised at Supplementary Estimates.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how much his Department spent on social media advertising in each month since January 2020, and on which platforms that money was spent.
Answered by Simon Hart - Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury (Chief Whip)
Departmental social media advertising spend since January 2020 is shown below:
The above figures relate to direct Wales Office spend only and do not include spending in Wales on advertising by other UK Government departments.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, with reference to his correspondence of 19 February 2021 to the chair of the Welsh Affairs Committee, what (a) discussions and (b) support his Department provided the pharmaceutical company in question; and when engagement with that company began.
Answered by Simon Hart - Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury (Chief Whip)
Officials in my Office had several discussions with the company, including in regard to difficulties the company was experiencing in exporting medicines to the EU after the Transition Period ended. Officials from several government departments offered the company advice, guidance and expertise to help resolve these difficulties.
My officials first contacted the company directly on 12 January. Discussions had taken place earlier via business representative organisations.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what discussions has he had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on funding for sheep farmers after the transition period in the event of the UK not reaching a deal with the EU.
Answered by Simon Hart - Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury (Chief Whip)
The UK-EU Trade and Co-operation Agreement honours the instruction of the British people - expressed in the 2016 referendum and the 2019 General Election - to take back control of our laws, borders, money, trade and fisheries.
The Agreement ensures tariff free and quota free access to the EU market for Welsh farmers. It also provides continued protection in the EU for world-renowned Welsh products such as Welsh lamb, Welsh laverbread and Traditional Welsh Caerffili and establishes a mechanism for protecting future geographical indications in both the EU and the UK.
The Government is also focused on enabling Welsh farming to seize the opportunities of the UK once again being an independent trading nation. We will open new export markets for UK sheepmeat, including Welsh lamb, to provide a profitable and sustainable future for our sheep farmers. As part of our recently signed Trade Agreement with Japan, Welsh lamb is among fifteen world-class Welsh products that could be protected in Japan for the first time.