Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has received representations from the Welsh Government requesting that the East-West rail project be reclassified as an England only project.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There have been no formal representations from the Welsh Government on this matter.
The UK Government is responsible for heavy rail infrastructure across England and Wales so spends money on this in Wales rather than funding the Welsh Government to do so through the Barnett formula. This approach applies to investment in heavy rail by the Department for Transport, including HS2 and East-West Rail, and is consistent with the funding arrangements for all other policy areas reserved in Wales as set out in the Statement of Funding Policy.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department classifies heavy rail projects located entirely within England as (a) local and (b) national projects.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The UK Government is responsible for heavy rail infrastructure across England and Wales so spends money on this in Wales rather than funding the Welsh Government to do so through the Barnett formula. This approach applies to investment in heavy rail by the Department for Transport, including HS2 and East-West Rail, and is consistent with the funding arrangements for all other policy areas reserved in Wales as set out in the Statement of Funding Policy.
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, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the National Telecare Campaign is delivered bilingually in (a) English and (b) Welsh across all platforms.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government supports the industry-led National Telecare Campaign. The objective of this campaign is to identify telecare users so that they can receive additional support when their landlines are upgraded from analogue to digital.
It is important for the campaign to reach vulnerable customers across the UK, which is why the campaign is being delivered bilingually. In Wales, a TV advert is being broadcast on ITV Wales in English with Welsh subtitles, as well as in Welsh on Welsh community radio. A combination of English and Welsh, as well as Welsh-only content, is being used for printed adverts and video on demand.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the availability of civil legal aid providers in rural areas; and what steps she is taking to help reduce gaps in legal aid provision.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
It is vital that those who need legal aid – some of the most vulnerable people in our society – can access it wherever they happen to live.
The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) is responsible for commissioning legal aid services in England and Wales. The LAA monitors the numbers of providers in each procurement area and across all categories of law. It takes operational action where it can, to respond to market pressures that may arise and works closely with the Ministry of Justice on policy solutions concerning the supply of legal aid.
The Ministry of Justice has recently concluded a consultation on uplifts to housing & debt and immigration & asylum legal aid fees, which, once fully implemented, would inject an additional £20 million into the sector each year.
The Department is also providing over £6 million of legal support grant funding up to March 2026 to deliver free legal support and advice for people with social welfare legal problems. This includes the ‘Improving Outcomes Through Legal Support’ grant, which supports the work of organisations across England and Wales to sustain and improve access to early legal support and advice, including support at court. It also includes the ‘Online Support and AdviceGrant’, which ensures the provision of online support across a range of civil, family and tribunal problems via one service (Advicenow). The Advicenow website includes information about how to get legal aid in relevant areas of law and signposts users to further information and support.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 7 May 2025 to Question 48499 on Revenue and Customs, whether her Department plans to publish the minutes of the 2024 meeting of the Statutory Payment Consultation Group.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Minutes of the Statutory Payments Consultation Group meeting held on 30th January 2024 will be published before the Autumn. A date has not been set for a future meeting of the group.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 7 May 2025 to Question 48499 on Revenue and Customs, when HMRC's Statutory Payment Consultation Group will next be convened.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Minutes of the Statutory Payments Consultation Group meeting held on 30th January 2024 will be published before the Autumn. A date has not been set for a future meeting of the group.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential cost savings to public services resulting from investment in independent social welfare advice services.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Government recognises the important role that independent advice services play in supporting individuals.
For example, DWP provide grant funding to Citizens Advice, who deliver Help to Claim support for customers to apply for Universal Credit. Help to Claim reduces the number of Universal Credit benefit queries DWP receive and enables work coaches to focus on work related activities.
In addition, the Money and Pensions Service, which is sponsored by DWP, continues to provide impartial, free money and pensions guidance directly to consumers.
DWP assesses the impacts from its investments, including public services efficiencies, in line with standard Treasury guidance.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether it is her Department's policy that the classification of the East-West rail project as carrying 100% comparability factor for Wales is a publishing error in each Statement of funding policy, published between 2021 and 2024.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The UK Government is responsible for heavy rail infrastructure across England and Wales so spends money on this in Wales rather than funding the Welsh Government to do so through the Barnett formula. This approach applies to investment in heavy rail by the Department for Transport, including HS2 and East-West Rail, and is consistent with the funding arrangements for all other policy areas reserved in Wales as set out in the Statement of Funding Policy.
We are aware of a potential error, originating in Spending Review 2021, with the Department for Transport comparability factor used to calculate Barnett consequentials for the devolved governments at spending reviews. HM Treasury will work through the impact of this potential error ahead of the next Statement of Funding Policy publication.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make representations to the UN Security Council to send a fact-finding mission to investigate the human rights of Saharawis in (a) occupied Western Sahara and (b) prisons in Morocco.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
On 1 June, the Foreign Secretary endorsed Morocco's autonomy proposal as the most credible, viable and pragmatic basis for a lasting resolution of the Western Sahara conflict. The UK is continuing to coordinate closely with the UN Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for Western Sahara to support the UN-led process aimed at finding a resolution to the conflict. We hope and intend to work together with stakeholders to encourage dialogue and compromise, with the aim of achieving a peaceful resolution that upholds the dignity and rights of the people of Western Sahara and contributes to long-term regional stability. The UK is committed to the promotion and protection of human rights worldwide, including in Western Sahara and the Tindouf refugee camps.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make representations to the UN Security Council to (a) give the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara the legal mandate to (i) monitor and (ii) report on human rights in the territories controlled by the (A) Kingdom of Morocco and (B) Frente Polisario and (b) for the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara to report the findings to the UN Security Council.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK believes there is an urgent need to resolve this long-held dispute. That is why the Foreign Secretary announced on 1 June that Morocco's autonomy proposal is the most credible, viable and pragmatic basis for a lasting resolution of the Western Sahara conflict. To this end, we are working with stakeholders to support the UN-led process and encourage dialogue and compromise, with the aim of achieving a peaceful resolution that upholds the dignity and rights of the people of Western Sahara and contributes to long-term regional stability. We will continue to work closely with the UN Personal Envoy of the Secretary General for Western Sahara, Staffan de Mistura, to ensure that, in the instance of any settlement, the rights and freedoms of the Sahrawi people are adequately protected in line with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter.