Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to the Answer of 11 June 2018 to Question 149944, on which dates (a) he or (b) a Minister of his Department has visited Pembroke Dock since July 2016.
Answered by Alun Cairns
I visited Pembroke Dock in February 2018. Officials in the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales and colleagues across Government meet regularly with port authorities and other maritime stakeholders in Wales to support the smooth and orderly implementation of any new arrangements required as a result of the UK’s exit from the European Union.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what representations he has received from port authorities in Wales on the potential effect of the UK not agreeing a deal with the EU.
Answered by Alun Cairns
Officials in the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales and colleagues across Government meet regularly with port authorities and other maritime stakeholders in Wales to support the smooth and orderly implementation of any new arrangements required as a result of the UK’s exit from the European Union.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, which of Wales's ports (a) he and (b) other Ministers in his Department have visited since July 2016.
Answered by Alun Cairns
Wales Office Ministers frequently visit ports in Wales including Holyhead, Port of Milford Haven, and Pembroke Dock. UK Government officials are in contact with port operators, key stakeholders, and the Welsh Government, to discuss issues including free-flowing traffic in Wales once the UK has left the EU.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what training his Department has provided to (a) general civil servants, (b) fast stream civil servants and (c) senior civil servants on understanding the scrutiny and legislative roles of the UK Parliament; how many such courses have taken place; and how many civil servants have attended such training courses in each of the last five years.
Answered by Alun Cairns
All civil servants have access to central learning provided through Civil Service Learning which covers Parliament’s scrutiny and legislative roles. In addition, the Cabinet Office Parliamentary Business and Legislation Team, and Government Legal Department also provide training on Parliamentary bills.
My Department supports this by providing training and guidance to civil servants on how the scrutiny and legislative roles of the UK Parliament interact with the Welsh devolution settlement.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what training his Department has provided to (a) general civil servants, (b) fast stream civil servants and (c) senior civil servants on devolution and inter-governmental relations; how many such courses have taken place; and how many civil servants have attended such training courses in each of the last five years.
Answered by Alun Cairns
My Department plays a key role in providing advice and training to civil servants across Whitehall on Welsh devolution and intergovernmental relations. This includes working with the Cabinet Office to deliver events to promote greater understanding of these, including the Devolution and You Programme, Devolution Learning Week and the Civil Service Interchange Programme.
In addition, my officials are delivering a programme of bespoke training sessions across Whitehall in the coming weeks on the new devolution settlement in Wales, so that as many officials as possible are aware of the key changes that took place on 1 April.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the effect of the UK leaving the EU Single Market and Customs Union on the East-West Interconnector.
Answered by Alun Cairns
The Government’s priority is to maintain affordable, clean, and secure energy supplies for businesses and households. We share the EU’s ambition to make energy trading easier and more efficient by opening up national markets, and increasing the level of interconnection between them, including between the Republic of Ireland, and all parts of the UK.
We want to continue arrangements that allow efficient trade of electricity to take place between the single electricity market and Great Britain across the East-West interconnector, and to closely collaborate on current and future regulatory and technical arrangements. Outcomes relating to the EU Single Market and the Customs Union are matters for negotiations, and we are unable to comment on this until negotiations conclude.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what translation arrangements his Department has put in place to enable efficient and accurate handling of Welsh language correspondence from (a) MPs and (b) the general public.
Answered by Alun Cairns
My Department recognises the importance of the Welsh language in its day to day work. Our Welsh Language Scheme makes clear our commitment to treat the Welsh and English languages on the basis of equality, to enable people to interact with the department in their language of choice. We welcome correspondence in Welsh or English, and ensure replies on a consistent basis and to the same timescales irrespective of language. As a small department, my Office uses corporate services provided by the Ministry of Justice. This includes our use of the HM Courts and Tribunals Service’s Welsh language translation service when required.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how much his Department plans to spend on projects relating to the UK leaving the EU in the next five years; and if he will list the projects to which that funding has been assigned.
Answered by Alun Cairns
HM Treasury has already allocated departments nearly £700 million to prepare for Brexit; £412m for DIT, FCO and DExEU over the parliament at Autumn Statement 2016 and nearly £300m across a number of departments from the Reserve in 17/18.
At Autumn Budget 2017, HM Treasury made another £3bn of additional funding available over 18/19 and 19/20 – £1.5bn in each year. We are currently working with HM Treasury to determine our allocation for 18/19 with the aim to agree this soon.
Departmental allocations for 19/20 will be agreed later on in the year and decisions on funding in 20/21 and beyond will be decided at the next Spending Review. This is because requirements in these years will be heavily affected by what is agreed in our negotiations with the EU.