Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress she has made on (a) rolling out 15 hours of free childcare for working parents of two-year-olds from April 2024 and (b) extending 15 hours of free childcare to all children from the age of nine months from September 2024.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Since the Spring Budget 2023, the department has made good progress with preparations to roll out 15 hours of free childcare for working parents of two-year-olds from April 2024, and to extend the 15 hours of free childcare to all children from the age of nine months from September 2024. The department’s progress includes:
Further information on the rollout can be accessed at: https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2023/07/07/free-childcare-how-we-tackling-the-cost-of-childcare/.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding she has allocated to (a) rolling out 15 hours of free childcare for working parents of two-year-olds from April 2024 and (b) extending 15 hours of free childcare to all children from the age of nine months from September 2024; and how much the devolved nations will each receive in Barnett Formula consequential funding.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
In the Spring Budget 2023, the Chancellor announced a transformative set of childcare reforms aimed at increasing labour market participation. This included the largest ever investment in childcare, including expansions of early years entitlements and wraparound childcare.
The department expects to provide over £4.1 billion by the 2027/28 financial year to fund the new entitlements (on top of increases also announced for the existing entitlements): £1.7 billion in 2024/25, £3.3 billion in 2025/26, £4.1 billion in 2026/27 and £4.1 billion in 2027/28. These figures are for England only.
At the Spring Budget, the government provided the devolved administrations with additional funding through the Barnett consequentials in the usual way. Details of the quantum of this funding are not held by the department.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the Welsh language helpline for PAYE employer enquiries.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
To comply with the Welsh Language Act 1993, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) provides a number of Welsh language helplines The one for PAYE employer enquiries (Treth Incwm, Hunanasesiad a mwy), can be accessed Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5.00 pm on 0300 200 1900.
Details on how Welsh speakers can contact HMRC can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-revenue-customs/contact
HMRC publishes its performance data monthly and quarterly:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmrc-monthly-performance-reports
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmrc-quarterly-performance-updates
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the adherence to Welsh language legislation of public services in Wales for which the UK Government is responsible.
Answered by David T C Davies - Secretary of State for Wales
The Welsh language is a devolved subject and the responsibility of Senedd Cymru / the Welsh Parliament and the Welsh Government. Most public bodies in Wales are subject to Welsh language standards, made under the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011, in delivering public services. The Welsh Language Commissioner is responsible for ensuring that bodies fulfil their obligations in relation to specified standards.
Ministers of the Crown are not subject to Welsh language standards. In practice, this means most UK Government departments operate Welsh language schemes under the Welsh Language Act 1993. Schemes set out, so far as practicable, how departments treat Welsh and English on the basis of equality in respect of services they provide for Wales. The Welsh Language Commissioner approves schemes before they are implemented and departments report regularly to the Commissioner on performance against their respective schemes.
As lead department in UK Government for the Welsh language, the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales works with other government departments to improve Welsh language provision, most notably through the official-level, cross-government Welsh Language Forum.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the provision through the medium of Welsh of public services in Wales for which the UK Government is responsible.
Answered by David T C Davies - Secretary of State for Wales
The Welsh language is a devolved subject and the responsibility of Senedd Cymru / the Welsh Parliament and the Welsh Government. Most public bodies in Wales are subject to Welsh language standards, made under the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011, in delivering public services. The Welsh Language Commissioner is responsible for ensuring that bodies fulfil their obligations in relation to specified standards.
Ministers of the Crown are not subject to Welsh language standards. In practice, this means most UK Government departments operate Welsh language schemes under the Welsh Language Act 1993. Schemes set out, so far as practicable, how departments treat Welsh and English on the basis of equality in respect of services they provide for Wales. The Welsh Language Commissioner approves schemes before they are implemented and departments report regularly to the Commissioner on performance against their respective schemes.
As lead department in UK Government for the Welsh language, the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales works with other government departments to improve Welsh language provision, most notably through the official-level, cross-government Welsh Language Forum.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the provision in Wales of HM Revenue and Customs PAYE employer enquiries assistance through the medium of Welsh.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
To comply with the Welsh Language Act 1993, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) adopts the principle that, in the conduct of its public business and communication in Wales, it will treat the English and Welsh languages equally in appropriate circumstances and when reasonably practicable.
The Welsh Language Unit is a specialist team within HMRC's Customer Services department that handles both telephone and written queries from individuals who want to contact with HMRC in Welsh. They also translate and distribute Welsh letters, forms, and leaflets.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what recent discussions he has had with the Welsh Language Commissioner on the adequacy of the provision through the medium of Welsh of public services in Wales for which the UK Government is responsible.
Answered by David T C Davies - Secretary of State for Wales
As a fluent Welsh speaker and champion for the Welsh language, I take every opportunity to promote the language and communicate bilingually in my role.
My officials and I regularly meet with the Welsh Language Commissioner and her office to discuss matters relating to the Welsh language, including the provision of public services through the medium of Welsh by UK Government. Most recently in August, I met the Commissioner in Aberystwyth as part of my Welsh Language Roundtable to discuss the Census 2021 results and the causes of the decline in the number of Welsh speakers in parts of Wales.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent assessment she has made of the impact of trends in the level of export costs to the EU for small businesses on the economy of (a) Wales and (b) Arfon constituency.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Our export strategy sets out a 12-point plan, which is helping businesses in Arfon and across Wales expand their export opportunities. Welsh businesses can access a wide range of free support services, including a network of sector specialists and overseas trade advisers, our Export Academy, the Export Support Service, and UK Export Finance.
My department has also recently announced that we will be appointing new International Trade Advisors (ITAs) in Wales, boosting our support for Welsh SME exporters. This expansion should see a further 400-600 companies across Wales receiving tailored support to seek new export opportunities.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps she is taking to help ensure that parcel delivery companies (a) adopt and (b) adhere to her Department's Statement of principles for parcel deliveries, published in July 2014.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
While the principles in this guidance still stand, through the Consumer Protection Partnership, we have undertaken further work to ensure retailers provide information about delivery options upfront in the purchasing process to ensure consumers can make informed decisions.
In its 2022 review of postal regulation Ofcom, the independent regulator of the postal sector, committed to ongoing monitoring of operators’ performance, keeping under review the need for additional regulation to protect consumers.
Current guidance for parcel operators and retailers on their obligations is available from the Chartered Trading Standards Institute’s Business Companion website and through the dedicated deliverylaw.uk website.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps she is taking to reduce exporting costs for small business that export to the EU.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
My department are better equipped than ever to support UK businesses to export. We offer a wide range of free support services, including a network of domestic and overseas trade advisers, sector specialists, Export Support Service, Export Academy, and International Markets network.
UK Export Finance (UKEF) also continues to focus on supporting SMEs. In 2022-23, 84% of the companies supported directly with a UKEF product were small and medium-sized enterprises.
But we are doing more – maximising uptake of new Free Trade Agreements by SMEs, using data to better target our services and working across Government to reduce barriers to exporting and simplify border processes.