Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff East)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, when a Minister from his Department last made an official visit to Cardiff West constituency.
Answered by David T C Davies
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State and I both live in Wales and serve Welsh constituencies. We have a consistent presence in Wales as we conduct many visits, events and meetings in Wales on a regular basis.
Details of Ministerial visits and meetings are published on the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales’ website and in Quarterly Ministerial Transparency Returns. In addition, visits and meetings conducted in support of the Wales Office priorities are published in the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales Annual Report and Accounts.
The UK Government has provided extensive support to Cardiff West. A typical household in Wales has received almost £2000 in UK Government support to help with the cost of living. This includes over 257,000 payments delivered in Cardiff West through the Energy Bills Support Scheme. During the Covid-19 pandemic around 15,000 jobs were supported through the furlough scheme, over £32 million was claimed through the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme and over £59 million was given to businesses through government-backed business loans. The UK Government has also supported innovation within Cardiff West with around £2.7 million awarded by Innovate UK since April 2019.
In addition, Cardiff City Council, the local authority for the Cardiff West constituency, is receiving over £41 million from the UK Government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Cardiff West also benefits from the £1.2 billion Cardiff Capital Region City Deal, including the £50 million region-wide Innovation Investment Fund.
This Government is investing in Wales like never before; over £790 million in four City and Regional Growth Deals covering the whole of Wales, £585 million for local authorities to invest through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, including over £100 million for the Multiply adult numeracy programme, £330 million in capital investment through the Levelling Up Fund and £3.2 million to preserve community assets through the Community Ownership Fund. Wales will benefit from two Freeports backed by £52 million, the British Business Bank’s new £130m Regional Investment Fund, and from Project Gigabit which will enable hard to reach communities to access lightning-fast gigabit capable broadband.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff East)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what assessment his Department has made of the differential in domestic energy costs between Wales and the rest of the UK.
Answered by Robert Buckland
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) publishes annual estimates of gas and electricity bills along with statistics on household expenditure of fuel. The most recent statistics published by BEIS regarding average variable unit costs and standing charges for gas demonstrates that in 2021, in North Wales and Merseyside the average variable unit price (£/kWh) was on par with the average across Great Britain, while in South Wales the average was £0.0006 per kWh higher. Similarly, in 2021, the most recent statistics published by BEIS regarding average variable unit costs and standing charges for standard electricity saw those in South Wales see an average variable unit price (£/kWh) on par with the UK average, with those in North Wales and Merseyside paying £0.01 more than the UK average. This Government is committed to ensuring that all regions pay a fair price for energy.
The Government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living and today, the Prime Minister set out further measures of support that this government will be providing as we deal with these global challenges. Action taken by this government will see a typical household in Great Britain pay no more than £2,500 on their energy bills from October for each of the next two years. This will save a typical household £1,000 a year and comes in addition to the non-refundable £400 Energy Bill Support Scheme.