Liz Saville Roberts

The Government will always aim to secure value for money and social value. With the creation of the Office for Value for Money the government will undertake value for money studies in specific high-risk areas of cross-departmental spending, and scrutinise investment proposals to ensure they offer value for money.

We expect the highest standards of business ethics from all suppliers. The Government will bring forward a new National Procurement Policy Statement under the Procurement Act that will deliver a mission-led procurement regime. It will drive value for money, economic growth and social value.

The terms of reference for the Prime Minister’s Envoy for the Nations and Regions will be published online in the normal way, setting out the purpose, scope and remit of the role, including how the Envoy will work with Cabinet Ministers and devolved counterparts to support the Government’s efforts to reset relations across the UK.

There are no plans to devolve the Post Office in Wales. The access criteria set by Government ensures Post Office delivers essential services across all four nations of the UK via its network of 11,500 branches.

We will work closely with the Welsh Government in line with the existing devolution settlement. Welsh businesses can access a range of DBT support including those delivered through our unrivalled international network at posts overseas.

Most recent figures provided to the Department from Ofgem indicates that as of 2nd May there were c.9,500 RTS meters remaining in Wales.

Ofgem does not collect constituency level data on RTS meters from suppliers.

The Department is not aware of a list of RTS properties that separately identifies premises with and without storage heaters.

The Department does not receive information from energy suppliers on the number of households on specific tariffs, such as Economy 7.

Smart meters, and the communication services that support smart metering, will not be switched off.

The Department does not receive information from energy suppliers about the number of households with storage heaters.

The industry-led Radio Teleswitch Service (RTS) is reaching the end of its operational life and can no longer be adequately maintained.

The switch-off will start from the end of June, and the Government and Ofgem have called on suppliers to rapidly increase the pace of RTS replacements, so that there is a smooth transition and consumers are protected. We continue to closely monitor progress.

Holiday parks are already subject to licensing and oversight by local authorities and we have no plans to establish a dedicated independent regulator although we continue to monitor the effectiveness of the existing regulatory framework.

The Department has no plans to reconsider the £25,000 cap in 2025/26. Based on previous scheme data, we expect 94% of claims to be unaffected by the change.

Future Government spending is a matter for the 2026 Spending Review.

I have held a series of very productive meetings with the Wales Office, Welsh Government, Arts Council England, and Welsh National Opera to understand the issue in more detail and to see how, within the parameters of the arm’s length principle, I can best help ensure a strong and secure future for the WNO.

The core point of commonality across all these meetings and across all partners was a recognition of the value of the Welsh National Opera and its work - for the people of England as well as for the people of Wales. It was clear that all partners are keen to achieve a positive long-term future for the organisation, and are working towards that goal.

I was pleased that this series of meetings was able to reassure everyone that all partners wanted to see a positive future for Welsh National Opera, that the funding bodies across the border will work more collaboratively in future and that the new leadership at the WNO have a clear idea of how to progress. Everyone wants to burnish and sustain the WNO so that as many people as possible in Wales and England have a chance to enjoy world class opera close to home. Funding decisions are for the Welsh Arts Council and Arts Council England, but I am confident that the WNO is in a strong place to succeed.

In October 2024, the Government published an updated assessment of the impact of introducing the pEPR scheme on packaging producers as a whole. This impact assessment did not split the assessment by sector.

The Government has worked closely with industry, including the brewing sector, throughout development of Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging (pEPR). Feedback from stakeholders was factored into finalising the regulations, including formally consulting stakeholders on a draft of the pEPR regulations in 2023.

pEPR obligates brands and packaging producers to pay the costs of managing household packaging waste. In most cases, this will not be individual pubs but the business supplying the pub with packaged goods.

My officials have recently attended a number of events organised by the brewing industry, to discuss pEPR and to listen and respond to concerns raised by their members. We have provided extensive guidance to all sectors on how to comply with their obligations under pEPR and continue to work with the brewing sector and others to further refine both the guidance and the wider scheme.

Packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (pEPR) obligates brands and packaging producers to pay the costs of managing household packaging waste. In most cases, this will not be individual pubs but the business supplying the pub with packaged goods where they have an annual turnover of £2 million or more and are responsible for supplying or importing more than 50 Tonnes of packaging. It is up to individual producers whether to pass these costs on to their customers.

In October 2024, the Government published an updated assessment of the impact of introducing the pEPR scheme on packaging producers as a whole. This impact assessment did not split the assessment by sector.

The Secretary of State responded to the First Minister of Wales on March 28. Her published response can be found here: Secretary of State letter to the First Minister of Wales - GOV.UK

We take our responsibility to ensure all individuals have access to our services without disadvantage, very seriously. We have a range of provisions in place to ensure assessments are accessible to all individuals, including those with brain injury and neurological conditions, in line with the standards under the Equality Act 2010.

Health assessments are designed to treat all individuals with health conditions and impairments fairly. The assessment criteria take account of the impact of all impairments on an individual’s ability to carry out a broad range of everyday activities.

As part of the functional health assessment process, the feasibility of a paper-based assessment will always be considered in the first instance for all cases. Health professionals (HPs) may contact GPs, any named specialist medical professionals or the claimant if they need more information to undertake a paper-based review. In the circumstances that a paper-based review is not possible the claimant will be invited to an assessment. Before an invitation to assessment is sent, consideration will be given to claimants who need a specific assessment channel due to their health condition or circumstances.

Companions are encouraged to attend and can play an active role during the assessment. This is helpful for claimants with mental, cognitive, or intellectual impairments who may not be able to provide an accurate account of their condition, due to a lack of understanding or unrealistic expectations of their ability. Companions can join the telephony assessment, as they would have for a face-to-face assessment. All assessment suppliers have introduced the capacity for four-way calls for assessments. This means the claimant and the HP can be joined by a companion or advocate as well as an interpreter if required. This gives claimants the opportunity to have the appropriate support during a remote assessment.

We take our responsibility to ensure all individuals have access to our services without disadvantage, very seriously. We have a range of provisions in place to ensure assessments are accessible to all individuals, including those with brain injury and neurological conditions, in line with the standards under the Equality Act 2010.

Health assessments are designed to treat all individuals with health conditions and impairments fairly. The assessment criteria take account of the impact of all impairments on an individual’s ability to carry out a broad range of everyday activities.

As part of the functional health assessment process, the feasibility of a paper-based assessment will always be considered in the first instance for all cases. Health professionals (HPs) may contact GPs, any named specialist medical professionals or the claimant if they need more information to undertake a paper-based review. In the circumstances that a paper-based review is not possible the claimant will be invited to an assessment. Before an invitation to assessment is sent, consideration will be given to claimants who need a specific assessment channel due to their health condition or circumstances.

Companions are encouraged to attend and can play an active role during the assessment. This is helpful for claimants with mental, cognitive, or intellectual impairments who may not be able to provide an accurate account of their condition, due to a lack of understanding or unrealistic expectations of their ability. Companions can join the telephony assessment, as they would have for a face-to-face assessment. All assessment suppliers have introduced the capacity for four-way calls for assessments. This means the claimant and the HP can be joined by a companion or advocate as well as an interpreter if required. This gives claimants the opportunity to have the appropriate support during a remote assessment.

We are absolutely committed to supporting pensioners and giving them the dignity and security they deserve in retirement.

Under both the old and new State Pension systems, the amount people receive varies according to their National Insurance record.

Over the course of this Parliament we expect over 12 million pensioners are likely to see their new State Pensions increase by £1700 as a result of our commitment to the Triple Lock.

The Government offers its deepest sympathy to the parents of Robbie Powell for the tragic loss of their son in 1990.

Robbie Powell’s death has been the subject of a number of investigative and judicial processes over the last 30 years. The intense scrutiny of Robbie’s case, provided through these reviews, suggests that it is unlikely that a further inquiry would reveal anything which has not been uncovered already, or would identify further significant lessons to be learned.

Even though the events occurred prior to the devolution of the National Health Service, this should not prevent the National Assembly for Wales from considering this case.

The UK remains deeply committed to the United Nations and its founding principles, purposes and core values, as outlined in the UN Charter. The UN continues to play a critical role in preventing and ending conflicts, delivering lifesaving humanitarian assistance, protecting people from pandemics and disease, and supporting countries build stronger economies. Against the backdrop of an increasingly difficult global economic and geopolitical situation, multilateral cooperation is more important now than ever.

The principles of the sovereign equality of States, and the need for parties to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State are clearly enshrined within the UN Charter. The UK works with international partners to call out any violations of these principles, including in the case of Ukraine, where we support a just and lasting peace in line with the UN Charter.

The latest forecasts for tax revenues were published alongside the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) October Economic and Fiscal Outlook. These forecasts are based on economic determinants, including wage growth and employment levels. Detailed tax receipts forecasts can be found here: Economic and fiscal outlook – October 2024 - Office for Budget Responsibility.

A Tax Information and Impact Note that covers the employer NICs changes was published by HMRC on 13 November.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave on 3 June to Question 53862.

Our primary responsibility remains to crack down on illegal working, and ensure that those employers and employees who play by the rules are not undercut by those who are not.

Asylum seekers who have had their claim outstanding for 12 months or more, through no fault of their own, can currently apply for permission to work in jobs on the Immigration Salary List (ISL). The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration and asylum system under regular review, and recently published a White Paper setting out the Government’s plans for reform in relation to the exploitation and abuse of migrant workers, and a wide range of other areas.

The Home Office also continues to invest in a programme of transformation to speed up asylum decision making and therefore reduce the time people spend in the asylum system. This approach will ensure that genuine asylum seekers can be accepted quickly and gain access to the labour market, and those who are not can be removed to their home country.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave on 13 March to Question 35970.

We keep the Ukraine schemes under continuous review in line with the ongoing conflict and the Ukrainian government’s desire for the future return of its citizens to Ukraine. This is why the Ukraine Schemes are temporary and do not lead to settlement in the UK. It is important our approach respects these wishes.

The Ukraine Permission Extension scheme provides the same rights and entitlements to access work, benefits, healthcare and education as the current Ukraine schemes.

The Home Office continues to engage with our stakeholders and partners to ensure employers are fully informed and can continue to support Ukrainians. We have also updated the online guidance for employers with details of the Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme, which is available on GOV.UK.

We keep the Ukraine schemes under continuous review in line with the ongoing conflict and the Ukrainian government’s desire for the future return of its citizens to Ukraine. This is why the Ukraine Schemes are temporary and do not lead to settlement in the UK. It is important our approach respects these wishes.

The Ukraine Permission Extension scheme provides the same rights and entitlements to access work, benefits, healthcare and education as the current Ukraine schemes.

The Home Office continues to engage with our stakeholders and partners to ensure employers are fully informed and can continue to support Ukrainians. We have also updated the online guidance for employers with details of the Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme, which is available on GOV.UK.

The Welsh Government was invited to respond to the public consultation through a letter from Lord Robertson. I have also held a call with the Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales to brief the Welsh Government on the content of the Strategic Defence Review (SDR) and its significance for Wales. We will continue engagement with Welsh Government Colleagues on a range of Ministry of Defence matters including the SDR.

Wales already contributes to munitions development, and we hope businesses based in Wales will continue to do so as we build our always on defence munitions strategy. We will set out that detail in due course, but our overall munitions investment will help support jobs and growth across every nation of the UK. We already have important facilities across the UK, supporting thousands of jobs. This new investment will be used to build at least six munitions and energetics factories across the UK, creating hundreds of skilled jobs and supporting the Government's Plan for Change by driving growth in every region and nation of the UK.

The Texan T1 aircraft complies fully with relevant international aviation noise standards.

Ministry of Defence expenditure in financial year 2023-24 totalled £53.9 billion. We do not allocate this spending by nation nor region.

The Ministry of Defence has no current plans to develop a specific compensation scheme for either Nuclear Test Veterans or their families. Those who participated in the nuclear test programme and feel they were negatively impacted are able to apply to the War Pensions Scheme.

The War Pensions Scheme is a no-fault scheme which provides compensation for Service personnel who are disabled or die due to injury caused or made worse by service in the UK Armed Forces before 6 April 2005. There are also a range of supplementary pensions and allowances payable, including for dependants.

This Government is fully committed to engaging with Nuclear Test Veterans and their families to discuss their concerns. The Minister for Veterans and People has already commissioned a range of work within the Department to examine some of the concerns raised by the Nuclear Test Veteran community, including that of medical records.

The Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme allows existing Ukraine scheme visa holders to apply for further permission to remain in the UK for an additional 18-months. To support Ukrainians who are still in Homes for Ukraine sponsorship arrangements as they transition to living independently, the government has also extended thank you payments for 18-months under the UPE scheme only.

The UPE visa period provides guests and sponsors with time to plan to live independently and, if needed, to secure independently funded accommodation.

The number of Probation Officers and Probation Services Officers (FTE) working in the Courts internal function as of December of each year since 2017:

The above table details, from internal management information, the FTE Probation Officers and Probation Services Officers who were recorded as working in the Courts internal function in December of each year.

Data prior to 2017 is not easily obtainable or reliable as it would come from a different data source. It would not be reliable to provide a trend between the two data sources.

Staff in this internal function would have spent some (but not necessarily all) of their time delivering Pre-Sentence Reports. Staff are also required to carry out other forms of work in court e.g. triaging court lists and producing other types of reports.

There are some other staff who may carry out Pre-Sentence Reports in addition to those in the table (sessional staff and some staff from the Offender Management internal function). These staff would carry out Pre-Sentence Reports on an ad-hoc basis and their contribution would not be quantifiable.

Any change year-on-year does not necessarily mean a change in funding for these staff and could reflect of how many staff were in post and available to carry out this work.

Administrative or managerial staff are not included in these figures, although these staff play an important role in supporting PO and PSO colleagues with the delivery of Pre-Sentence Reports.

The Probation Service is responsible for producing pre-sentence reports (PSRs) where they have been requested by the Court. The PSR assesses the offender’s behaviour, the risk they pose, and recommend sentencing options tailored to the individual. The report can suggest community sentences and specific requirements like treatment programmes. Ultimately, the PSR provides recommendations to the Court, but the final decision rests with the judge.

The following table shows the number of PSRs prepared by the Probation Service and presented to the criminal courts in England and Wales between January 2024 and December 2024.

Note, PSR figures by region are published every April as part of the Offender Management Statistics quarterly bulletin. Please also note that the data pipeline used to compile the figures has been updated. This change was introduced for the 2024 figures. More details can be found in the 'Probation data process transition' section of Chapter 6 of the publication, available here: Offender management statistics quarterly: October to December 2024 - GOV.UK.

Under Section 55A of the Family Law Act 1986, in situations where a child is born to unmarried parents, and the father dies prior to the birth, a Declaration of Parentage must be issued by the court in order for the paternity to be established. Once a declaration is issued, the birth can be re-registered to include the father’s details.

We want to make the process as simple as is possible in these circumstances, whilst still ensuring the court has means to establish parentage if one parent is deceased and not able to convey their views. This is vitally important as, in some cases, this decision will have significant financial implications for others, such as children from previous relationships.

The Ministry of Justice holds the data for Welsh speaking prisoners in both Wales and England. Annex A outlines how many prisoners were recorded as Welsh speaking in every prison in (a) Wales and (b) England in (i) March, (ii) June, (iii) September and (iv) December 2024.

The table below represents the numbers of prison officers at the end of each calendar month specified who have self-declared that they are Welsh speaking on the organisation’s HR system. This includes Band 3-4 prison officers, including specialists, Band 4 Supervising Officers, and Band 5 Custodial Managers. ‘~’ denotes suppressed values of 2 or fewer to prevent disclosure in accordance with the Data Protection Act, 2018.

Declaration rates vary between prisons, but are consistently low, which means true numbers are likely to be higher, and no conclusions should be drawn from the data. This question was introduced to Ministry of Justice systems in 2023, and ongoing campaigns across HMPPS Wales encourage staff to complete their Welsh language information, however, this is voluntary.