Spring Budget 2024: Welsh Economy

Liz Saville Roberts Excerpts

Wednesday 17th April 2024 Westminster Hall

[Liz Saville Roberts (Dwyfor Meirionnydd) (PC)]

Diolch yn fawr, Mr Dowd. I congratulate the hon. Member for Newport West (Ruth Jones) on securing this debate. The Government have tried to spin the Budget as the deliverer of long-term growth for Wales, but people’s response is at odds with the spin. The lack of faith in the Government’s rhetoric is rooted in what they experience day in, day out, and how little faith they now have in attention-seeking announcements.

The real story is one of stagnating living standards, higher taxes on poorer people, cuts to public services on top of years of austerity, and food banks providing meals to working families. The Budget’s headline announcement of a 2p cut in national insurance plays out in different ways in different places. London wage earners will benefit the most, at £621 on average, while those in Wales will get only slightly more than £1 a day —£380 on average.

This is not a matter of begrudging gains for some people in some communities, but what needs to be called out is the disregard for how the national insurance cuts, as a policy, will entrench inequality in different parts of the United Kingdom. There is nothing in the spring Budget to address the deep economic challenges facing Wales, such as flagging productivity. In Wales, gross value added per hour worked is 84% of that of the UK—the lowest productivity of any of the four UK nations, although it varies within Wales and in the English midlands. It plays out in different places in different ways.

Those indicators also reveal how little effect that worthy, familiar, perhaps misused 2019 election slogan of levelling up has actually had. I know the Tories will delight in telling us that Wales has had more than our per head of population share of levelling up since then.

[Alex Davies-Jones]

On that point about the Tories telling us we have never had it so good and Wales is benefiting, will the right hon. Member join me in being disappointed that, apart from the Minister, who is compelled to be here and for whom I have a lot of respect, there is not a single Welsh Conservative MP in this debate? That shows how much contempt and disregard they have for the people of Wales.

[Liz Saville Roberts]

They must be content with the crumbs that we get from the table with levelling up, frankly.

Is the per head of population distribution really a good measure of success? Under the European funding schemes, Wales also got the highest per head of population contribution for a reason, and the reason was recognised deprivation—proven need. How has the Tory levelling-up agenda grasped the challenge of replacing the European money previously distributed specifically to lift the poorest communities out of poverty? I will tell hon. Members how it has done that. It has done it by invoking the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020 to undermine the Senedd and any pretence at strategic working. It has done it by setting cash-strapped local authorities in direct competition with one another, like supplicants begging for pennies. It has done it by providing money without sufficient time even to use it to best effect. And it has done it by ensuring that there is scant effective evaluation of money used, so that we do not even know whether it is levelling anything up for anybody.

Of course, that is not the point. Levelling up was never about ensuring that Wales got not a penny less than it did under European funds. We know that we are getting £1.3 billion less. Levelling up has become a byword for cynical short-termism, lollipops for a Government to hand out with an eye to the next election—pork barrel politics. That is clear from the fact that the Budget included Canary Wharf in the £242 million of London levelling-up cash. Canary Wharf, of all places! That is hardly somewhere that needs further investment and levelling up when compared with other places in the UK.

The Chancellor announced departmental spending cuts of up to £20 billion in the spring Budget. Let us be clear that those cuts will make a wasteland of our public services, and they will do so in a country, our country—Wales—where we place a high value on how a community works for everyone. I fear for the future of Welsh public services. We have already seen the Welsh Government’s refusal to step in when they defended cuts to Wales’s National Museum. I am sad that, rather than demonstrating the political courage to protect our cultural institutions, First Minister Vaughan Gething tells us to wait patiently for a future Labour Chancellor to start properly funding Wales. I fear that he is referring to the same shadow Chancellor, the right hon. Member for Leeds West (Rachel Reeves), who drops heavy hints that Labour will go ahead with public spending cuts if it forms the next Government.

My party believes that the people of Wales should have the ability to grasp the means to build our own economic destiny. Why should we not take control of our natural resources through the devolution of the Crown Estate? Why should we not create a funding system that addresses our needs and makes best use of our fair share of money from HS2 and other projects?

After covid and in the face of a future of global unrest and accelerated climate change, the Chancellor should have prioritised long-term investment in our public services, infrastructure and communities, yet the Budget and its aftermath seem to have produced a consensus between the Tories and Labour on spending cuts, with the Institute for Fiscal Studies calling support for spending cuts a “conspiracy of silence” between the two main parties. The message should come loud and clear: as things stand, Wales gets crumbs from the table, and we can do so much better. Diolch yn fawr.

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[Fay Jones]

I will not.

Indeed, this Government are working hard to ensure that Wales’s sector strengths are empowered to move to the next level. That is why we confirmed at the autumn statement that there will be two investment zones in Wales: one located across Cardiff and Newport—again, a surprising omission from the speeches of the hon. Members for Newport West and for Newport East (Jessica Morden) ; and a second zone located across Wrexham and Flintshire. The Chancellor confirmed at spring Budget that the programme has been extended in Wales from five to 10 years, with each receiving £160 million in funding over this period. This will supercharge key sectors across both locations, creating jobs delivering growth and prosperity across Wales.

A determination to create new jobs has also been spearheaded by Wales’s freeports programme, and here —the hon. Member for Newport West will be surprised to hear me say this—I will praise the Welsh Government for working hand in hand with the UK Government. The freeports programme was further supported once again at this Budget by the Chancellor when he announced that there would be an extension in tax relief from five years to 10 years, providing greater certainty to businesses looking to invest, delivering growth and jobs, and levelling up the economy.

The Chancellor’s spring Budget has provided Wales with substantial additional funding, as I think was mentioned by a number of hon. Members this afternoon. Back in 2021, a record-breaking £18 billion block grant was secured at the spending review. This year’s Budget announced almost £170 million of additional funding through the Barnett formula for 2024-25. That is on top of the £820 million already provided to the Welsh Government since that record-breaking grant in 2021—blowing away Labour’s and Plaid Cymru’s argument that Wales has been underfunded. This is almost an extra £1 billion in additional funding for the Welsh Government. On top of this record funding, the Prime Minister recently announced £60 million for apprenticeships in England. That will result in yet more money for the Welsh Government.

Despite the negativity of Members opposite, there is no doubt that the Welsh Government are adequately funded to deliver on their responsibilities. It is a question of priorities. While the Conservative Government are pouring billions of pounds into Wales and turbocharging the Welsh economy, it is the decisions of the Welsh Labour Government, propped up by Plaid Cymru, that are undercutting Welsh public services.

I was disappointed by the negative and miserable tone taken by Opposition Members during the debate in relation to levelling-up funding in Wales and was surprised to see them criticise the record amounts of funding received in their own local authorities. An announcement at the Budget added to our commitment of long-term regeneration and growth in Wales. I am thrilled that Rhyl is the latest of five Welsh towns to benefit from £20 million as part of the long-term plan for towns.

[Liz Saville Roberts]

Who will be responsible if public money is not spent on levelling up because it was provided late to Welsh local authorities by the UK Government?

[Fay Jones]

I can assure the right hon. Member that her local council, Gwynedd County Council, will be responsible for the almost £19 million that was received from levelling-up round 2, so there is great accountability there. Local authority leaders across Wales are delighted by the extra support that the UK Government are giving them, which amounts to £440 million over the three levelling-up fund rounds. From the Muni Arts Centre in Pontypridd to Old College on Aberystwyth’s seafront, and from Porthcawl pavilion to the Pontcysyllte aqueduct—I have lived in Wales all my life and I can never say that. [Interruption.] I will work on that one. There are new developments, too, from a new leisure centre in Caerphilly to the development of Cardiff Crossrail, and walkways and cycle paths in the Vale of Neath. Our places across Wales are changing for the better. That work is all building on the foundation being laid across our regions by Wales’s city and growth deals, with £790 million invested in all four of our regional economies. The UK Government back the Welsh economy and deliver on the needs of the people, businesses and communities in Wales.

During this afternoon’s debate, the shadow Minister—the hon. Member for Newport East—and the hon. Member for Newport West, who led the debate, challenged me a number of times on an unfunded tax cut, which I heard mentioned many times at Prime Minister’s questions this morning. I understand that the Labour party’s new argument is that the UK Government have promised to abolish national insurance. I am curious as to where that has come from. No such promise has ever been made and no policy has ever been announced. I heard the right hon. and learned Member for Holborn and St Pancras (Keir Starmer) make that claim earlier and I would be worried that he could be accused of misleading the House—something I know he would never do. That is Labour’s smokescreen: covering up for that fact that Labour has no plan. The long and the short of it is that this Government have an excellent record to show for themselves in Wales and the spring Budget only boosts it further.

Oral Answers to Questions

Liz Saville Roberts Excerpts

Wednesday 13th March 2024 Commons Chamber

[David T. C. Davies]

The hon. Lady is right to raise this important issue for retailers, but I remind her that the UK Government have provided for an extra 20,000 police officers across the whole United Kingdom. We have repeatedly brought forward legislation to increase prison sentences and punishments for offenders, but that legislation has often been voted against by members of her political party.

[Liz Saville Roberts (Dwyfor Meirionnydd) (PC)]

This Government pledged £1 billion to electrify the north Wales main line. We all know that that £1 billion is an uncosted number pulled out of the air. We also now know that phase 1 goes no further than Llandudno. How can the Secretary of State explain that to the people living in Ynys Môn and Gwynedd? Talk of rail electrification just means more of the same for us: slow trains, cancelled services and empty election promises.

[David T. C. Davies]

The UK Government have already shown a commitment to transport in Wales, spending £390 million on improved rail infrastructure over the last control period. In addition to that, there has been the south Wales metro, which is part of a UK Government-Welsh Government joint-funded growth deal. The Prime Minister was very clear about our commitment to the electrification of the north Wales rail line, and that commitment stands.

[Liz Saville Roberts]

The Tory leader in the Senedd opposes moves to tackle the effects of excessive numbers of holiday homes in our communities. He goes on about

“anti-tourism, and anti-English policies being imposed on the Welsh tourism industry”.

Now that the Tory Westminster Government are abolishing tax breaks for holiday lets, would the Secretary of State claim that his Chancellor is anti-tourism?

[David T. C. Davies]

I would not. My friend in the Senedd has spoken out repeatedly about the Welsh Labour Government’s plans for an overnight tourism tax, which will have a detrimental impact on tourism businesses across Wales. The hon. Lady’s party is in partnership with the Welsh Labour Government, and if she really wants to support the Welsh tourism industry, I suggest she tells it that her Members will vote against Welsh Labour’s Budget, to prevent that tax from coming in.

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[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right that we must do everything we can to secure our borders and ensure that those who come here illegally do not have the ability to stay. That is why our Rwanda scheme and legislation are so important. As I have said repeatedly and will happily say to her again, I will not let a foreign court block our ability to send people to Rwanda when the time comes.

[Liz Saville Roberts (Dwyfor Meirionnydd) (PC)]

Q3. The National Theatre’s production “Nye”, which stars Michael Sheen, celebrates at its end the transformational increase in life expectancy since the founding of the NHS. However, University College London findings indicate that austerity policies between 2010 and 2019 are responsible for a three-year setback in life expectancy progress. Does the Prime Minister, or the Leader of the Opposition for that matter, think that public services can withstand an extra £20 billion of cuts?

[The Prime Minister]

First, I am pleased that the National Theatre received significant funding from the Chancellor in the recent Budget to support its fantastic work across the UK. However, I am surprised to hear the right hon. Lady raise the NHS, when her party is propping up the Welsh Labour Government, who have absolutely the worst NHS performance of any part of the United Kingdom.

Welsh Affairs

Liz Saville Roberts Excerpts

Thursday 29th February 2024 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Crabb]

Gower College Swansea—the hon. Lady has made her point with her usual force and eloquence.

I think as well of the meeting we had with apprentices at the magnificent Airbus factory in Broughton. The Airbus apprenticeship scheme must be the most impressive, and probably the most competitively applied for apprenticeship, anywhere in the country. What we saw there was really impressive.

I also think about the meeting we had a few weeks ago at His Majesty’s Prison Cardiff, where we spent the morning, which finished up with a sit down session with a group of prisoners who opened up to us in the most remarkable way. They talked about their upbringing, struggles with relationships and addictions, past failures and mistakes, and their hopes for the future. What really struck a chord with me was how they talked about feeling respected by the staff at the prison and feeling that they could give respect back. There was hardly a dry eye in the room at the end of that session, which was probably the most powerful and moving thing I have done as a Member of Parliament in the past 18 years.

[Liz Saville Roberts (Dwyfor Meirionnydd) (PC)]

The right hon. Member is giving a really interesting introduction. I am glad that he mentioned the work done by prison staff, because their work is so critical. He must agree that we have an anomaly in the justice system in Wales whereby so many of the critical support services for prisoners coming out of prison are run by the Welsh Government. That situation is not reflected anywhere else in the England and Wales legal system, and, sooner or later, that must come to a close, because it is insufficient.

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Nigel Evans)]

Order. Before Mr Crabb comes back in with a response, I will let people know that there will be an unofficial five-minute limit. I also very much take on board what Mr Crabb had to say about ensuring a decent amount of time to discuss Welsh affairs in future.

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[Liz Saville Roberts (Dwyfor Meirionnydd) (PC)]

It is an honour to be here again on St David’s Day, Dydd gŵyl Dewi, to discuss our separate set of circumstances, issues and problems, and to celebrate what makes Wales unique, even if we each have only five minutes to do so today. Calls for a longer period of time in future would be very welcome.

This debate is particularly important this week because we are standing on the threshold of the spring Budget and we all have a duty to recognise how what we do here reverberates directly and indirectly in Wales. As each of us is a representative of the fairest constituency of Wales, we have a duty to aspire to and to seek to bring about fairness and ambition for our country. That bring us to the question of what is in the gift of the UK Government specifically to do to make a real difference.

What Governments can do is invest in what will make a material difference, and of course I would propose that investing in fair consequentials for the funding allocated for HS2 would indeed make a material difference. Not only are we owed about £3.9 billion from that fiasco, but the Prime Minister, in his autumn conference speech last year, promised us the electrification of the north Wales main line route for £1 billion. He did so despite that figure being based on a 2015 case and the Welsh Government saying that no development work has been done on the project in the intervening nine years, and so I imagine that prices have changed. This was like the previous promises that were made of an electrified south Wales main line—things have also gone quiet on that front, with Transport Ministers reluctant to give a timeline. Of course we will have heard, because we are in the run-up to an election, of plans to spend HS2 money in the midlands and the north of England being detailed.

A second thing that would make a real material difference to Wales would be to devolve the Crown Estate, whose asset value in Wales was £853 million, with its marine portfolio amounting to £603 million, two years ago. In 2020-21, the estate made £8.7 million, with £8.6 million from the marine portfolio. That goes directly to Treasury coffers, and 25% goes to the monarch via the sovereign grant. Imagine what we could achieve in Wales with that money.

Devolving the Crown Estate would also give us rights to offshore leasing. It would allow us to have our own green industrial strategy and save bill payers over £300 million each year through offshore wind, all while generating public funds for the Welsh Government to help better people’s lives. We need only look at what is evolving in Scotland, where the Crown Estate is devolved, to see what is possible. Twenty projects approved through offshore leasing are projected to raise £28.8 billion of investment, and £700 million would be passed to the Scottish Government for public spending.

So many of the problems that we experience could be solved by fair funding. That requires reviewing and replacing the outdated Barnett formula with a system that delivers equitable funding for all parts of Wales. There are several reasons why the formula must be replaced. First, it does not address our needs; it has not for decades. Wales’s funding floor is not based on Wales’s current assessed need, but on estimates made by the Holtham commission in 2010, which drew on—wait for it—2001 census data. Secondly, the formula is not clear or transparent. When funding is announced in England, it may take weeks or months to find out if Wales will receive Barnett consequential funding, and if so, how much.

Thirdly, we all know the formula is open to political manipulation, with Wales being robbed of at least £3.9 billion through HS2 funding. Northern Ireland recently received a funding package of £3.3 billion from the UK Government to address its funding problems. If Wales were to receive an equivalent per capita funding package, it would get £5.4 billion. Looking ahead to the spring Budget, I hope that the Government will show, somehow or other, that they intend to tackle the deep structural problems that Wales faces, but I will not hold my breath.

For 14 years, Wales has had a UK Government who ignore and belittle our needs, wants and values, and use devolution—our democracy and our Senedd—as a political punchbag. That is bad for our democracy in the UK and in Wales, and we need to find a better way to deal with the UK as it stands.

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[Richard Thomson]

I absolutely agree with that point. The principle of consent is enshrined in the Good Friday agreement for Northern Ireland and implicit in that is that it is a decision for the people. I would argue that that is the position Scotland ought to be in—it is a position for the people—and of course it is for the people of Wales to decide how to form a Government best suited to their needs and to then bring whatever pressure they can through the ballot box to bring that about.

Two other recommendations came out of the commission that struck me: the need to secure a duty of co-operation and parity of esteem between the Governments of the UK; and that the Sewel convention ought to be strengthened. That is something on which a Labour Government in Cardiff and an SNP-led Government in Edinburgh could probably find a lot of agreement. My party is often happier to find ourselves in agreement with the Labour party than the Labour party is to find itself in agreement with the Scottish National party, but there are examples that creep up where the Scottish Labour party appears to be at variance with its colleagues in Wales and I would like to use my remaining time to highlight one example.

When the UK Government find their record under attack, they point the finger, not always fairly I would say, at the record of the Labour Government in Wales, and in turn that Labour Government in Cardiff point a finger back about the funding settlement that is in place and it being imposed by the UK Government. Yet when Labour in Scotland tries to criticise the Scottish Government, it seems completely oblivious, in a way its Welsh counterparts are not, to the funding strictures also in place in Scotland. I do not know whether Welsh Labour ever speaks to Scottish Labour, but if they have not swiped right on each other yet, I would be more than happy to effect the introductions—I would be very happy to set up a blind date if that would be helpful.

[Liz Saville Roberts]

I am sure the hon. Gentleman will join me in wondering about the fact that nobody would come forward to recommend the status quo and the commission did not do so, because there are evidently no advantages to the status quo in the present devolution settlement.

[Richard Thomson]

Time is short and the right hon. Lady makes her point very deftly as always, but I want to come back to the point from the right hon. Member for Preseli Pembrokeshire about the proposed expansion of the Senedd and the electoral system. I have to say that having multi-Member constituencies is not a new thing. They exist in Northern Ireland and also in Scotland for the regional lists, and they exist in local government here, and yes, of course, elected representatives treat people without fear and without favour, and without regard to who anyone voted for or even if they voted at all. [Interruption.] Yes, really, and certainly that is how any elected representative worth their salt will go about things. Conservatives, at least as I always understood it, used to be in favour of consumer choice and this means voters have an element of consumer choice in terms of who they wish to take their concerns to, or indeed if they wish to engage the services of more than one Member. There are examples which I would be more than happy to discuss with the right hon. Gentleman later, because it really is not the end of the world, as he is portraying it to be.

[Jo Stevens (Cardiff Central) (Lab)]

It is good to see you in the Chair again for this annual debate, Mr Deputy Speaker. I also thank the Chair of the Welsh Affairs Committee, the right hon. Member for Preseli Pembrokeshire (Stephen Crabb) for securing the debate, and I gently echo his sentiments about the time we have for this debate today. I thank the Backbench Business Committee for granting it and all colleagues present for their contributions to what is always a wide-ranging debate on Welsh affairs.

I will mention just a few contributions. My hon. Friend the Member for Gower (Tonia Antoniazzi) talked about rugby and cockles. My hon. Friend the Member for Llanelli (Dame Nia Griffith) gave a great speech about rail infrastructure, renewable energy, offshore wind delays and steel. My hon. Friend the Member for Swansea East (Carolyn Harris) is formidable, and she spoke about her “Everyone Deserves” campaign. If she asks you to help, you dare not say no, Mr Deputy Speaker. My hon. Friend the Member for Cynon Valley (Beth Winter) talked about our proud industrial past. My hon. Friend the Member for Newport West (Ruth Jones) talked about music and culture in her constituency, and I am very much looking forward to visiting the Corn Exchange this weekend. My hon. Friend the Member for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney (Gerald Jones) talked about two very important issues: post office closures, which I entirely recognise from the experience of my constituents in Cardiff Central, and the Government’s poor roll-out of pension credit.

St David’s Day is a time to celebrate Welsh heritage and national identity, and the Labour party is fiercely proud of our Welsh heritage. Ever since devolution, delivered by a Labour Government, Labour-led Welsh Governments have delivered positive change for the people of Wales: free prescriptions, free school lunches for all primary schoolchildren, the highest number of nurses and consultants in the Welsh NHS for a decade, the protection of the NHS bursary, unlike in England, and a ban on fracking, unlike in England, and those are just a few. Labour is the party of devolution. We are committed to reinforcing the status of the Senedd.

[Liz Saville Roberts]

Will the shadow Minister give way?

[Jo Stevens]

The right hon. Lady has made several contributions, so I will carry on, if she does not mind. We are committed to reinforcing the status of the Senedd, strengthening intergovernmental working and pushing power out of Westminster and into the hands of our communities.

Wales is brimming with potential. Yesterday, pupils from my constituency from St Philip Evans Catholic Primary School in Llanedeyrn came to Parliament, and I met them and their teachers at the end of their day here. They were fascinated by what they had seen and they gave me quite an enthusiastic grilling, with excellent questions, but they, like all children from across Wales, including those who visit Parliament’s wonderful education centre—I thank all the staff there for the tremendous job that they do—are our future. We all have a responsibility to make sure that they have a good future, full of the opportunities that they deserve.

I am ambitious for a future fuelled by the talent and innovation I have seen up and down Wales. I am proud of our roots in industry. Industry has been our history, and it can be our future, too, but the chaos and failure of the Government risk squandering that future. My hon. Friends have rightly mentioned steel several times today. Steelmaking is the lifeblood of communities across Wales, the backbone of our local economies and the foundation of our manufacturing capability, and that is why the deep cuts to jobs mooted at Port Talbot are a kick in the teeth.

Instead of having a proper industrial strategy like Labour, Conservative Ministers have compounded the risk to likelihoods, forking out £500 million in taxpayers’ money to see up to 3,000 people made redundant and forfeiting our ability to make virgin steel. The Secretary of State for Business and Trade—not known for diplomacy, I might add—said that Wales should consider it a win, and the Welsh Secretary said that it is mission accomplished on saving Welsh steelmaking. I am afraid that that attitude shows casual indifference to the thousands of people across Wales who have so much at stake here, and it shows a fundamental misunderstanding of our Welsh economy and a total disregard for the need to preserve the UK sovereign steelmaking capability.

However Conservative Ministers try to spin it, the loss of sovereign steelmaking is a fundamental threat to our UK economy and security—[Interruption.] The hon. Member for Workington (Mark Jenkinson) can chunter as much as he wants. However Tory Ministers try to spin it, that is the truth.

The floating offshore wind in the Celtic sea that we have heard about this afternoon and the new nuclear power plant at Wylfa that the hon. Member for Ynys Môn (Virginia Crosbie) has been begging for year after year, and which Labour Members want to see, will need significant quantities of steel. Where is it going to come from? In an increasingly uncertain world, the Government are surrendering our sovereign capability to build the Royal Navy ships we need to keep our shores safe and our shipbuilding industry strong.

The Secretary of State has said on numerous occasions that no one will be left behind. He talks about his role as chair of the transition board—a monument to his party’s failure to secure the future of sovereign steelmaking in Wales. I want to put a marker down here and now. If these job losses go ahead, I will be holding him to account every single step of the way.

I have seen this happen before. I grew up just take a few miles from Shotton steelworks, which in 1980, under a Tory Government, became scarred by its closure. The resulting loss of 6,500 jobs remains the biggest industrial redundancy on a single day in western Europe. It totally decimated the area. Nearly everyone at my school had family who worked in the steelworks or in the supply chain. The impact of those mass redundancies in our area was felt for years: all those skills and the potential of my generation wasted—the rug pulled from under our feet. I am deeply concerned that we will see that again, but this time in Port Talbot and right across our steel communities.

It is not just steel. On nuclear at Wylfa and on Newport Wafer Fab—the jewel in the crown of our high-tech south Wales cluster—the Government drag their feet while workers and their families nervously wait, jobs and investment go and opportunity withers.

Labour has a different view of how things could be, and we have set out our plan. A UK Labour Government will invest £2.5 billion in the UK steel industry by the end of their first term—that is on top of the Government’s earmarked £500 million. We will increase domestic demand for steel by more than doubling onshore wind capacity, tripling solar power and quadrupling offshore wind. We will get Britain building again.

A general election is coming. It is an opportunity for voters to make their voices heard. My pitch to them after 14 years of Conservative Government is this: if people feel it is no longer true that when they work hard they get on, if people are bored and frustrated with watching a chaotic, failed Government more focused on holding their party together than on governing, and if people feel like it is time for a change, they should look to Labour. We can build the economy of the future, create good-quality jobs, drive down energy bills and provide energy security, and we in Wales will play a critical role in powering the whole UK through a decade of national renewal, rekindling Wales’s proud industrial roots with the industries of the future.

Oral Answers to Questions

Liz Saville Roberts Excerpts

Wednesday 31st January 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call Liz Saville Roberts.

[Liz Saville Roberts (Dwyfor Meirionnydd) (PC)]

Diolch yn fawr, Llefarydd. The Government’s own estimates warn that new Brexit border checks will increase the cost of fresh imports by £330 million and worsen food inflation. The Secretary of State used to dismiss warnings of Brexit border controls as scare stories. Will he now admit how wrong he was, and recognise that the best way to reduce food inflation, which sits at an eye-watering 8%, would be to rejoin the single market?

[David T. C. Davies]

I make no apologies for rubbishing the scare stories that came out before Brexit took place. We were told that it was going to lead to the collapse of the economy, to the collapse of house prices, to the end of fresh fruit and veg being sold in shops, and even to no more Magnum ice creams. I think we were even going to run out of Viagra as well at one point. The reality is that none of those scare stories has happened, but it is a bit ironic that the right hon. Lady, the leader of the Plaid Cymru group, is demanding that we rejoin the European Union while at the same time wanting to take Wales out of one of the most successful financial unions—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Secretary of State, I am this way, not that way, and you are getting a little carried away. There are a few more questions, and Liz Saville Roberts has another one for you.

[Liz Saville Roberts]

That is a Brexit fantasy, and now we look at the wonder of the UK. Northern Ireland is set to receive over £3 billion and a fairer funding settlement from the Treasury, which I welcome. That includes millions of pounds to help balance budgets. Meanwhile in Wales, councillors face a budget black hole of £646 million, which is set to decimate our social services over the next three years. These cuts will be devastating for people left without resources during the cost of living crisis. As Wales’s man in the Cabinet, what has the Secretary of State done to demand equivalent fair funding for Wales?

[David T. C. Davies]

First, I must point out to the right hon. Lady that, since leaving the European Union, our growth rate has been better than that of Germany, and our manufacturing has now exceeded that of France. As far as fair funding for Wales is concerned, we receive 20% more per head to spend on devolved services than is spent in England. One thing the right hon. Lady and I might agree on is that it is high time the Welsh Labour Government explained why we have longer waiting lists and lower educational standards, despite having more money to spend on devolved services.

Oral Answers to Questions

Liz Saville Roberts Excerpts

Wednesday 18th October 2023 Commons Chamber

[Dr Davies]

I welcome the hon. Member to her position. She shares Welsh lessons with me, and I hope she will continue to do so. I urge her to be somewhat more positive about the £1 billion that has been announced for infrastructure development in north Wales by means of the electrification. Also, in terms of the steel industry at Port Talbot, the half a billion pounds has saved many jobs and means that decarbonisation can occur.

[Liz Saville Roberts (Dwyfor Meirionnydd) (PC)]

HS2 is

“going to benefit Wales, it’s going to benefit people in North Wales who will benefit from better access at Crewe to London.”

That was the Secretary of State’s central argument for withholding billions of pounds from Wales by claiming that HS2 benefits us. Now that the link at Crewe is another casualty of Tory chaos, will Wales Office Ministers stay true to their own logic and urge the Treasury to class HS2 as English-only?

[Dr Davies]

As the right hon. Lady knows, rail infrastructure is not devolved. I would argue that investment in Great Britain’s rail infrastructure is of value to those in north Wales and the rest of Wales. Furthermore, HS2 is an important connection to the west midlands from London. Passengers from London to north Wales are likely to still use that.

[Liz Saville Roberts]

We all know that the money that has been committed is illustrative. In a major boost to Plaid Cymru’s campaign, the National Infrastructure Commission for Wales has proposed devolving the Crown estate and reinvesting profits in communities through a sovereign wealth fund. The commission criticised the current system of wealth transfer from the poorest country in Britain to Westminster as “illogical and bizarre”. Whose side is the Minister on: Welsh communities or a system that extracts our natural wealth?

[Dr Davies]

We have had this discussion on previous occasions in various settings, but I would argue that the Crown estate allows this country to share risks and opportunities that it deals with. It does a fantastic job and I simply do not agree.

Oral Answers to Questions

Liz Saville Roberts Excerpts

Wednesday 5th July 2023 Commons Chamber

[David T. C. Davies]

It is deeply disappointing that on the 75th anniversary of the National Health Service, the Welsh Labour Government, which are responsible for healthcare in Wales, are unable to provide the same level of service as that received by patients who live under a Conservative-run Government running the NHS in England. It is deeply unfair that patients in Wales are waiting longer for treatment and wait longer in accident and emergency, and that those who draw attention to allegations of misspending of more than £100 million in the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board have been sacked from their jobs.

[Liz Saville Roberts (Dwyfor Meirionnydd) (PC)]

Diolch yn fawr iawn, Lefarydd. One in five people in Wales is facing hunger. On the NHS’s 75th birthday, we must break the vicious cycle where poverty fuels hunger and, consequently, poor health. As the Secretary of State is a staunch believer in the power of the Union, I would like to pose him a challenge: would he be willing to stake his support for the Union on its ability to eradicate food poverty in Wales by the end of the Tories’ time in office?

[David T. C. Davies]

I assure the right hon. Lady that my support for the Union is absolute. It is because we are in a powerful Union that we have been able to spend £94 billion on cost of living support, which has meant that pensions, benefits and the minimum wage have all gone up in line with inflation. If the right hon. Lady is concerned about food poverty, I hope she will talk to her friends in the Welsh Labour Government, which her colleagues are propping up, about the ridiculous proposal to ban meal deals.

[Liz Saville Roberts]

I will take that as a no. Perhaps I can give him another go to prove that Wales gets added value from the Union. English water companies can extract the equivalent of almost 480 Olympic swimming pools of water from Wales every day. Among those companies is Thames Water, which paid over £200 million in dividends over the past five years. Can he explain to households in Wales why the profits gained from extracting our country’s natural resources are benefiting profiteers and not our communities?

[David T. C. Davies]

The right hon. Lady will be well aware that the way in which water companies are run is rather more complicated than that. She will also be aware that there is a nationalised water company in Scotland and we have a not-for-profit water company in Wales, and yet in both Wales and Scotland average bills are higher, and so are spills into the rivers—[Interruption.] Mr Speaker, SNP Members can say what they want. They are presiding over a situation where there are more sewage spills going into the water in Scotland than there are in England.

Oral Answers to Questions

Liz Saville Roberts Excerpts

Wednesday 24th May 2023 Commons Chamber

[David T. C. Davies]

I have no idea who would be paying for the hon. Gentleman’s proposals—no doubt they are among the many things that will be paid for using the same tax about half a dozen times. He will no doubt be pleased that today inflation is down yet again, and the Government are well on course for achieving their target of cutting inflation by half as well as growing the economy.

[Liz Saville Roberts (Dwyfor Meirionnydd) (PC)]

None the less, food inflation remains above 19%, and it hits the poorest hardest, with the Trussell Trust warning that the past year saw a record 185,000 food parcels provided in Wales. Meanwhile, supermarkets continue to make record-breaking profits—many speak of a greedflation crisis. European Governments have negotiated with supermarkets to cap food prices. Why will the Secretary of State’s Government not do that, too?

[David T. C. Davies]

I have already mentioned some of the help and support that the Government have given to the least well-off. I remind the right hon. Lady that, in addition to pensions and benefits rising in line with inflation, there are payments of £900 to those on benefits, £300 to pensioners and £150 to those in households with disability. Quite frankly, if she is seriously worried about food inflation, she should be talking to her colleagues in the Welsh Labour Government who are propping up the Welsh Labour Government about their ridiculous proposals to ban meal deals, which would make meals even more expensive for people in Wales.

[Liz Saville Roberts]

It is a good job somebody is protecting Wales, because Tory Brexit has served Wales badly. The European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 and the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020 have grabbed the Senedd’s powers, and paltry post-Brexit funding is robbing Wales of millions. Enough is enough. The House of Lords recently passed Lord Wigley’s Government of Wales (Devolved Powers) Bill to prevent any change to the Senedd’s powers without a two-thirds vote majority from Members of the Senedd. Will the Secretary of State support Plaid Cymru’s Bill and ensure time for debate, or is he happy to see the people of Wales lose the powers for which they have voted time and again?

[David T. C. Davies]

Far from taking powers away from the Welsh Government, the Conservative Government have, on a number of occasions, actually increased powers to the Welsh Government. By leaving the European Union, we have repatriated powers from Brussels, where we were being governed by an unelectable elite, and brought them back to both Westminster and Cardiff. If the right hon. Lady wants to stop money being wasted, she should have a word with her colleagues in Plaid Cymru, who are propping up the Welsh Labour Government as they waste hundreds of millions of pounds in the Betsi Cadwaladr health service, hundreds of millions of pounds on an airport with no planes, and over £100 million on plans for a relief road that will never get built.

Oral Answers to Questions

Liz Saville Roberts Excerpts

Wednesday 19th April 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Plaid Cymru spokesperson.

[Liz Saville Roberts (Dwyfor Meirionnydd) (PC)]

My constituents Malcolm Atherton and Beth Cluer run a café in Trawsfynydd, and they have had to face making the heartbreaking decision to hibernate their business in the face of cripplingly high energy bills. Small and medium-sized businesses are the beating heart of the Welsh economy and employ 62.6% of Welsh workers, yet they received no additional support with their energy bills from the Chancellor in the spring Budget. To ensure that Malcolm and Beth can one day reopen their café, will the Secretary of State be urging his colleagues in the Treasury to increase the energy support available to small businesses?

[David T. C. Davies]

The right hon. Lady will be aware that the Government have provided an unprecedented package of subsidies for businesses through this winter worth £18 billion—those were figures set out by the Office for Budget Responsibility—and, in addition, there have been things such as the freeze on fuel duty. I am very sorry to hear about the circumstances that some individual businesses face, but I can absolutely assure the right hon. Lady that supporting businesses through this difficult time remains a priority for this Conservative Government.

[Liz Saville Roberts]

Of course, businesses that are off grid have suffered another experience and a lack of support, but with your tolerance, Mr Speaker, I would like to take the opportunity to raise another matter with the Secretary of State.

Thames Water wastes 630 million litres of water every day through leaky pipes. Rather than fix this environmentally baffling waste, they are planning on moving vast volumes of water from Wales instead. Our natural resources are being diverted elsewhere without recompense, and without consultation with local people either. He says he is Wales’s man in Cabinet. Will he prove it by activating section 48 of the Wales Act 2017 so that decisions about Wales’s resources are made by the people of Wales in Wales?

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Can I just say to the right hon. Lady that I have a lot of people trying to get in and that this is unfair? You do get the two questions. Please do not take advantage of the rest of the Chamber.

Spring Budget: Wales

Liz Saville Roberts Excerpts

Wednesday 29th March 2023 Westminster Hall

[Liz Saville Roberts (Dwyfor Meirionnydd) (PC)]

Does the hon. Member agree that there is a discrepancy here? If UK Departments do not spend all their money within the financial year, it goes back to central UK Government. Surely, under any rational devolution settlement, there should be the same arrangement for Wales, so that if money is not spent by certain Departments in Welsh Government, it remains in Wales.

[Ruth Jones]

The right hon. Member makes the point perfectly well; that rule would be fair. Opposition Members will pick this issue up in the coming days, along with the issue of the inadequacies of the spring Budget, because it is a new case of robbing Wales to pay Westminster, and it cannot go on. We have seen this before with High Speed 2, an England-only project that should, according to a Welsh Affairs Committee report of 2021, be classified as such. The acknowledgment of this simple truth, which I and cross-party Welsh MPs spelled out to the Government nearly two years ago, would give Wales the £5 billion it is owed. We are seeing the same thing play out again with the Northern Powerhouse Rail project; that is another £1 billion that could and should have gone to Wales. That money would have a real and substantial effect there, but it has been withheld. The Secretary of State for Wales may have entirely ducked responsibility for his Government’s role in this matter, but we will not let this go.

Growth was downgraded in this Tory Budget. That will surprise nobody in Wales who is battling with rising inflation, rising energy bills and rising food costs. That is why Labour will not allow Wales to keep bumping along this path of managed decline from Westminster. I mentioned my constituent Dawn Jones in the Budget debate in the Chamber last week, and I mention her again here. She is a pensioner living in Caerleon who has worked all her life and now cannot afford to put the heating on. She has not had it on all winter because of the expense, and every time she goes to buy anything in the supermarket, she finds it has increased in price. She wrote to my office and said: 

“I am really struggling now with all these increases and do not know how I am going to pay my way; I am worried to death!”

It seems like every other day my constituency office receives more cases of desperate people who have found themselves at the end of the options for help and support. It is heartbreaking, and to be quite frank, it makes me deeply angry with those who have made the political choice to put my constituents in that position.

--- Later in debate ---

[Virginia Crosbie (Ynys Môn) (Con)]

Prynhawn da. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Hollobone, in this important debate. I would like to say congratulations—llongyfarchiadau—and put on record my thanks to the UK Government for a Budget that is good news for my constituents on Anglesey, for Wales, and for the UK.

Before the Budget was announced, the Finance Minister in the Labour Government in Cardiff stated that:

“The Chancellor has the powers to…ease the challenges being experienced by households and businesses”,

and to

“support those most vulnerable—including practical actions to support people with energy costs, housing needs and welfare benefits.”

The Chancellor delivered. The energy price guarantee was kept at £2,500. There were new childcare plans to help working-age people get back into work, with 30 hours’ free childcare for children aged from nine months to four years—in England, at least; I understand there is still some doubt about what Wales will do with its share of the funding. I hope the Minister will enlighten us in his closing remarks. There is a new universal support scheme to help disabled people who want to work to do so, worth up to £4,000 per person.

Housing is a devolved matter. However, the Labour Government in Cardiff could have used some of their £155 million underspend, instead of always asking UK taxpayers for more and more money. I am delighted that the Chancellor delivered way more for Welsh people in the spring Budget than would have been delivered under the relatively low aspirations of Labour.

[Liz Saville Roberts]

The hon. Lady raised the matter of housing. It is worth considering the local housing allowance, the perimeters of which are set by the UK Government. Does she share my concern about a constituent of mine at Aberllenfenni, who faces an increase of £150 month in rent set by her landlord? No more can be paid in local housing allowance, because that is set at a lower level, at 25% of private rents. Does she agree that that should be raised by Westminster to 30%, to support people in private rental arrangements?

[Virginia Crosbie]

I thank the right hon. Member for her intervention. My concern is that Labour in Cardiff should be building more homes that people want, in locations where they want to live, including for young people starting off their life.

In addition to delivering the day-to-day support that people need with the cost of living crisis, caused by Russia’s illegal war against Ukraine, the UK Government have delivered hope, and a promise of long-term prosperity in Wales. We need to grasp that with both hands and work together for the benefit of the Welsh people. We have seen what working together in a constructive way means for Wales. It means a freeport on Anglesey, with 13,000 new jobs and £1 billion in economic investment.

The Budget is an example of how this Conservative Government are investing in Wales, and levelling up communities both north and south. Families across north Wales see that the UK Government, rather than the Labour one in Cardiff, are supporting the region with long-term investment and good-quality jobs. I was delighted that £20 million for the refurbishment of the Holyhead breakwater was announced in the Budget. That investment in a vital piece of infrastructure is important if we are to keep Holyhead from flooding, and are to attract new investment to the port—the second busiest roll-on, roll-off port in the UK. That follows the announcement of £17 million from the levelling-up fund to regenerate Holyhead town centre.

The funding will attract new investment and good-quality, long-term job opportunities for local people across the whole island. It will give Ynys Môn a new lease of life, and turbocharge the island’s economy. My island has one of the lowest levels of gross value added in the UK, with high levels of temporary and seasonal work. Every year, we lose young people, who move in search of decent employment elsewhere. My dad had to leave Wales to find work. These investments will ensure that other young people do not have to leave Wales. The UK Government are investing to protect our island’s communities and our Welsh language.

It is the nuclear energy announcements in the Budget that will have the greatest long-term impact on the people and economy of Ynys Môn, and across the whole of north Wales. That point was highlighted when the Chancellor mentioned Ynys Môn in his speech. Earlier this month, I wrote a letter to the Prime Minister, co-signed by 57 of my right hon. and hon. Friends, asking him to push ahead with Great British Nuclear, and to make new nuclear energy part of our green taxonomy. The steps the Chancellor took in the spring Budget underline the Government’s commitment to our long-term energy security and net zero. With energy independence and jobs in new nuclear, alongside renewable energy production, this country can become a more prosperous and balanced economy.

The Budget was overwhelmingly positive for nuclear in the UK: there was the launch of Great British Nuclear, and the labelling of nuclear as environmentally sustainable in the green taxonomy. It was also great to hear the Chancellor’s commitment to nuclear providing a quarter of Britain’s electricity. That means a massive ramp-up of new nuclear projects on a scale that we have not seen for a very long time. What does that mean for Wales? It means opportunity. GBN will make the delivery of new nuclear projects, including in Wales, much more efficient, enabling us to build vital new stations more quickly than ever before.

--- Later in debate ---

[Beth Winter]

I beg to differ. If we look at local governments, there are very few with any significant reserves. For example, my local authority has experienced cuts in excess of £90 million since the start of austerity, and it has tapped into reserves significantly to meet the shortfall. I think the figure was about £30 million in the last year, although do not quote me on that. That is already happening, and local authorities do not have the reserves to which the right hon. Gentleman referred.

In terms of EU structural funds, Wales faces a £1.1 billion shortfall in funding—so much for “not a penny less, not a power lost”. I am interested to hear the Minister’s explanation for the significant shortfall in funding post EU.

On the levelling-up fund and the shared prosperity fund, the Tories’ record is one of failure, and the announcements in the Budget do very little to reverse more than a decade of austerity. One year on from the levelling-up White Paper, most places have lost out in the scramble for levelling-up funding. Millions have been wasted in the application process. Bids have been eaten up by inflation. My constituency has not received a penny, nor have other valley constituencies such as Blaenau Gwent or Torfaen. The UK Government’s shared prosperity fund was to replace EU structural funds, but funds have been cut, and the Welsh Government have been completely cut out of that process.

[Liz Saville Roberts]

I am sure that the hon. Lady shares my concerns and those of Welsh universities, which face a risk to 1,000 jobs and 60 research projects because European structural funds are coming to a close. I am sure she will join me in asking the Minister whether the Government intend to come up with a £71 million bridging fund to enable Welsh universities to survive the period in which they are waiting for funding.

[Beth Winter]

I am just coming on to the university sector, where I worked for 10 years as a researcher and a trade union representative. Indeed, universities in Wales have been at the forefront of green growth and research in Wales and internationally, but with EU structural funding coming to an end, they face the loss of more than 1,000 skilled jobs, as the right hon. Lady said.

Swansea University, where I worked for many years, has been delivering on 50 projects awarded total grants of £150 million from EU structural funds. We have only to look at some of those projects—ASTUTE 2020 and SPECIFIC 2—to get a sense of that cutting-edge research. I was involved in lots of those projects; outstanding work is being undertaken. Universities have written to the Welsh Affairs Committee to say that there is little emphasis on research and innovation within the shared prosperity fund, and wider reforms of the funds are needed.

However, there was absolutely nothing in the Budget to deal with the failings of so-called levelling up and the shared prosperity fund. As the right hon. Member for Dwyfor Meirionnydd (Liz Saville Roberts) said, I am interested to hear the Minister’s response on how the Government will address the shortfall, with all those jobs at risk from the end of this month, as I understand it. Over 1,000 jobs could be lost in Wales.

Moving on to the legacy of the coal mines, the UK Government continue to benefit unduly from their share of the national mineworkers’ pension scheme. They should be paying that money to former mineworkers and their families, many of whom live in Cynon Valley. It is a continued failure of this Government that they have not funded the £600 million legacy costs of making the coal tips safe in Wales. As I said, we created the wealth in the south Wales valley. People sacrificed their lives in many instances. We deserve our fair share of that wealth back.

The UK Government’s record on housing is one of failure. The Bevan Foundation, which has been cited, has undertaken comprehensive research. Evidence shows that there is a shortage of properties to rent, and the local housing allowance rates set by the Tories do not cover real-world market rents. The data found that 75% of Welsh local authorities did not have a single property available at LHA rates, and just 1.2% of rental market properties advertised across Wales were available at LHA rates. The Bevan Foundation has called for rates to be uplifted, and for the collection of better, more comprehensive data from the private rental sector, yet the Budget again said nothing. I want to hear the Minister’s response to the issues with the LHA in Wales, which is a reserved matter.

On transport, the UK Government have continued the lie of designating not only HS2, but now Northern Powerhouse Rail as England and Wales projects, which should result in a total of £6 billion for the Welsh economy.

The Budget shows how urgently we need a change of Government in the UK. We need a completely different economic approach to deliver a new funding settlement for public services, and fully funded, inflation-proof pay rises for workers. We need the wealthiest in society finally to pay their fair share of tax. While the Tories will not do it, Wales requires fair, needs-based funding to be able to do what we want to do, which is to address the levels of inequality that are completely unacceptable and completely avoidable. The UK Government need to stop riding roughshod over the devolution settlement. The Budget showed why we need a UK Labour Government, who will work hand in hand with the Welsh Government to deliver and level up, lifting incomes and living standards and building an economy for future generations. Diolch yn fawr.

--- Later in debate ---

[Ben Lake (Ceredigion) (PC)]

Diolch, Mr Hollobone; it is an honour to serve under your chairmanship. I congratulate the hon. Member for Newport West (Ruth Jones) on securing this important debate. It is a pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr (Jonathan Edwards). I fear that I need not reiterate many of his points in my own speech because he made them so eloquently and effectively.

Before I address the substance of the spring Budget, it would be remiss of me not to comment on the report published earlier this week by the Senedd’s Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee, which found that due to a budget underspend in 2021-22, the Welsh Government breached the limits of the Welsh reserve. Other Members have commented on that this afternoon. I would just add, echoing the point made by my right hon. Friend the Member for Dwyfor Meirionnydd (Liz Saville Roberts), that it cannot be right—it is certainly inconsistent and illogical—that any underspend in a UK Government Department returns to the UK Government, but the same does not apply to any underspend in Welsh Government Departments.

I turn to the issues facing the spring Budget. High on the agenda was the rising cost of living. Much has been made of the measures included in the Budget that aimed to support households and businesses with energy costs. We have heard comments to that effect this afternoon. The Chancellor was right to identify that as a key concern, but given that energy bills are still expected to increase by some 17% next year, the Budget did not go far enough. To help families see out the spring, the Government could and should have considered extending the energy bills support scheme.

I do not dismiss the extension of the energy price guarantee, which will be a great service to a lot of people across Wales, but the measure does not offer the 74% of my constituents living in off-grid homes support with their fuel costs. There should be further support for off-grid households; I would welcome a further round of the alternative fuel payment, for example. It is difficult to deny the inconsistency in the level of support offered to off-grid households compared with those connected to the mains gas grid, and I am sure the Government would want to address that.

Meanwhile, small businesses have been left without any additional support with energy costs. We know of the increased percentage of business insolvencies last year in England and Wales. I fear that we will see a further escalation in insolvencies this year, unless the UK Government expand the energy bills discount scheme or at least require energy companies to allow small businesses to renegotiate their contracts early in order to reflect falling prices.

I mentioned that 74% of properties in my constituency of Ceredigion are not connected to the mains gas grid. Much has been made of the plight of households and rightly so, but for off-grid businesses, the situation is quite acute. They have been offered only a one-off payment of £150. We do not need to be experts in business to know that that falls woefully short of reflecting the increase in energy prices that these off-grid businesses have experienced over the past 18 months to two years.

Let us remember that these off-grid businesses are local post offices, village shops, swimming pools, and rural factories in Ceredigion—key pillars of rural society and economy, and the lack of meaningful support has placed them at a competitive disadvantage to those companies connected to the mains gas grid. When we consider that most off-grid businesses are located in rural areas, that failure surely flies in the face of the UK Government’s professed levelling-up agenda.

Of course, part of the long-term solution to bringing down energy bills for both households and businesses is to improve the energy efficiency of our buildings. I have previously called for the £6 billion committed to energy efficiency in the autumn statement last year to be brought forward in the term of this Parliament, but it is critical that the current energy company obligation schemes—the ECO schemes—are delivered properly.

E.ON Energy estimates that as of December 2022, only 11% of the ECO4 scheme obligation had been delivered, compared with an expected delivery rate of some 19%. By comparison, at the same point during the ECO3 scheme, it estimated that 29% of the obligation had been delivered.

The company has suggested that inflation is partly to blame for this underperformance, having escalated costs beyond the funding assumptions originally set for the installations. But it is also important to note that the scoring limitations of the scheme have set the bar far too high for the minimum improvements required for a property to be eligible for support under the scheme. The result is that many eligible households fail to secure an installer willing to undertake work on their properties. This is something the Government need to review with some urgency.

I now want to take a step back from the immediate issues facing households and society more broadly, and look at the longer-term problems. I echo many of the points that the hon. Member for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr made in his very eloquent speech. I agree that this Budget wasted an opportunity to tackle some of these longer-term productivity issues that have hampered prosperity in Wales for decades. I am concerned that businesses in Wales, particularly in rural areas, risk being left behind due to poor digital connectivity. For example, gigabit connectivity in Wales stands at some 50% compared to the UK average of 68%, and—as always—the problem is far more acute in rural areas, with only 27% of Ceredigion connected to gigabit internet.

We cannot allow rural areas to miss out on productivity-boosting technologies, whether that means simple broadband connectivity or the integration of new AI technologies. I therefore urge the UK Government to release the funding allocated to Project Gigabit without delay and in accordance with recommendations set out in the report of the Select Committee on Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. In addition, the Government should consider accelerating the timescales for the roll-out of gigabit broadband in very hard-to-reach areas, which often lack both fast broadband and a 4G signal. Sadly, many are located in my constituency of Ceredigion, and I know that the Minister is deeply aware of the impact of such notspots on the people living there.

The National Infrastructure Commission for Wales estimated that it would cost about £1.3 billion to connect every property in Wales with fibre-to-the-home technology, yet the Government have only released £1.2 billion of Project Gigabit funding so far for the entire UK. There is a real opportunity to boost productivity in all parts of the United Kingdom, if only the Government were willing to bring forward some of the funding that they have already allocated for this purpose. If fibre-to-the-home technology is too challenging in the short term, let us instead see greater effort made to expand projects designed to target very hard-to-reach areas, such as the rural small cell projects or work on gigabit-capable, fixed wireless access technology.

There must also be a way to reform the self-defeating systems that currently see fibre taken to the curtilage of some rural properties only for residents to be forced to pay exorbitant excess construction charges if they want that connection extended to their actual home—in other words, if they actually want it to work. In rural areas, where the curtilage of a property may lie some distance from the house, this is proving a real barrier to improved connectivity.

Another key area that should be prioritised if we are to boost the Welsh economy is, of course, renewable energy. Others are far more informed than I am on this topic and could make contributions, so I will just say that we have considerable generation potential along the Welsh coastline in both marine renewables and offshore wind, and an opportunity to seize a first-mover advantage in technologies such as offshore floating wind and become a world leader in the manufacture of components, and in the export of skills and expertise into a growing global market.

[Liz Saville Roberts]

There is a risk that we keep repeating ourselves, but there is a reason for us to do so. In Scotland, the Crown Estate 12 miles out to sea is devolved to Scotland, so that policy can be made in relation to it and the profits that arise from the Crown Estate remain in Scotland. Why, if it is good enough for Scotland, is it not good enough for Wales?

[Ben Lake]

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for posing that question. It is indeed a question that keeps me up at night. Why is it good enough for Scotland but not good enough for Wales? Perhaps the Minister will address that point when he winds up.

The Welsh Affairs Committee recently published a report setting out that offshore floating wind technology could represent the single biggest investment opportunity in Wales for decades, and recommended that the UK Government take the necessary steps to ensure that its potential is realised. I very much hope that they do.

Wales desperately needs an economic strategy capable of providing adequate funding for its public services, reducing poverty, improving incomes and ensuring that we realise our potential contribution to the global effort of tackling climate change—a strategy that, I am afraid to say, the spring Budget did not deliver.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Dr James Davies)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Hollobone. I congratulate the hon. Member for Newport West (Ruth Jones) on securing this important debate, which has triggered many views from opposing directions. I am grateful to all those who have contributed, including my hon. Friend the Member for Ynys Môn (Virginia Crosbie), the hon. Members for Cynon Valley (Beth Winter), for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr (Jonathan Edwards), for Ceredigion (Ben Lake) and for Neath (Christina Rees), and of course the Opposition spokesperson, the hon. Member for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney (Gerald Jones).

I am pleased to have this opportunity to discuss the recent spring Budget and my right hon. Friend the Chancellor’s plan for long-term, sustainable, healthy growth in Wales and across the United Kingdom. I will come to the questions raised by hon. Members in due course.

I was incredibly pleased to see my right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Wales on Ynys Môn last week announcing not just one but two new freeports for Wales. The jobs and investment that will come as a result of that announcement will help deliver on our commitments to level up Wales and grow the economy. The fact that we have been able to deliver two freeports for Wales jointly with the Welsh Government is a testament to what can be achieved when the two Governments work together. We saw friendly competitors from Ynys Môn and Preseli Pembrokeshire sitting next to each other earlier, and both of them had a critical role to play in that development, so many thanks to them.

Earlier this month, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor set out a Budget that ensures that the benefits of economic growth are felt everywhere, including in Wales. It promotes the conditions for enterprise to succeed and encourages the inactive back into employment. At the autumn statement in 2022, the Government took the difficult decisions on tax and spending needed to restore economic stability, support public services and lay the foundation for long-term growth. At the spring Budget two weeks ago, the Government built on that foundation with a plan to deliver on three of the Prime Minister’s five key priorities: to get debt falling, halve inflation and grow the economy.

I want first to highlight the funding that the Budget included for multiple projects that will specifically benefit Wales. We are supporting the restoration of the grade II* listed Holyhead breakwater with £20 million of funding for the Welsh Government to ensure the long-term viability of that vital transport hub and, through it, trade links with Ireland.

My right hon. Friend the Chancellor set out that the Government will provide up to £20 billion over the next two decades to support the development of carbon capture, utilisation and storage. That is not something we have heard about today, but the HyNet cluster in north-east Wales and north-west England is already benefiting from our existing £1 billion commitment through the cluster sequencing programme. Decarbonising heavy industry is vital to driving economic growth and creating high-quality, sustainable jobs across the region, while helping us meet our climate commitments. The increased £20 billion ambition will further expand CCUS across industry, which will be vital for economic growth across Wales.

The Government are launching Great British Nuclear to address constraints in the nuclear market and support new nuclear builds as the Government work towards net zero.

[Liz Saville Roberts]

It has already been mentioned that an SMR at the Trawsfynydd site, as well as at Wylfa, is very much in the anticipation. The Minister will be aware that there are proposals for a national medical isotope centre at Trawsfynydd, known as Project ARTHUR. What discussions have there been with the Welsh Government about bringing that forward? There are concerns that there will be a shortage as reactors across Europe and the world cease to produce. When it comes to the medical security of the United Kingdom, there is real potential here.

[Dr Davies]

The right hon. Lady is right to raise that point. If I may, I will write to her with the latest position on that, but she may find that there will be announcements in the relatively near future on Great British Nuclear and its plans, which might assist in that regard. We know that Wales has the best British sites for new nuclear, including Trawsfynydd in her constituency and Wylfa Newydd. I look forward to working with GBN to champion a revived nuclear future for north Wales.

Investment zones were mentioned. Wales, too, will benefit from the Government delivering 12 investment zones across the UK, including at least one in Wales. The programme will provide each successful area with up to £80 million over five years to grow a cluster in one of our key future sectors, bringing investment into areas that have traditionally underperformed economically.

The UK Government are working with the devolved Administrations to develop an investment zone programme for each of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. In addition, the UK Government and devolved Administrations will work together to explore potential options for delivery of new levelling-up partnerships in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, such as those announced for England by the Chancellor in the Budget.

The Budget set out a number of measures that will create the right conditions for enterprise in Wales in all sectors, based on competitive taxes, access to capital and smarter regulation. We will support growth in Wales by attracting the most productive companies to set up, invest and grow in Wales and in the rest of the UK. We expect about 220,000 businesses in Wales to benefit from a range of administrative changes to simplify the tax system, allowing Welsh small and medium-sized enterprises to spend more time on their business and less on meeting their tax obligations.

During the debate, there were a multitude of questions on all sorts of issues. I will do my best to address as many of those as possible. I should declare first that I am a member of the British Medical Association, although I do not expect to benefit from the pension changes myself. Last week, I met the chair of the BMA, Philip Banfield, whom I know from his time as a consultant at Glan Clwyd Hospital. Glan Clwyd, like many in Wales, is struggling, as the Healthcare Inspectorate Wales report has detailed yet again today, so anything that can help to retain senior doctors’ hours and their presence in departments is certainly to be welcomed.

Oral Answers to Questions

Liz Saville Roberts Excerpts

Wednesday 1st March 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call Liz Saville Roberts.

[Liz Saville Roberts (Dwyfor Meirionnydd) (PC)]

Diolch yn fawr iawn, Lefarydd, a dydd gŵyl Dewi hapus i chithau ac i bawb—happy St. David’s Day to everybody.

Although the Minister might blame the mountains, it is evident that poor connectivity in rural areas is clearly one of the factors holding businesses back. Another is trade barriers, particularly for Holyhead. Pre-Brexit, about 30% of all trade through the port went on to Northern Ireland from Dublin. That trade has collapsed and it is not protected by green lanes. Stena Line says that there needs to be a solution to this disparity. Can he come up with a solution to protect Holyhead from his Government’s policy?

[Dr Davies]

The right hon. Lady recently attended a debate that I responded to in Westminster Hall, where she was making the case for a freeport in Holyhead. She knows that there are opportunities, through freeports, to boost the trade through Holyhead and other ports in Wales that are seeking the same designation. I urge her to continue that fight.

[Liz Saville Roberts]

I urge his Government to come forward with news, because Wales desperately needs two freeports at least.

The Prime Minister said yesterday that Northern Ireland is in the “unbelievably special position” of having privileged access not just to the UK market, but hey, to the EU single market. That is an excellent argument for Plaid Cymru’s policy to rejoin the single market. Why is it not good enough for Wales?

[Dr Davies]

Wales voted to leave the EU quite decisively. The right hon. Lady knows that the situation in Northern Ireland is really quite different from that in Wales, and this is a carefully put together deal to accommodate that situation. I feel quite sure that the EU is not in the business of allowing what she suggests.