Asked by: Llinos Medi (Plaid Cymru - Ynys Môn)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the impact of delays by the Valuation Office Agency in undertaking tax band valuations for holiday let accommodation in Wales on the amount of Council Tax charged on these properties.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)
Since the legislative changes introduced on 1 April 2023, the Valuation Office (VO), which is part of HMRC, has seen a sustained increase in case volumes.
The VO are working hard to bring response times down and clear cases within 90 days. Additional resources have been allocated to self-catering cases, including the centralisation of the team to improve efficiency and processing times. The VO have also dedicated resources to look at the most challenging cases and requests where customers are experiencing financial hardship. Additionally, as part of HMRC’s Transformation Roadmap update 2026 The VO have pledged to reduce the average time for the VO to make a decision on self-catering properties to one month by October 2027
The VO is responsible for assessing properties for Council Tax and business rates purposes, whereas local councils are responsible for billing. As this is devolved to the Welsh Government, it would be for their Ministers to comment on any impact made on the amount of Council Tax that has been collected.
Asked by: Llinos Medi (Plaid Cymru - Ynys Môn)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to address delays by the Valuation Office Agency in undertaking tax band valuations for holiday let accommodation in Wales.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)
Since the legislative changes introduced on 1 April 2023, the Valuation Office (VO), which is part of HMRC, has seen a sustained increase in case volumes.
The VO are working hard to bring response times down and clear cases within 90 days. Additional resources have been allocated to self-catering cases, including the centralisation of the team to improve efficiency and processing times. The VO have also dedicated resources to look at the most challenging cases and requests where customers are experiencing financial hardship. Additionally, as part of HMRC’s Transformation Roadmap update 2026 The VO have pledged to reduce the average time for the VO to make a decision on self-catering properties to one month by October 2027
The VO is responsible for assessing properties for Council Tax and business rates purposes, whereas local councils are responsible for billing. As this is devolved to the Welsh Government, it would be for their Ministers to comment on any impact made on the amount of Council Tax that has been collected.
Asked by: Llinos Medi (Plaid Cymru - Ynys Môn)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment has her department made of the potential merits of moving policy costs from domestic energy bills into general taxation.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)
At last year’s Budget, the Chancellor took the decision to fund 75% of the domestic share of the Renewables Obligation through the Exchequer and ended the levy-funded Energy Company Obligation. These decisions took on average £150 of costs off household energy bills and are forecast to reduce inflation by over 0.2 percentage points in 2026/27.
The government keeps all taxes under review and is introducing a new framework to subject levies to enhanced scrutiny and ensure they are affordable, reflect good value for money, and do not impose unnecessary costs.
Asked by: Llinos Medi (Plaid Cymru - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Children and Families during the debate on Universities: Statutory Duty of Care of 13 January 2026, Official Report, column 302WH, what the evidential basis is for the statement that introducing a statutory duty of care in higher education “risks becoming a ceiling rather than a floor” in institutional standards.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
The government recognises the importance of ensuring that higher education (HE) providers maintain high standards of student safety and wellbeing. The department’s position is that HE providers already owe a general duty of care to deliver educational and pastoral services to the standard of an ordinarily competent institution and, in carrying out these services, they are expected to act reasonably.
Such a duty of care may already arise in certain circumstances, depending on the facts of individual cases.
The department has considered a range of evidence on variation in student support, including official statistics, coroners’ reports, case reviews, and engagement with providers, students and experts, as well as the National Review of Higher Education Student Suicide Deaths.
This evidence, alongside stakeholder and legal input, has informed concerns about potential unintended consequences of a statutory duty, including increased legal uncertainty, more risk averse practice, and unclear responsibilities between HE providers and other services.
The department recognises that statutory duties of care operate in other sectors, such as health and schools, but differences in context, particularly that HE students are adults, and the unique settings of universities, limit direct comparability. The government continues to strengthen protections through the existing regulatory framework, including work by the Office for Students to develop a Statement of Expectations covering disability and mental health.
Asked by: Llinos Medi (Plaid Cymru - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what comparative analysis of sectors subject to statutory duties of care has been undertaken to support her Department’s assessment of the likely impact of such a duty in higher education.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
The government recognises the importance of ensuring that higher education (HE) providers maintain high standards of student safety and wellbeing. The department’s position is that HE providers already owe a general duty of care to deliver educational and pastoral services to the standard of an ordinarily competent institution and, in carrying out these services, they are expected to act reasonably.
Such a duty of care may already arise in certain circumstances, depending on the facts of individual cases.
The department has considered a range of evidence on variation in student support, including official statistics, coroners’ reports, case reviews, and engagement with providers, students and experts, as well as the National Review of Higher Education Student Suicide Deaths.
This evidence, alongside stakeholder and legal input, has informed concerns about potential unintended consequences of a statutory duty, including increased legal uncertainty, more risk averse practice, and unclear responsibilities between HE providers and other services.
The department recognises that statutory duties of care operate in other sectors, such as health and schools, but differences in context, particularly that HE students are adults, and the unique settings of universities, limit direct comparability. The government continues to strengthen protections through the existing regulatory framework, including work by the Office for Students to develop a Statement of Expectations covering disability and mental health.
Asked by: Llinos Medi (Plaid Cymru - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the evidential basis is for her Department’s concerns regarding unintended consequences of introducing a statutory duty of care in higher education.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
The government recognises the importance of ensuring that higher education (HE) providers maintain high standards of student safety and wellbeing. The department’s position is that HE providers already owe a general duty of care to deliver educational and pastoral services to the standard of an ordinarily competent institution and, in carrying out these services, they are expected to act reasonably.
Such a duty of care may already arise in certain circumstances, depending on the facts of individual cases.
The department has considered a range of evidence on variation in student support, including official statistics, coroners’ reports, case reviews, and engagement with providers, students and experts, as well as the National Review of Higher Education Student Suicide Deaths.
This evidence, alongside stakeholder and legal input, has informed concerns about potential unintended consequences of a statutory duty, including increased legal uncertainty, more risk averse practice, and unclear responsibilities between HE providers and other services.
The department recognises that statutory duties of care operate in other sectors, such as health and schools, but differences in context, particularly that HE students are adults, and the unique settings of universities, limit direct comparability. The government continues to strengthen protections through the existing regulatory framework, including work by the Office for Students to develop a Statement of Expectations covering disability and mental health.
Asked by: Llinos Medi (Plaid Cymru - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has conducted an impact assessment of introducing a statutory duty of care in higher education.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
The government recognises the importance of ensuring that higher education (HE) providers maintain high standards of student safety and wellbeing. The department’s position is that HE providers already owe a general duty of care to deliver educational and pastoral services to the standard of an ordinarily competent institution and, in carrying out these services, they are expected to act reasonably.
Such a duty of care may already arise in certain circumstances, depending on the facts of individual cases.
The department has considered a range of evidence on variation in student support, including official statistics, coroners’ reports, case reviews, and engagement with providers, students and experts, as well as the National Review of Higher Education Student Suicide Deaths.
This evidence, alongside stakeholder and legal input, has informed concerns about potential unintended consequences of a statutory duty, including increased legal uncertainty, more risk averse practice, and unclear responsibilities between HE providers and other services.
The department recognises that statutory duties of care operate in other sectors, such as health and schools, but differences in context, particularly that HE students are adults, and the unique settings of universities, limit direct comparability. The government continues to strengthen protections through the existing regulatory framework, including work by the Office for Students to develop a Statement of Expectations covering disability and mental health.
Asked by: Llinos Medi (Plaid Cymru - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many non-metropolitan county councils in England are supported housing providers.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
This data is not collected centrally by the UK Government.
Asked by: Llinos Medi (Plaid Cymru - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Welsh Government will receive consequential funding as a result of the decision to expand Phase 2 of the Pride in Place programme to an additional 40 places, based on an England-only methodology.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
We are already supporting 14 communities across Wales through the Pride in Place programme, each with up to £20 million of funding to unlock the potential of the place they call home. The recent programme expansion is limited to English neighbourhoods since it is funded from existing MHCLG budgets for England. The governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have already received their share of this funding via their respective block grant.
Asked by: Llinos Medi (Plaid Cymru - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what elements of the Warm Homes Plan will be delivered in Wales by (a) Local authorities and (b) Welsh Government.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
All eligible households in England and Wales can benefit from the expanded Boiler Upgrade Scheme, funded with £2.7 billion to 2030. The Clean Heat Market Mechanism (CHMM) applies to the whole of the UK, as will round 2 of the Heat Pump Investment Accelerator Competition.
The Heat Network Efficiency scheme is open to public, private and third sector grant applicants in England and Wales, and the Heat Network Market Framework also applies in Wales.
New minimum energy efficiency standards in the private rented sector will help to lift households out of fuel poverty in England and Wales.
The Government has also been actively engaging with the Welsh Government on the Warm Homes Agency since Spring 2025. The Agency will only operate in Wales with agreement from the Welsh Government, and discussions to secure this agreement are ongoing.