Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what discussions she has had with her counterpart in the Welsh Government on how much and what proportion of the £450 million investment in Welsh railways will be spent in the current spending review period; and whether her Department has issued guidance to Network Rail on the expected delivery schedule for that funding.
Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales
The UK Government has announced at least £445 million for rail enhancements in Wales, to right years of underfunding by previous Conservative Governments and unleash Wales’ economic potential.
The vast majority of this investment will be spent in this Spending Review period, with a small amount profiled beyond this Spending Review period to help the development of the next set of projects.
This will mean new stations, more and faster trains on the key lines across North and South Wales, connecting people with the new, well-paid jobs we are creating across Wales.
The UK Government will set out more detail on the pipeline of projects that we will deliver very shortly.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, if she will provide a breakdown by operations, maintenance, renewals and enhancement of funding committed by the UK Government to Welsh railways between 2025–26 and 2028–29.
Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales
Estimated Operations, Maintenance and Renewals (OMR) expenditure for Wales during Control Period (CP) 7 is broken down as follows:
2024-25 - £502 million
2025-26 - £447 million
2026-27 - £503 million
2027-28 - £499 million
2028-29 - £487 million
In addition to this, the UK Government has announced at least £445 million for rail enhancements in Wales, to right years of underfunding by previous Conservative Governments and unleash Wales’ economic potential.
This will mean new stations, more and faster trains on the key lines across North and South Wales, connecting people with the new, well-paid jobs we are creating across Wales.
The UK Government will set out more detail on the pipeline of projects that we will deliver very shortly.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what discussions she has had with her counterpart in the Welsh Government on how much of the £445 million funding for Welsh railways will be spent on (a) electrification, (b) railway station development, (c) railway station development and track upgrade and (d) any other category of expenditure.
Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales
I have regular discussions with Welsh Government Ministers on a range of issues, including this Government’s historic investment in Welsh rail.
The UK Government has announced at least £445 million for rail enhancements in Wales, to right years of underfunding by previous Conservative Governments and unleash Wales’ economic potential.
This will mean new stations, more and faster trains on the key lines across North and South Wales, connecting people with the new, well-paid jobs we are creating across Wales.
The UK Government will set out more detail on the pipeline of projects that we will deliver very shortly.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, whether the investment announced for Welsh railways forms part of a multi-year funding settlement; and how much of the investment is guaranteed beyond 2025–26, including planned spend in 2026–27 and 2027–28.
Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales
The UK Government has announced at least £445 million for rail enhancements in Wales, to right years of underfunding by previous Conservative Governments and unleash Wales’ economic potential. The vast majority of this investment will be spent in this Spending Review period.
This investment will mean new stations, more and faster trains on the key lines across North and South Wales, connecting people with the new, well-paid jobs we are creating across Wales.
The UK Government will set out more detail on the pipeline of projects that we will deliver very shortly.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when will the Copthorne Hotel Gatwick Airport cease to provide asylum accommodation.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government inherited a broken asylum system, with tens of thousands stuck in a backlog and claims not being processed, wasting millions in taxpayer money. We will empty asylum hotels as soon as possible, and by the end of this Parliament. That is a complex process that must be delivered through a controlled, managed and orderly plan of work.
For the safety, security, and wellbeing of those we accommodate, we do not publicly comment on individual hotels which may or may not be utilised by the Home Office, nor do we provide details of those we accommodate at any site.
The latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of supported asylum seekers accommodated in each local authority area. These statistics can be found at Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seekers at the Copthorne Hotel London Gatwick are (a) single males and (b) family groups for which the latest data is available.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government inherited a broken asylum system, with tens of thousands stuck in a backlog and claims not being processed, wasting millions in taxpayer money. We will empty asylum hotels as soon as possible, and by the end of this Parliament. That is a complex process that must be delivered through a controlled, managed and orderly plan of work.
For the safety, security, and wellbeing of those we accommodate, we do not publicly comment on individual hotels which may or may not be utilised by the Home Office, nor do we provide details of those we accommodate at any site.
The latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of supported asylum seekers accommodated in each local authority area. These statistics can be found at Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seekers have been (a) moved from the Copthorne Hotel since 22 January and (b) are still located at the site.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government inherited a broken asylum system, with tens of thousands stuck in a backlog and claims not being processed, wasting millions in taxpayer money. We will empty asylum hotels as soon as possible, and by the end of this Parliament. That is a complex process that must be delivered through a controlled, managed and orderly plan of work.
For the safety, security, and wellbeing of those we accommodate, we do not publicly comment on individual hotels which may or may not be utilised by the Home Office, nor do we provide details of those we accommodate at any site.
The latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of supported asylum seekers accommodated in each local authority area. These statistics can be found at Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).