Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what meetings she has held with the victims and survivors of grooming gangs in Wales since January 2025.
Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales
As the lead department, the Home Office leads on engagement with victims and survivors of grooming gangs across Wales and England. On 16 June 2025, the then Home Secretary made a statement to Parliament confirming that the Government has accepted all of the recommendations made in Baroness Casey’s national audit on group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse, including a recommendation to commission a national inquiry.
Baroness Casey specifically recommended that the national police operation and national inquiry should cover England and Wales. The Home Office has been working closely with partners to develop the Terms of Reference for the Inquiry, with early consultation already undertaken with victims and survivors. The National Working Group (NWG) charity has been coordinating the engagement with victims and survivors related to the inquiry set-up, including sessions attended by the Minister for Safeguarding and VAWG.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, whether her Department has had it own ministerial car service since her appointment.
Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales
Since my appointment, the Wales Office has not had its own ministerial car service.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how much (a) revenue and (b) capital spending has been allocated to railways in Wales in each year of the Spending Review period; and (i) how much and (ii) over what period of time her Department plans to spend on railways in Wales outside of the Spending Review period.
Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales
I would refer the Honourable Member to the answer I provided to written question UIN 69339 on 2 September 2025.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to her oral answer in response to the question from the hon. Member for Lichfield of 16 July 2025, Official Report, Column 282, over what period that £445 million covers; and what the allocated spending is in each financial year.
Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales
Following the Spending Review, the UK Government is investing at least £445m into Welsh rail infrastructure upgrades, with the vast majority of this funding to be spent within the Spending Review period.
This investment will mean new stations and more and faster trains on the key lines across North and South Wales. The UK Government is working in collaboration with the Welsh Government, Network Rail and Transport for Wales, through the Wales Rail Board.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to her oral answer in response to the question from the hon. Member for Lichfield of 16 July 2025, Official Report, Column 282, what the evidential basis is for her statement on historic underfunding.
Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales
I regret that the Hon. Member seems to refuse to accept or acknowledge the historic underfunding. When I gave evidence to the Welsh Affairs Committee in January, there was widespread agreement that this was the case and many others have expressed similar sentiments.
The low levels of enhancement spending we have seen in recent years makes it more difficult to realise the modal shift needed to sustain a continuous enhancements pipeline. Denying that there has been underfunding is not the way address the problem. This government prefers to tackle the issue head on, starting with at least £445m of spending, front-loaded to support delivery of Wales' priorities for rail infrastructure during this next Spending Review period.
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 Cabinet colleagues on the (a) closure of Oakwood theme park and (b) potential impact of changes to employer National Insurance contributions on the (i) hospitality and (ii) tourism sectors in Wales.
Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales
I have regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of matters, including those affecting the Welsh economy.
I was saddened to hear about the closure of Oakwood Theme Park. I understand this will be a concerning time for workers at the park and their families. However, Wales's tourism and hospitality offering continues to be among the best in the world, and both the UK and Welsh Governments are committed to supporting these sectors.
Regarding the impact of changes to National Insurance contributions on the sector, the UK Government has protected the smallest businesses by more than doubling the Employment Allowance to £10,500, ensuring over half of small and micro businesses pay less or no national insurance contributions. Small and Medium sized enterprises account for 99.3% of total enterprises in Wales.
The UK Government is committed to supporting the Welsh tourism and hospitality sectors. In February, we announced a £15 million investment for Venue Cymru and the Newport Transporter Bridge. These are two key projects that will help boost the tourism and culture sectors in Wales.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, whether she has had discussions with Welsh farmers on changes to inheritance tax.
Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales
Yes.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what proportion of people in Wales are involved in regular sport.
Answered by Alun Cairns
Sport is a devolved matter in Wales and is therefore the responsibility of the Welsh Government.
However, the Sport Wales’ Active Adult Survey 2014 found that 72% of adults in Wales had participated in sport and physical recreation within the previous four weeks of being surveyed.
Furthermore, their School Sport Survey 2015 found that 48% of children in Wales were participating in sports three or more times a week.