Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of increased defence spending on Wales.
Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales
The Defence Industrial Strategy will ensure that defence is an engine for growth across the UK, including Wales.
Wales’s thriving defence sector will benefit from its own Defence Growth Deal backed by a share of £250m.
The deal will harness Wales’s strengths in autonomy and aerospace, unlocking growth, innovation, and jobs across defence and the wider advanced manufacturing sector.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what steps he is taking to support the Welsh hydrogen economy.
Answered by Lord Hart of Tenby
The Government aims to consult on a preferred business model for low-carbon hydrogen production in 2021. This will be key to stimulating the deployment of hydrogen across the UK.
In addition, I am pleased to see that the South Wales Industrial Cluster is being supported by UK Research and Innovation’s £170m Industrial Decarbonisation Challenge, which is looking at options for decarbonising the region’s industrial base, including using hydrogen.
My officials regularly engage with officials in other departments across the UK Government to raise awareness of the opportunities in Wales for hydrogen energy generation.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what recent discussions he has had with the Welsh Government on the Shared Prosperity Fund.
Answered by Lord Hart of Tenby
I speak regularly with Welsh Government Ministers about a range of matters including the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. In particular, I have had regular dialogue with Jeremy Miles MS, Counsel General and Minister for European Transition, to discuss the UKSPF. My officials and those from the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government are also in regular discussion with their counterparts in the Welsh Government.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, whether his plans for economic recovery in Wales after the covid-19 outbreak include the commencement of the consultation on the Shared Prosperity Fund.
Answered by Lord Hart of Tenby
The Government is committed to tackling inequality and ensuring jobs and growth in all four nations of the UK. The UK Shared Prosperity Fund will play a key role in delivering on those aims and in driving economic growth in Wales following the Covid-19 outbreak.
Government officials have held 25 engagement events across the UK, attended by over 500 representatives from a breadth of sectors, which has helped inform progress on policy design. The Government looks forward to continuing to work closely with partners as we develop the Fund.