Welsh Secretary's message on St David's Day
Source: gov.uk (2025-02-28)

Jo Stevens celebrates UK Government delivery in Wales this St David's Day and looks to the year ahead.

For the first time as Welsh Secretary, I’m delighted to be able to wish everyone across Wales a happy St David’s Day.

Following the election last July, we promised to deliver change and that is what we have begun to do.

We pledged safer streets, green energy and, above all, new jobs and economic growth for people across Wales. Underpinning all of this was the promise of a transformed relationship between the UK and Welsh Governments – a partnership that delivers for the people of Wales.

And we have begun the work to deliver on our guiding missions in every part of the country. This work will continue to accelerate during 2025.

We want a health system fit for the future for Wales and in the Autumn Budget we provided a record settlement of £21 billion to the Welsh Government. It now has £1.7 billion extra next year on public services in Wales especially on improving the NHS and driving down waiting lists.

We now have two governments in Wales, working together to ensure that we reform the NHS and other public services to deliver for you.

As we make our streets safer, people in Wales can expect to see more police back on the beat.

We are investing in 13,000 additional neighbourhood officers, PCSOs, and special constables across Wales and England and these officers will work to restore the visible, accessible policing that our communities deserve.

The UK Government’s mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower provides huge opportunities for Wales.

Earlier this week I was delighted to announce a major investment of £600m in Bute Energy’s onshore wind energy parks which will be built the length and breadth of Wales and generate the clean power we need as well creating 2,000 jobs in the process.

This investment is landmark deal for the sector in Wales and cements our position as a centre for major clean energy investment.

Similarly, the golden opportunity of floating offshore wind will be a critical part of our clean energy mission. Wales can lead the world in the creation of huge turbines in the seas off our coastline that will help drive down energy bills and create the jobs of the future. Bringing more of that investment into Wales a priority for this year.

Above all, our mission is to kickstart economic growth.

We have already seen huge investment come to North Wales at Eren Holdings and Kellanova, creating and securing hundreds of jobs.

The two Investment Zones in Cardiff and Newport and Wrexham and Flintshire are a crucial part of our work with Welsh Government to provide a rocket-boost to sector strengths like creative industries, life sciences and advanced manufacturing.

We’ve given the green light for Welsh freeports to unlock billions in private investment and galvanise almost 20,000 jobs in our port communities like Milford Haven, Port Talbot and Holyhead.

Our plans will also see us drive growth in individual communities. Earlier this month we announced a £15 million funding package dedicated to two major cultural projects in Wales - £10m for Venue Cymru in Conwy and £5 million was allocated to the Newport Transporter Bridge. This funding helps ensure these landmarks remain valuable resources for their areas. These projects are not just about preserving heritage; they are about driving economic growth, creating jobs, and showcasing Wales as a leader in tourism and culture.

And our investment in the community of Port Talbot stands as a testament to our determination to drive growth, and not to accept decline for out industrial areas.

Within weeks of coming to office we had secured a better deal with Tata Steel. And then weeks later tens of millions of pounds began to be released into the community – money that had previously not been spent despite the clear need to support the workforce, local businesses and the community.

So far more than £50m has been announced. That money is funding initiatives in Port Talbot ranging from the creation of an £8.2m industrial site in the town creating new products for the steel and metal industries, to providing individual training opportunities for Tata steelworkers or their families.

In the coming year I will ensure that the rest of the Transition Board money is invested in the community of Port Talbot.

In just a few short months, the new UK Government has made significant strides in transforming Wales building on our strengths in industry, green energy and, most of all, our people. There is still work to do but I know Wales will continue to be a brilliant place to do business.

I’d like to send my best wishes to everyone celebrating our national day in Wales and around the world.