debates/debates2025-12-03e conversation_2
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-03)

UK Parliament Hansard data: debates/debates2025-12-03e conversation_2

Frank McNally:What recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on increasing economic growth in Wales. \p Jo Stevens: Growth is the No. 1 mission of this Government. We are creating tens of thousands of jobs in every corner of Wales, including through billions of pounds of investment in nuclear power in Anglesey, two AI growth zones, a defence growth deal, two freeports and two investment zones, which will deliver further economic growth to Wales. \p Gareth Snell: Because of decisions made by the UK Labour Government, the minimum wage and the living wage will increase, boosting wages for thousands of workers across this country, including 160,000 people in Wales. Could the Secretary of State set out what impact she thinks this critical announcement will have on the economy and people of Wales? \p Jo Stevens: From April, a full-time worker on the national living wage will see their annual pay rise by £900, on top of the £1,400 increase that we announced in the previous Budget, and 18 to 20-year-olds working full time on the national minimum wage will get an annual increase of £1,500, which, when added to last year’s increase of £2,500, means £4,000 extra a year. This Labour Government are supporting the lowest-paid workers across the country, with 2.7 million workers in Stoke-on-Trent Central, Cardiff East and every other constituency directly benefiting. \p Paul Waugh: I was pleased to see Conwy recently selected for this UK Government’s Pride in Place programme. That is alongside the existing funds for Rhyl and Wrexham. Given the north-west’s strong economic and family ties to north Wales, I was proud to secure £20 million for Rochdale through the Pride in Place programme. Can the Secretary of State update the House on the difference that these growth funds and other funds will make to economic development in the region? \p Jo Stevens: The introduction of the Pride in Place programme has meant good news for Rochdale, as well as for Wales. A total of 14 communities across Wales are each benefiting from £20 million of long-term investment to enable the changes that they want to see in their neighbourhoods. This hyper-local programme will benefit areas that are doubly disadvantaged, having both the highest deprivation levels and the weakest social infrastructure. It is about investing for the long term, and creating safer, stronger and more resilient communities with the facilities and infrastructure that they need to thrive. \p Christopher Vince: It has been a momentous two weeks for my Welsh colleagues, with announcements of new AI growth zones in both north and south Wales, a fleet of  small modular reactors, billions of pounds of investment and 11,000 new jobs. Does the Secretary of State agree that this shows that this Labour Government are determined to ensure that there will be growth across the UK, including in Wales? \p Jo Stevens: My hon. Friend is absolutely right. This Labour Government have backed Welsh business and economic growth since day one, and the results speak for themselves; new nuclear at Wylfa and the two new AI growth zones will mean well over 11,500 new jobs. Add to that the best inward investment results for years, a 30% increase in jobs created, a 23% increase in projects landed, more jobs, wages rising faster than inflation, and more money in the pockets of people across Wales. \p Frank McNally: The UK and Welsh Governments are rightly prioritising the next generation through apprenticeships and engineering opportunities linked to the Wylfa SMR project. Does my right hon. Friend agree that young people in Scotland deserve access to the same world-class training pathways as those in Wales, and will she work with colleagues to ensure that Scottish businesses can participate fully in the UK-wide nuclear skills pipeline, despite the ideological opposition of the SNP, which prevents similar investments from being realised in Scotland? \p Jo Stevens: My hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise the ideology of the nationalists. Nationalists in Scotland turn their back on nuclear jobs for Scots, while nationalists in Wales are desperately trying to hide the cavernous split in their party on whether they support new nuclear. This Labour Government are absolutely clear that we want economic opportunities for all parts of the UK, and we want jobs and skills opportunities—including nuclear skills—for people across the UK. Those parties that are hellbent on breaking our country apart are simply exposing the fact that they are willing to put their ideology before jobs, opportunities and economic benefits for the people and communities of these isles. \p Ann Davies: In order to secure rural economic growth in Wales, we need to ensure that our agricultural sector is supported. Every pound spent on agriculture generates £9 by supporting farm workers, vets, feed merchants, machinery sales and repairs, and local shops—I could go on and on. What is the Wales Office doing to support all those who live and work in rural Wales? \p Jo Stevens: The hon. Lady will know that the Welsh Government have put extra money into farming this year through their Budget. Her party in the Senedd voted against that Budget. We are renegotiating the sanitary and phytosanitary standards deal with the EU, following our deal in May, and we are protecting farmers and food manufacturers across Wales. \p Jim Shannon: If we are to improve economic growth in Wales, we can do that collectively. We can do it with tidal energy—Wales and Northern Ireland share the Irish sea—with wind turbines, and with floating wind turbines in the Irish sea. These are opportunities. We can make it happen with the engineering  of those in Northern Ireland and Wales. Does the Secretary of State agree that it is time for us to work together for this great United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland? We are always better together. \p Jo Stevens: The hon. Gentleman eloquently sets out the case for the Union. The nationalists sat in front of him would break this country apart, ruining economic growth in this country. We are definitely all better together. \p Lindsay Hoyle: I call the shadow Secretary of State. \p Mims Davies: On Monday, it was delightful to observe the Chancellor and First Minister enjoying themselves in one of Wales’s premier hospitality venues, but we had an invisible Secretary of State for Wales once again. That venue is the type of business that must thrive if this Government are to have any chance of achieving anything other than anaemic growth and growing unemployment lines. If she had been there, what would people in the hospitality sector have told her about the minimum wage rise pressures, huge business rates and energy costs, the tourism tax, national insurance hikes and how those are strangling the economy in Wales, along with the bloated red tape and wanton spending from the Labour-run Senedd? \p Jo Stevens: Britain outperformed growth forecasts this year. Growth was upgraded from 1% to 1.5%, and we are on course to achieve the second-fastest growth rate among G7 countries. The Bank of England has cut interest rates five times since the election. The positive impact that our UK and Welsh Labour Governments are having is clear from how the Welsh economy is changing. In the last year in Wales, wages have increased faster than inflation, employment has risen, inactivity is down and inward investment is up. \p Mims Davies: Clearly something more important than economic growth in Wales came up for Labour’s Wales Office. Can Ministers explain? The biggest rise in unemployment in the UK was in Wales, at 1.4%. Frankly, that is no surprise, given the Governments’ joint refusal to build the M4 relief road or the north Wales main line. That does not exactly match the Chancellor’s boasts about world-class infrastructure at the summit. Among the hobnobbing and backslapping, did any Ministers spare any thought for the desolate owners and workers of businesses in tatters in Monmouth and more widely? Did Ministers work on the ask for extra help to save those people’s livelihoods? \p Jo Stevens: There was a smörgåsbord of questions there. I just say to the shadow Secretary of State that her party wrecked the economy, starved our public services and exacerbated the cost of living crisis. Our Labour Budget is reducing the cost of living, investing in public services and shrinking the national debt—the Conservatives increased it—while at the same time lifting thousands of children out of the poverty that the Tories created. \p Lindsay Hoyle: I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson. \p David Chadwick: I start by raising a point of order, Mr Speaker. The Secretary of State said that the Liberal Democrats were responsible for imposing the two-child benefit cap.  That is simply not true. It was imposed by the Conservatives, and we have campaigned tirelessly against it ever since. Will she correct the record? \p Lindsay Hoyle: Just ask your question. \p David Chadwick: This Government keep claiming that offshore wind will bring down bills for people in Wales and drive economic growth, but research from Greenpeace shows that the opposite is happening. The Crown Estate is pushing up bills by running uncapped auctions that force energy companies to pay huge fees just to use the seabed. Those extra costs are added straight on to the energy bills of families and businesses across Wales, meaning that Welsh households pay more. The profits are taken out of Wales, while the Crown Estate’s chief executive officer pockets £1.9 million a year. Why are the Government allowing the Crown Estate to drive up energy bills, and why will not they force the Crown Estate to manage Welsh natural resources in the public interest, rather than its own? \p Jo Stevens: At every session of Wales questions, the hon. Gentleman talks about how he does not want infrastructure to be built in Wales. His party was one of the architects of austerity and the crushing poverty faced by so many people across the United Kingdom. This Labour Government have turned the page on that austerity legacy, bringing down energy bills, increasing the minimum and living wages for about 160,000 Welsh workers, and scrapping the two-child cap.