Wales Questions House of Commons

for a round-up of the day in both

houses of parliament at 11 o'clock

tonight. Firstly have questions to

the Welsh Secretary.

Hors d'oeuvre. Questions to the

Secretary of State for Wales --

order.

Thank you Mr Speaker and with your

permission I will answer questions

two and nine together.

Last week I

hosted the first cross-border summit

in Newport. More than 350 people

attended the event, looking to

strengthen the economic links

between South Wales and the

south-west. Through our industrial

strategy we want to build on this

with cross-border collaborations to

create prosperous communities before

the full Wales. -- the whole of

Wales.

I like to thank the

honourable friend for that answer.

Shrewsbury relies on cross-border

trade with our friends and

neighbours across the border. What

discussions has he had with his

counterparts in the Welsh assembly

about the AA five which crosses the

border between England and Wales and

will be joining in paying tribute to

my neighbour, the Right Honourable

member for North Shropshire who thus

campaigned a lot on this issue but

has been very badly injured in a

riding accident and is recuperating

at home at this time.

I was Right

Honourable gentleman full speedy

recovery in the fullness of the

recovery is more important than its

speed. The Secretary of State. I'm

grateful to my honourable friend and

pay tribute to him as well as the

Right Honourable member for North

Shropshire. Both are assiduous and

relentless in their pursuit of the

re-doing of it a five. The second

with investment strategy for England

and dahlias with the Welsh

government minister Ken skates on a

regular basis to raise and pursue

this issue because clearly in works

for a much better cooperation for

both sides if we can bring together

both investment priorities and I

know that the efforts in this app is

paying dividends in the

negotiations.

The journey from Essex

to Wales involves the most expensive

toll bridge charges in the country.

So I am delighted that this

government have removed those

barriers for tourists and businesses

and from commuters generally in

terms of the burden across the

border. Will my right honourable

friend tell the House how he intends

to capitalise on that wonderful

news?

I'm grateful to my honourable

friend for reminding us of that

iconic Gavin and Stacey seem with

smithy struggling into Wales because

he had to pay the 6.70 toll charge

in order to cross bridge. I would

point out to the Honourable member

that it has been reduced by 20% in

the interim and by the end of the

year the tolls will be abolished and

this will be one of the biggest

stimulus to the Welsh economy in

decades, it would provide an

opportunity for more and better paid

jobs providing £100 million boost to

the Welsh economy and this is an

opportunity for the south-west of

England and the South Wales to come

together as an economic powerhouse

in order to provide better

opportunities on the western side of

the UK.

My constituents, who worked

in Bristol and beyond, have to put

up with chronically overcrowded rail

services as fears increase. But

ministers topped the UK Government

transport ministers because they are

not devolved in order so we can sort

this out.

The Honourable Lady raises

an important point about public

transport in general and the great

Western franchise is out for

consultation as we speak and I would

encourage members to make

representation about the

improvements they would like to see.

She thought about overcrowding but I

would say one of the greatest

overcrowded roads in the UK is

around the Brynglas tunnels in

Newport and I hope the Welsh

government will get on with building

the road and the UK Government make

money available almost two years ago

and we are frustrated by the lack of

response and reaction in building

in.

Since assuming office Secretary of

State has broken a promise to

electrify the mainline to Swansea,

vetoed the evolving therefore taxes

to us because he doesn't want to

upset Bristol Airport and has not

delivered on the Swansea Lagoon. His

record on the economy is Elliott,

failure, failure.

-- is failure.

I'm disappointed with the tone that

the Honourable member takes and I

would point a significant changes

for Wales in recent years, the most

important is that their funding

settlement which was provided 5% of

the end of funding settlement and it

will be a £67 million uplift in the

next financial year and similar

terms in the year is going on, 13

years of claims of understanding or

underfunding by the Labour Party

really have been corrected in the

first year of a Conservative

administration.

I'm grateful to the

Secretary of State for inviting my

District Council and my tourism

industry to his sudden growth

Summit. I'm also grateful given that

the old Severn Bridge is half in my

constituency and the gateway to

Gloucestershire, not just Wales and

the tolls will be removed. And I

urge him as he continues these

cross-border opportunities to fully

involved business industry in my

constituency so we can take full

advantage of growth in the western

parts of our country?

I'm grateful

to the support my right honourable

friend provides to the calling to

abolish the Severn tolls because

they will be a major boost to his

constituency, two constituencies

across the whole of South Wales. Can

you imagine if there was a £6 70

charge to do business between

Cardiff and Newport and the impact

that would have. That is what is in

place in his constituency and South

Wales economy for 50 years or

abolishing the tolls is a commitment

he has to deliver on.

I like to

welcome the new minister to this

place and they say the first term is

always the worst. I understand that

you were born on Ellis Maughan and

you were a member of the Labour

Party. We would like to welcome you

back but we might be full and with

that I would like to congratulate

the Welsh assembly. There was

announcement by Storm all that they

are the number one employer in the

UK for the LB GT community. I won't

mention that Swansea beat Arsenal

3-1 last night. Manufacturers across

the UK consider the world leading

tidal lagoon in display a lifeline

for businesses. Thousands of skilled

jobs in cross-border factories are

earmarked to supply the lagoons.

They are at risk because the UK

Government cannot make a decision.

The Secretary of State has said many

times that he would love it to

happen. The Welsh Labour government

has pledged millions to the tidal

lagoon, it is and now regrets

decision. As the Secretary of State

Kevin anything constructive, in the

words of Gavin and Stacey, what's

occurring?

I would like to join the

Honourable Lady in recognising the

Welsh assembly for the recognition I

Stonewall. That is something to be

accepted and underlined and

recognised and I would like to

recognise the success Swansea had

last night as a city supporter. The

Honourable Lady raises an important

point about the tidal lagoon and as

I said previously, this is something

I would really like to happen, the

whole of the UK Government, media

planning permission for this after

the 20 15th general election, we

would like to see progress on this

but it must be value for money. The

Welsh government has communicated

with the UK Government about

something they call as an offer. The

Welsh government officials and those

from other places established what

accounts to this offer from the

Welsh government and we will

continue ongoing discussions that I

would point out to the honourable

lady that she has two because this

jobs created in the long term and

not those thousands of jobs she

talked about because the project

itself will deliver 40 or more jobs.

I'm glad you mentioned the jobs

because these cross-border deals

include local government

apprenticeships for 16 and

17-year-olds. Now at risk because of

the UK Government's dithering. Is

the government money that now the

Welsh Labour government is

introducing Vokes for 16 and

17-year-olds in local government

elections, Welsh young people will

be able to vote on their future and

fought for apprenticeships and

fought for tidal lagoons.

It is part

of the UK Government's manifesto and

we recognise the Welsh government

has followed the ambition we have

set out for apprenticeships and I

would also point out and pay tribute

to the Welsh government for the

actions over changing the voting

structure but the Honourable Lady

who given the poor to do that in the

first place is that it was refused

for 13 years by Labour.

Is the

minister aware that the Welsh

affairs Select Committee has invited

the First Minister in Wales to come

before us and spell out exactly what

this offer is and so far the First

Minister has refused to do so. If

there is a serious offer from Welsh

Labour to support tidal lagoons,

does he agree that the Welsh First

Minister should come before the

committee and tell us exactly what

it is that he is offering.

I pay

tribute to the Honourable member as

chairman of the Welsh affairs Select

Committee in the way in which he had

been vociferous in pursuing these

sorts of issues and the case for

value for money. He has obviously

invited the First Minister to give

evidence. He will respond positively

wants to do everything to me this

project, bright and prove the value

for money case we are seeking to

achieve all

With your permission, Mr Speaker, I

will answer questions three and six

together. At the Budget, the

Chancellor announced that all

claimants will be eligible for

Universal Credit from the first day

they claim it, removing the seven

waiting days.

The universal credits from six weeks

to five weeks was welcomed on this

side of the House. This has not gone

far enough. Household claimants in

Wales and across the country are

suffering from rising debts, housing

arrears and evictions. With the

Secretary of State stand-up for

Universal Credit claimants in Wales

and asked his Cabinet colleagues to

reduce this time further?

I love the

introduction. First of all, the need

for reform was absolutely clear.

Under the old system, people had to

go to various authorities and

potentially more. What we're doing

is simple buying that into a system

that encourages people into work.

Surely we should all be welcoming

that? We are rolling this out slowly

so we make sure we are learning the

lessons, that is what we have done.

I'm aware that the Chancellor made

the announcements so that people

have the money they need when they

apply.

The analysis shows that those

with red arrears under Universal

Credit have gone into arrears after

making the claim. Is the Minister

content that families that were not

previously in arrears...?

That is

why we make announcements in the

Budget. What will happen now is from

April that households who what

already climbing housing benefit

will automatically receive an

additional two weeks of benefit when

they claim Universal Credit. We are

responding to the lessons we are

learning and we will continue to do

so as we roll out the project.

May I

first welcomed my honourable friend

to the dispatch box. Can I also urge

him in looking at the administrative

change the Universal Credit not to

lose sight of the over arching goal,

which is to have a simpler welfare

system that actually encourages

people into work, a far cry from the

old system it is replacing?

I'm

delighted to take a question from my

honourable friend, and I mean that

in the sincerest sense. He is right.

What we are seeing is that an

appointment in Wales is currently

73,000, which has decreased by

52,000 since 2010. We are seeing

that people are going back into work

because Universal Credit is

encouraging that. If you look at the

old system, if you work a minute

over 16 hours, you would lose your

whole jobseeker's allowance. No

incentive to get into work. That is

why we have introduced this new

system.

I too would like to welcome

my congratulations to the honourable

member for his elevation to his new

position. Waiting times are

important to all claimants, but none

more so than the terminally ill.

That is those that the DWP deems to

or expects to live for less than six

months. The DWP's own data shows

that PIP claimants who are too ill

have their claims reassessed at the

rate of seven in 100 in the

south-east, and 17 in 100 in Wales.

That is the highest in the country.

Why is there such a huge variance,

and will the Minister join me in

requesting a meeting with the

Secretary of State for Work and

Pensions to discuss these issues?

First of all, can I thank the

honourable Jedward for the warm

welcome. I appreciate that. It is

important to recognise that with PIP

we are bringing in a system that is

trying to help people live with the

conditions that they have. If we

compare the systems, with PIP, 29%

of claimants are receiving the

highest possible support, compared

with just 15% with disability living

allowance. I have only been in this

job a few weeks, but this is

something I will be taking up with

my right honourable friend, the

Secretary of State, and will report

back to him.

We need to speed up a

bit. What we now need is pithy

questions.

Question four.

Mr

Speaker, superfast broadband is now

available to more than 19 out of 20

UK homes and businesses, including

95% to premises in Wales will stop

this and as lines -- this underlines

Aaron West Madrid six to £9 million

-- our investment of 69 million.

Previously, you could get only 0.9

of 8 megabits. They now have given

delivery to the home of several

megabits. What can the Government do

to give a legal obligation for

everyone to have broadband?

He is

right to highlight the importance of

good connectivity to broadband,

especially in rural areas. It will

maximise the economic benefits we

will have. We decided that

regulation is the best way to insure

that everyone can get recent

broadband connections, so a

regulatory universal service

obligation will be giving everyone

in the UK access to speeds of at

least 10 megabytes per second by

2020.

Can I welcome the Anglesey

born Parliamentary undersecretary to

his place? The last Anglesey born

Tory minister are big shoes to fill

Indy. On the subject of broadband,

the success of the roll-out in Wales

is the partnership between the

European Union, government here in

Westminster and the one in Wales,

working with BT. Can the Minister

assure me that there will not be a

cliff aged 2020, that we will have

transitional money from Europe so we

can roll out to 100%.

I am grateful

to have such a welcome from someone

I have known for many years, and I

am grateful to him. He is right. We

want to make sure that we

continue... I was a member of the

Young Conservatives then! We are

absolutely determined to roll out

broadband. We are determined that

that target of 2020 is one we want

to achieve and of course it will be

incumbent on us as the UK government

to ensure it is rolled out to every

part.

We have some of the slowest

broadband speeds in the UK, but was

we were left out of a project. Can

he ensure that rappers and Asians

were made -- that representations

were made for Wales' inclusion?

The

roll-out is the responsibility of

the Bush government. We have -- of

the Welsh government.

If you're one

of the households in Pembrokeshire,

you could have been told you cannot

get broadband. Would my honourable

friend, the minister, provide an

assurance that he will keep working

with colleagues to ensure that we

connect the whole of Wales?

Again, I

accept that we have got to make sure

we roll this to every part of Wales,

and Pembrokeshire is equally

important. He is a big champion of

his constituency and the area. I

suppose I would say I am

disappointed in the roll-out from

the Welsh government. We need to

make sure that we deliver the role

that we envisaged. Question number

five. With your permission, I will

answer questions five, 13 and 14

together. I hold regular discussions

with Cabinet colleagues regarding

cross-border transport connectivity.

Improving connectivity is central to

delivering economic growth on both

sides of the border.

If providing

funding for removing tolls from the

Severn Bridge is enough for the

people of Wales, why not extend such

a generous government offer to the

people of Cheshire and Merseyside,

and do away with the polls on the

Mersey Gateway?

I would say that the

tolls on the Severn Crossing have

been there for more than 50 years,

and the Mersey Gateway Bridge has

very given to levels compared to

those on the Severn Crossing. I

would also point out that locals

won't have to pay on the Mersey

Gateway Bridge, other than the ten

pounds administration fee.

My

constituents were pleased to see a

constituency business case in the

Budget but we have not heard any

progress since then. I would like to

see some improvements in both

efficiency and frequency on that

line. What regret has been made?

I

am grateful -- what progress has

been made. It forms part of our

cross-border growth strategy. It is

reflected in the UK's industrial

strategy. I spoke with the Welsh

government's Transport Minister on

Monday to discuss the project, and

we will be updating the House in

June course.

The industrial areas

around by constituency absolutely

depend on the 56 running smoothly.

Has he had any discussions about

when we will get that motorway

running smoothly?

He highlights the

importance of cross-border

connectivity. I would point him

towards the second road investment

strategy for England, which will

provide an opportunity to highlight

the priority. A million people

across the border every week,

between North Wales and the

north-west of England. 2000 and go

to Airbus.

Does the Secretary of

State agree that the UK government's

investment in the rail lines

improves my connectivity in my

constituency, and there was a missed

opportunity from the Welsh

government for failing to include

that train line in the last round of

European funding?

The Horton curve,

which is approaching £18 million in

terms of spending cap is an exciting

project because it is a simple,

straightforward investment, which

will bring direct services once

again, again improving cross-border

connectivity, increasing

opportunities for growth and

development. That is what we want to

encourage on either side of the

border.

Question seven.

Mr

Speaker,...

CHEERING

I know that wasn't for me.

We

continue to have constructive

discussions on the European Union

withdrawal Bill, with a view to

securing the support for the

legislation. The Welsh government

have not discussed with us their

proposals for EU continuity Bill,

but we hope that would be

unnecessary.

So bad is the

Westminster power grab becomes that

the 17th of January, the national

assembly, including the

Conservatives, can the Minister

confirm that the ministers will not

meddle any further with devolved

administrations?

I do not believe

that the continuity Bill is actually

needed. We are engaging happily at

every level of government, with the

devolved administrations, to make

sure we go through the EU withdrawal

Bill to ensure that the causes we

want to amend in the Other Place

will be effective and get the

support of open assemblies.

We are

short of time. I will call him if it

is a single, short sentence,

otherwise I won't bother. Alerted

out, man.

When will the Government

publishes framework analysis and the

proposed wording for the amendment

deplores -- to clause 11?

We are

continually engaging. My right

honourable friend, the Secretary of

State for Wales, and the Chancellor

of the Duchy of Lancaster I going to

Wales tomorrow to meet with the

First Minister of the Welsh assembly

so that we can further get the

detail of those discussions and

bring forward the amendments as soon

as possible.

The Minister will recall the

Scottish Secretary claiming there to

be a Scotland specific economic

impact assessment.

Order! The

honourable lady should not be

disquieted in any way. I think the

robin is keenly attending to her

words.

Only for the Scottish

Secretary to contradict himself a

week later. It appears now the

regional assessments do exist. Which

road will be Minister take? Or he

confirmed that they Welsh assessment

has been produced, or will he

concede that the Government is so

heedless of Wales's future that

there is no such assessment? another

Bristol city have an emblem as their

icon so they may be trying to

interfere in these questions.! We

will look at these in great detail

and ensure we come up with an

effective resolution that since

every single part of the United

Kingdom because having a statute

book that is fit for purpose is

incredibly important once we leave

the European Union.

Will the

Minister in that case ensure that he

shares those assessments, not by

twitter but also with all members

and with all members of the Welsh

public.

Obviously we will make

things available at the appropriate

time but I can assure the Honourable

lady that I will not be sharing

things that on twitter.

A little bit

of injury time because the

Honourable member of Enfield South

is getting left out!

Number eight,

Mr Speaker.

I have regular

discussions with Cabinet colleagues

on new opportunities that leaving

the European Union brings to Wales

and to the UK. Wales is the fastest

growing nation in the UK in 2016 and

is well placed to seize the

opportunities presented.

Will the

Minister reassured this house and

businesses across Wales by

confirming arrangements will be put

in place to ensure that new trade

deals negotiated after leaving

European Union do not undermine

devolved policies. The

Honourable member points of the

opportunities to build new trade

deals which is exciting to every

part of the United Kingdom. The

Secretary of State for International

Development and we have the

privilege of having former chairman

of the Welsh development agency as

well as Heather Stevens, very

successful business only part of the

border trade looking at Welsh

interests at all occasions.

How will

the Secretary of State guarantee

that in the supply chains with the

EU they will be preserved when

Britain leads the European Union?

The Honourable member knows that we

are working to deliver a trade

agreement that leads to frictionless

trade between the UK and the

European Union but I will also point

out to the