Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

The Union

Wednesday 16 December 2020 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 3 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The Government are committed to the Union as a social and economic partnership.
  • The UK Government provided financial interventions to assist Welsh businesses during the pandemic.
  • Welsh businesses have noted the importance of the UK's economic regions extending beyond political boundaries.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Theresa Villiers Con
Wales
Context

The MP is concerned about ensuring that people in Wales benefit from the Union's economic and social partnership. She references the government's support to Welsh business during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Question

What steps he is taking to help ensure that people in Wales benefit from the Union?

Answer from Simon Hart

The Government are unwavering in their commitment to the Union as a social and economic partnership. Its strength is demonstrated by the economic support we have provided to Welsh business during the covid-19 outbreak and by the city and growth deals that help to level up communities across the UK.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific steps taken to ensure individuals in Wales benefit from the Union were not detailed.

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Q2 Suzanne Webb
NHS Wales
Context

The MP notes that Wales has the second-highest death rate per 100,000 in Europe and seeks clarity on UK government support to assist the Welsh Government in fighting the pandemic.

Question

Does my right hon. Friend agree that one of the strengths of our Union—our great and united Union—is that we can support and help each other in times of crisis? What support are the UK Government giving to the Welsh Government to help them to fight the pandemic, now that Wales has the second-highest death rate per 100,000 in Europe?

Answer from Simon Hart

My hon. Friend touches on a current and important point: the Union is not a competition; it is a partnership. I sometimes think it gets portrayed as the former, whereas we all know that it is the latter. The UK Government have been able to introduce numerous financial interventions to assist the Welsh Government in fighting this dreadful pandemic. The most recent is yesterday's joint letter from the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to the First Minister saying that where hospitals face real challenges and hardship in Wales, NHS England and the UK Government stand ready to offer whatever support we can and to put down our political differences to make sure that we fight covid as a UK-wide challenge.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer avoids providing specific details on the financial interventions and measures introduced by the government, focusing instead on general statements about cooperation.

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Q3 Theresa Villiers Con
Economy Wales
Context

The MP highlights the crucial role of the United Kingdom in providing economic support to Wales during the pandemic and enquires about future commitments.

Question

The scale of the response to covid in Wales in terms of economic support would never have been possible without the combined strength of our United Kingdom, so will my right hon. Friend emphasise that that strength will help us to ensure that Wales recovers alongside the rest of the United Kingdom as, hopefully, we move on from covid next year?

Answer from Simon Hart

My right hon. Friend is right. All the businesses in Wales that we have spoken to during the covid crisis have pointed out that they do not recognise political boundaries: they are fiercely Welsh and very patriotic, but they recognise that the economic regions stretch into the far corners of the UK and well beyond. My right hon. Friend is absolutely right that we do make that commitment. Whether or not we are Unionists in the original sense, we are very much on the same page.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer does not provide specific future commitments or support measures for Wales' post-pandemic recovery.

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