Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Strength of the Union

Wednesday 12 March 2025 · 2 questions

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

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Senedd to vote on redesignating High Speed 2 as an England-only project.
  • Welsh Ministers claim the project missed out Wales by 431 million.
  • UK Government announces 100 million investment in Welsh communities.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Graham Leadbitter SNP Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey
Transport Wales
Context

The Senedd will vote on a motion to redesignate High Speed 2 as an England-only project. Previous calculations suggest Wales missed out on around £4 billion from the project, now claimed by Welsh Ministers to be £431 million.

Question

Today the Senedd will vote on a motion to redesignate High Speed 2 as an England-only project. Previous calculations suggest that Wales missed out on around £4 billion from the project. Welsh Ministers have now claimed that the amount is £431 million—quite the difference. With the Welsh Government abandoning their ambitions and the UK Government refusing to budge on full consequential funding, is the Labour party now waving the white flag on Wales’s missing billions?

Answer from The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Dame Nia Griffith)

The Government absolutely acknowledge that the previous Conservative Government short-changed Wales for years on rail investment, including because of HS2. One of our top priorities is to reverse those years of historic underfunding in Wales’s infrastructure. The Secretary of State met the Transport Secretary and the Welsh Government Transport Minister Ken Skates immediately before Christmas, when they agreed on a direction of travel that we hope will deliver new rail investment in Wales. The UK and Welsh Governments have agreed a prioritisation of rail improvement projects developed by the Wales Rail Board. That would inform our respective Departments’ work in the run-up to the spring spending review.

Partly answered

Not addressed: specific commitment on compensation for HS2 funding shortfall

How: We Are Working Towards New Rail Investment

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Q2 Andrew Ranger Lab Wrexham
Economy Wales
Context

UK Labour Government announced a plan for neighbourhoods, which will see £100 million invested in Welsh communities. £20 million of that investment is going into Wrexham.

Question

Investment in Wales by the UK Government demonstrates the strength of the Union. I was therefore delighted to see the UK Labour Government announce their plan for neighbourhoods, which will see a £100 million investment in Welsh communities, with £20 million of that going into my constituency, straight into vital local resources such as high streets and youth clubs. Does the Minister that this Labour Government are committed to bringing growth to areas of Wales that were previously ignored by the Conservatives?

Answer from The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Dame Nia Griffith)

Indeed. With the UK and Welsh Governments working together, we have secured more than £1.5 billion in investment and hundreds of jobs in Wales. Of course, we have established investment zones in Cardiff, Newport, Wrexham and Flintshire to provide a rocket-boost to sector strengths, such as advanced manufacturing.

Answered
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