House of Commons · Ministers' Questions
Wednesday 22 April 2026 · 9 questions
Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.
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Question
What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help reduce the cost of living in Wales.
Answer from Jo Stevens
We know that the conflict in the middle east is placing pressure on the cost of living and household bills, including for those in rural communities. That is why this Government are providing £3.8 million to the Welsh Government to support households in Wales that use heating oil.
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The UK Labour Government lifted the two-child limit, benefiting nearly 70,000 children in Wales and 2,270 in Montgomeryshire. This policy aims to lift hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty.
Question
I am enormously proud that Labour is lifting hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty by scrapping the two-child limit, providing free school meals, creating apprenticeships, and devolving funds for child support. Will the Secretary of State update the House on what this policy means for the future of Wales?
Answer from Jo Stevens
My hon. Friend is proud, as am I, of the steps that both our UK and Welsh Labour Governments have taken to support children and families with the cost of living. We have scrapped the two-child limit, provided 50 million free school meals since 2022, created 100,000 apprenticeships, and devolved £20 million to help more young people into work. Contrast Labour's record with Plaid's admission that it will cut child poverty budgets and plans to hike taxes on working families.
Not addressed: The specific implications of the policy for Wales' future were not directly addressed, instead focusing on comparing Labour's achievements against other parties' admissions.
How: Contrast Labour'S Record With Plaid'S Admission
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The people of Wales will elect a new government on May 7th, with Plaid Cymru promising to protect children from UK poverty through its child payment programme.
Question
In two weeks, the Welsh people will vote for a government genuinely concerned about child poverty in Wales. In Scotland, the Scottish Government's child payment has helped protect 407,000 children from UK poverty. Does Plaid Cymru's similar plan represent an end to Labour's fag-end Administration and the beginning of Plaid Cymru's time?
Answer from Jo Stevens
I do not think the hon. Gentleman can have been listening when I mentioned that Plaid has admitted it will cut the budget for child poverty. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has made clear that Plaid would need to make spending cuts or raise taxes to fund its manifesto pledges.
Not addressed: The specific implications of a new Welsh Government led by Plaid Cymru were not addressed; instead, the answer focused on criticisms of Plaid's policies.
How: I Do Not Think The Hon. Gentleman Can Have Been Listening
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Almost 170,000 workers in Wales benefit from Labour's successive increases to the national minimum wage and the living wage.
Question
With almost 170,000 workers in Wales benefiting from Labour's successive increases to the national minimum wage and the living wage, families across the country—including many of my constituents—will now be better off. Despite resistance from Opposition parties, this Government have shown their commitment to tackling the cost of living crisis and supporting working people. Could the Secretary of State update the House on how those changes and the Employment Rights Act 2 2025 will benefit people in my constituency and across Wales?
Answer from Jo Stevens
We promised that we would be a Government for working people, and that is exactly what we have done. Our industrial strategy is set to support tens of thousands of new jobs across Wales. We have provided more employment support to help people get into work, increased the national minimum wage and the living wage, and strengthened rights and protections at work, making work pay, and making it more secure and fairer through our Employment Rights Act.
Not addressed: Did not provide specific updates on how changes will benefit people in Neath and Swansea East or Wales specifically
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Question
Free school meals for children, our universal credit uplift, and up to £575 more on the state pension thanks to protecting the triple lock are all great examples of how Labour Governments at both ends of the M4 are helping with the cost of living. Can the Secretary of State update the House on the steps that the Government are taking to ensure that in future nobody gets trapped in a cycle of poverty, whether in my constituency of Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare or across the country?
Answer from Jo Stevens
Whether it is young people, families or pensioners, this Labour Government are determined to tackle the cost of living, both for my hon. Friend’s constituents and for all our constituents. We inherited a broken welfare system from the Conservatives that has failed people and trapped them in a cycle of poverty. We will not allow that to continue, which is why we are helping people into work through new employment programmes and increasing universal credit for those who need support. As my hon. Friend mentioned, 700,000 pensioners are being helped through the state pension rise. We are absolutely laser-focused on tackling the cost of living.
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Question
Labour has done much to address child poverty, for example, but the issues with the price of heating oil, fuel and red diesel are the same in Wales as they are in Northern Ireland, and indeed across this great United Kingdom. The price of red diesel has increased for rural farmers and for the fishing sector, as has the price of diesel for heavy goods vehicles, so what is the Minister doing to help those three sectors and to ensure that the economy can survive? If the Government do that in Wales, they will have to do it in Northern Ireland as well.
Answer from Jo Stevens
I thank the hon. Gentleman for acknowledging the work that this Government have done on the cost of living. Red diesel continues to benefit from an 80% tax discount, which is saving farmers almost £300 million a year. We have already brought in a 5p fuel duty cut, which will last from this month until September. We have raised industry concerns about red diesel prices, and the Under-Secretary of State for Wales, my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff North (Anna McMorrin), has also met farming unions to discuss red diesel. We have looked at price transparency with the Competition and Markets Authority, and we are keeping everything under careful review.
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The question addresses the Welsh Labour Government's spending priorities that are considered wasteful, including expanding the Senedd, setting up embassies abroad, and tree planting in Uganda. This is contrasted with struggling families' needs.
Question
It is Labour's cost of living crisis that is hitting families across Wales. It is vital to ease those pressures, yet Welsh Labour Government spends over £100 million on more politicians and tens of millions on a default 20 mph speed limit. They have set up vanity embassies abroad and spent millions on tree planting in Uganda. These are not the priorities of struggling families. Will the Secretary of State finally condemn the wasteful spending of taxpayers' money and admit these schemes do not address cost of living crisis in Wales?
Answer from Jo Stevens
I am really surprised that the hon. Member has raised the expansion of the Senedd, because the accepted rationale of those who support the expansion is that it was necessary to improve scrutiny of the Welsh Government. What a terrible indictment that is of the inadequate performance of her party, whose job it has been, as the Opposition in the Senedd for the past 27 years, to carry out that scrutiny.
Not addressed: The Secretary of State did not address the wasteful spending and its impact on families
How: Changing Subject, Criticizing Opposition
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Families in Wales are struggling with inflation, flatlining wages, and high childcare costs. Plaid Cymru's proposal for a universal childcare offer is valued at over £30,000 per child and has been assessed as affordable and deliverable.
Question
Families in Wales under Labour are suffering due to inflation in bills, wage stagnation, and the highest childcare costs in the UK. Plaid Cymru's universal childcare offer would be transformative, worth more than £30,000 a child. Does Secretary of State recognise how Labour's lack of ambition keeps families in poverty?
Answer from Jo Stevens
Plaid's manifesto, and specifically the childcare policy to which the right hon. Lady refers, exposes that Plaid is not on the side of working people in Wales and is not serious about tackling the cost of living. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has been clear that Plaid would have to make spending cuts or raise taxes to pay for its manifesto pledges. Families will be worse off with Plaid's policy.
Not addressed: The Secretary of State did not address whether the childcare offer addresses families' needs
How: Criticizing Opposition, Attacking Credibility
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A YouGov poll shows Plaid Cymru and Reform UK are neck and neck, with Labour trailing. A vote for Labour risks handing power to Reform UK which could harm the NHS.
Question
The Secretary of State's tight-lipped quibbling is an excuse—a shadow of an apology for what her party has failed to do in 27 years. Voters are ready for change. Last night's YouGov poll shows Plaid Cymru and Reform UK neck and neck, with Labour far behind. Will she accept a vote for Labour risks handing power to Reform UK which will wreck the NHS? Will she recognise only Plaid can stop this?
Answer from Jo Stevens
The answer to that question is no.
Not addressed: No explanation or commitment was given regarding the impact of a vote on NHS
How: Minimal Response
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