Speeches by Stevens.

“It is in the interests of both the Welsh and UK Government that the settlement we have clearly defines our respective responsibilities and delivers for the people of Wales. Our focus is on delivering the commitments in our manifesto. We set them out in advance. We are working through them, and we have made progress in …”

“Skills is a devolved policy area, but I know that the Welsh Government are celebrating 100,000 apprenticeships in this Senedd term this week, and they have a skills strategy. I talked earlier about our universities.”

“On the Crown Estate, the UK Government’s position is well known. We do not agree with the Welsh Government on the Crown Estate. That is mature devolution. You can have differences of view. Certainly, I know I have answered a significant number of questions at Wales questions in the Chamber about the Crown Estate, as ha…”

“Thank you for the question. We made a number of manifesto commitments around devolution and we have delivered on some. We are continuing to work on others. I can say this today, which is quite helpful, because there has been one development that I want to alert the Committee to, which is around tax devolution. Since 20…”

“I certainly do not have a fixed view on it, and I do not think the Home Office has a fixed view on it at the moment, because it is going to be looked at across the piece. If you talk to chief constables, they have different views on it as well. I know, for example, that the North Wales chief constable is very concerned…”

“I want to say that the changes are no reflection on the individuals who have held office as PCCs. It is just that the model did not work. We have the rather embarrassing record of having a ballot box at a PCC election in Wales several years ago in which nobody voted. The abolition is about creating a new governance and…”

“Our priority for policing—Simon is gone, so I can say this—is fixing the mess that got left behind, I am afraid. That is why the Safer Streets mission is one of our key missions. It is why we are funding more police, putting more police into neighbourhood teams, and it is why the funding settlement that has recently be…”

“As I said, we talk to each other all the time, and we talk about all aspects of our work and their work. That includes policing in Wales. The Wales Office contributes to the Policing Partnership Board for Wales, and the Welsh Government sit on that board as well. We will discuss forthcoming announcements and all sorts …”

“We have fantastic universities in Wales that are absolutely brimming with talent. It is the research and innovation that goes on in the universities that creates the start-ups that then go into the scale-ups, which feed companies such as Vishay and KLA in your constituency. They are some of the best-paid jobs in the wh…”

“Yes, of course. We have established two. I was delighted, because we thought there was maybe only going to be one, but there are two. That is great news. Each one is backed with £5 million of investment in local AI adoption and skills. North Wales is linked to the Wylfa announcement and along the north Wales corri…”

“It will be in the 2030s. Work is already under way in the Government and with Great British Energy Nuclear and Rolls-Royce, which is the landmark selected company to work on this, to reach contract signature. Once that is done, GB Energy Nuclear will bring together developer capability and undertake project design and …”

“The decision on Wylfa was one I was absolutely delighted to be part of. To have the Prime Minister, the Chancellor, the First Minister and the Technology Secretary at Coleg Menai to make that announcement, and to include in it the AI growth zone for north Wales, was a really significant moment. It is really important n…”

“Please pass on our best wishes.”

“I absolutely understand the value and the crucial role that Valero plays in your constituency. I have had a number of discussions with them myself, and I know what their concerns are. Our refining capacity is really important to our energy security and to our resilience, but it is also important to the industrial base …”

“I was just going to say that Welsh food producers, for example, should save thousands in costs, because it will speed up exports and imports. I will hand over to the Minister, because this is her area.”

“Those are always part of the conversation. We are quite lucky in that we have MPs from Wales in ministerial positions. The International Trade Minister is a Welsh MP. As I said, the Paymaster General is a Welsh MP. We have two Welsh MPs in the Foreign Office in ministerial positions. I am an adviser to the Board of Tra…”

“It is not specifically on coal tips or coal remediation, but there are two projects. In the Budget, the Chancellor announced £4.23 million to clean up contaminated brownfield land adjacent to the Celtic freeport, and the transition board has given £8 million of funding to support the South Wales Industrial Transit…”

“Not at all, no. I would not just look at it in relation to skills; I would look at it in terms of the growth deals. We have some examples such as what universities are doing, the money that is going into transport infrastructure, and the linkage between universities and new industries. Courses are being set up specific…”

“We work very closely with relevant Departments across the UK Government—the Department for Business and Trade, the Foreign Office, No. 10 and the Treasury—and you will know that we have done a number of very significant trade deals with India, the EU, the United States and South Korea. The trade strategy that we have p…”

“On intergovernmental relations, we have had really close working across the two Governments. This is across all strands: me with the First Minister, the Prime Minister with the First Minister, Ministers in the Wales Office with Ministers in the Welsh Government, and officials talking to each other every day, not just i…”