Wales – in the House of Commons at on 11 June 2025.
Ruth Jones
Chair, Welsh Affairs Committee, Chair, Welsh Affairs Committee
What recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on support for clean energy projects in Wales.
Matt Rodda
Labour, Reading Central
What recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on support for clean energy projects in Wales.
Nia Griffith
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The UK Labour Government are putting Wales at the forefront of their mission to make the UK a clean energy superpower, creating jobs, lowering energy Bills and raising living standards for families across Wales. Only last month, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced £12.5 million of funding to support green advanced manufacturing and the National Net Zero Centre of Excellence for Skills in Port Talbot.
Ruth Jones
Chair, Welsh Affairs Committee, Chair, Welsh Affairs Committee
Wales has a phenomenal tidal range, which promises green growth and industrial employment to Wales and beyond. The Severn estuary commission has completed its recommendations, and tidal lagoons are ready to go. What steps is the Secretary of State taking with other Cabinet colleagues to ensure that tidal plays a prominent role in the transition to clean energy?
Nia Griffith
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Government remain open to well-developed proposals for harnessing tidal range energy. The National Energy System Operator has launched a research innovation project to model the impacts and value of tidal range. I am pleased to tell my hon. Friend that we expect the report from that work tomorrow, and will consider its findings. More broadly, Wales has huge potential for green jobs. In April, the Prime Minister announced a £300 million boost for Great British Energy to invest in offshore wind supply, and Wales is well placed to benefit from that.
Matt Rodda
Labour, Reading Central
Wales has an enormous role to play in the roll-out of green and clean energy, which will benefit all the residents of Wales and the UK. What steps is the Minister taking to roll out this important work in Wales?
Nia Griffith
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Wales has a huge role to play in our clean energy mission and has excellent resources and a skilled workforce. We are supporting innovative renewable technologies, such as the tidal stream on Anglesey and floating offshore wind in the Celtic sea, which has the potential to deliver up to 5,000 new jobs.
Ann Davies
Plaid Cymru, Caerfyrddin
Diolch yn fawr, Mr Llefarydd. Green energy deserves green transmission, so will the Minister commit to undergrounding any new electric transmission in Wales?
Nia Griffith
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
I commend the hon. Member for her campaigning on this issue, but as I am sure she understands, the cost of undergrounding is significant. We have said clearly that our position is that overhead lines should generally be the starting presumption, except for in nationally designated landscapes.
Graham Stuart
Conservative, Beverley and Holderness
People of all ages welcome Wales’s role in making this country a clean energy superpower, but pensioners in particular had to go through last winter freezing cold, and tens of thousands went to A&E. Will the Minister, who we all know is a decent Labour Front Bencher, do what the Chancellor refused to do, and apologise to those pensioners who lost the winter fuel allowance when they needed it most?
Nia Griffith
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
I should just remind the House that we did maintain the triple lock, which gave pensioners a boost of over £400 this spring. As the right hon. Gentleman well knows, pensioners will again benefit from the winter fuel allowance.
The cabinet is the group of twenty or so (and no more than 22) senior government ministers who are responsible for running the departments of state and deciding government policy.
It is chaired by the prime minister.
The cabinet is bound by collective responsibility, which means that all its members must abide by and defend the decisions it takes, despite any private doubts that they might have.
Cabinet ministers are appointed by the prime minister and chosen from MPs or peers of the governing party.
However, during periods of national emergency, or when no single party gains a large enough majority to govern alone, coalition governments have been formed with cabinets containing members from more than one political party.
War cabinets have sometimes been formed with a much smaller membership than the full cabinet.
From time to time the prime minister will reorganise the cabinet in order to bring in new members, or to move existing members around. This reorganisation is known as a cabinet re-shuffle.
The cabinet normally meets once a week in the cabinet room at Downing Street.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
A proposal for new legislation that is debated by Parliament.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
The Chancellor - also known as "Chancellor of the Exchequer" is responsible as a Minister for the treasury, and for the country's economy. For Example, the Chancellor set taxes and tax rates. The Chancellor is the only MP allowed to drink Alcohol in the House of Commons; s/he is permitted an alcoholic drink while delivering the budget.
Lindsay Hoyle
Speaker of the House of Commons, Chair, Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, Chair, Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, Chair, House of Commons Commission, Chair, Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, Chair, Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, Chair, Members Estimate Committee, Chair, Members Estimate Committee, Chair, Restoration and Renewal Client Board Committee, Chair, Restoration and Renewal Client Board Committee, Chair, Speaker's Conference (2024) Committee, Chair, Speaker's Conference (2024) Committee