Written questions by Chadwick.

What representations he has made to the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the transfer of the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme’s Investment Reserve to its Welsh scheme members.

The Department is engaging with HM Treasury with a view to agreeing a way forward on the transfer of the reserve to members. The Government is aiming to reach agreement on an outcome that can be implemented later this year which will benefit scheme members. As at 30 October 2024, there were 3,650 members of the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme in Wales. Any transfer of the reserve would be used to enhance member benefits.

Pursuant to the Answer of 19 September 2025 to Question 76666 on British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme, if it remains his policy to reach an outcome on the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme’s investment reserve that can be implemented this year.

The Government’s aim remains to reach an outcome that can be implemented this year.

Whether (a) he and (b) the Chief Secretary to the Treasury have held recent meetings with representatives of the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme on the future of the Investment Reserve.

I met the Trustees on 12 November 2025 to discuss the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme and the proposed transfer of the reserve.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of returning the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme Investment Reserve to members on the Welsh economy.

As at 30 October 2024, there were 3,650 members of the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme in Wales. Any transfer of the reserve would be used to enhance member benefits.

What steps his Department is taking to help support steel businesses with (a) innovative and (b) low-carbon projects.

This Government has committed up to £2.5bn to the UK steel industry, which is being delivered in part through the National Wealth Fund (NWF). The NWF has £5.8bn to invest across clean energy and advanced manufacturing sectors, including steel, and is engaging with firms on opportunities aligned with its investment principles. This is in addition to £500m grant funding towards Tata’s overall £1.25bn Port Talbot transformation project, which will see the Port Talbot site transition to lower carbon Electric Arc Furnace steel making. We have also supported innovation through our £22million in funding of the Material Processing Institute’s PRISM programme since 2020, and have recently consulted on proposals to deliver a framework of voluntary policies to grow demand for low carbon industrial products, with an initial focus on the steel, cement, and concrete products used in construction.

If he will publish (a) internal advice and (b) correspondence relating to the decision to not proceed with proposals to give businesses a cash grant for innovative steel projects.

We remain committed to providing up to £2.5bn for the steel sector, which is being delivered in part through the National Wealth Fund. The NWF has £5.8bn to invest across clean energy and advanced manufacturing sectors, including steel, and is engaging with firms on opportunities aligned with its investment principles. In February 2025, the UK government launched a "Plan for Steel" consultation to seek views on issues such as electricity costs, trade challenges, domestic demand, and funding. The forthcoming Steel Strategy will set out our response to those issues.

Whether his Department received (a) applications and (b) expressions of interest prior to the decision to not proceed with proposals to give businesses a cash grant for innovative steel projects.

We are committed to providing up to £2.5bn for the steel sector, which is being delivered in part through the National Wealth Fund (NWF). A consultation was launched in February 2025 regarding the upcoming steel strategy, and we sought views on further potential mechanisms to support the steel industry, including the possibility of grant funding. However, we were not seeking applications or expressions of interest at that stage.

If he will commission an independent assessment of the financial and operational implications of fully devolving rail infrastructure and services to the Welsh Government.

The UK and Welsh Governments are focussed on transformation of the rail sector, modernising and improving rail services and delivering a more integrated, accountable, and passenger-focused railway. As part of the wider rail reform agenda, and through continued collaborative working, we will be confirming devolved responsibilities, funding arrangements, and joint governance mechanisms, thereby strengthening accountability in the delivery of rail services across the Wales and Borders area. A joint Memorandum of Understanding is expected to be published in Spring 2026 and will be supported by a partnership agreement between Great British Railways and Transport for Wales. This will ensure we are working towards jointly agreed shared objectives for Wales and Borders rail services and UK services serving destinations in the Wales and Borders geography.

For what reason Welsh Ministers do not have the same statutory powers as Scottish Ministers to produce a High Level Output Specification for rail infrastructure.

As set out in the Secretary of State’s Written Statement to Parliament on 5 November, UK Government and Welsh Ministers are committed to modernising and improving rail services and delivering a more integrated, accountable, and passenger-focused railway in Wales that respects the current devolution settlement. Welsh Ministers will be statutory consultees on the England and Wales Statement of Objectives, and a formal Memorandum of Understanding, which is expected to be published in Spring 2026, will codify devolved responsibilities, funding arrangements, and joint governance mechanisms. This will strengthen accountability in the delivery of all rail services across the Wales and Borders geography. This Memorandum of Understanding will include our joint intention for shared objectives and control period / funding period planning, and a dedicated, empowered Business Unit within Great British Railways (GBR) that will deliver against those shared objectives.

What per-capita level of rail enhancement funding has been allocated to Wales for Control Period 7.

Rail enhancement funding is determined via Spending Reviews rather than Control Period based settlements. In June 2025 the Chancellor announced investment plans covering the period from 2026/27 to 2029/30. For this period £350 million has been allocated to rail enhancements in Wales, with a further commitment of at least £95 million to continue delivering Wales’ long term infrastructure needs. Based on the most recent Office for National Statistics figure for the population of Wales (mid-year estimate 30 June 2024), this total represents a per-capita value of £139.65.

How much funding her Department plans to provide through the National Wealth Fund for steel projects; and how businesses can access that funding.

This Government has a vision for a strong, resilient, productive steel industry in the UK that is primed for long-term success, driving growth in communities. The NWF will commit at least £5.8 billion over this Parliament to priority sub-sectors, which includes green steel. Businesses seeking the NWF’s finance or support from should contact them directly via their website: https://www.nationalwealthfund.org.uk/contact-us

What estimate his Department has made of the total rail enhancement planned to spent in Wales to 2040.

In June 2025 the Chancellor announced investment plans covering the period from 2026/27 to 2029/30. For this period £350 million has been allocated to rail enhancements in Wales. The Chancellor also confirmed that a further allocation of at least £95 million would be made in future years. The total amount of rail enhancement funding to be allocated up to 2040 will be confirmed at future Spending Reviews Plans for rail investment in Wales will be made in close consultation with the Welsh Government. The Wales Rail Board has been established to provide joint strategic direction for schemes in Wales, with representation from the Department for Transport, the Wales Office, Network Rail, the Welsh Government and Transport for Wales. It will be consulted ahead of the next Spending Review so that Wales’s long-term rail infrastructure needs continue to be recognised.

Will the Government will make it its policy fully devolve heavy rail policy to Wales.

The Department for Transport and the Welsh Government have been working collaboratively on the approach to rail reform in Wales, building on recent progress with devolution of the Core Valley Lines and the announcement at the Spending Review that at least £445m will be made available to enhance the railway in Wales. As announced on 5 November, a joint Memorandum of Understanding is expected to be published in Spring 2026 and will be supported by a partnership agreement between Great British Railways and Transport for Wales. This will ensure we are working towards jointly agreed shared objectives for Wales and Borders rail services and UK services serving destinations in the Wales and Borders geography. This Memorandum of Understanding will set out the intended working arrangements between the two governments for the management of rail infrastructure in Wales.

If he will take steps to ensure that the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme’s Investment Reserve is returned to members before the Autumn Budget 2025.

The Government is aiming to reach agreement on an outcome that can be implemented later this year which will benefit scheme members.

What formal representation (a) Welsh Ministers and (b) Transport for Wales will have in the governance structure of Great British Railways.

There will be a statutory requirement for Welsh Ministers and the Secretary of State to agree a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).The contents of this MoU have been outlined in Written Ministerial Statements by the Secretary of State for Transport in the UK Parliament and Ken Skates, Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales, in the Senedd, accompanying the Railways Bill. These statements reinforce our commitment to collaborative governance, outlining shared ministerial intentions across areas such as track and train integration, cross-border service oversight, and the establishment of a dedicated GBR Wales and Borders Business Unit.The final MoU will be published in due course as committed to within the Bill.

How much funding was allocated to the steel innovation grant scheme.

We are committed to providing up to £2.5bn for the steel sector, which is being delivered in part through the National Wealth Fund. The NWF has £5.8bn to invest across clean energy and advanced manufacturing sectors, including steel, and is engaging with firms on opportunities aligned with its investment principles.No funding has been allocated to a competitive steel grant fund.

Whether she will review the Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations which limiting local authorities ability to offer paid seats on non-compliant vehicles with more than 22 seats for school transport.

The Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations 2000 (PSVAR) set minimum accessibility standards for physical features on buses and coaches designed to carry over twenty-two passengers and used on local or scheduled services. Introduced to help disabled people, including children and young people to travel safely and in reasonable comfort, the Regulations have applied to certain home-to-school (HTS) services for 25 years. In recognition of the shortfall of compliant vehicles and to enable essential services to keep operating, including HTS where spare capacity is sold, the Department has offered medium-term exemptions. These exemptions are due to expire on 31 July 2026.In 2023 the previous Government began a review of PSVAR, including inviting feedback from local authority commissioners, providers and users of transport services, through a Call for Evidence, with a view to understanding the extent to which the Regulations remained appropriate and continued to serve disabled passengers. We continue to consider the Review findings and potential future action, and we will announce any next steps on PSVAR in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether negotiations on a Common Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Area with the EU has begun.

The UK is ready to move forward quickly to implement the outcomes agreed at the UK-EU summit. We are already in discussions in some areas – Security Action for Europe (SAFE), Erasmus, Electricity linking - and in others (Sanitary and Phytosanitary / Emissions Trading Scheme) the EU is agreeing to their mandates. We stand ready to start talks as soon as those mandates are agreed.

If the Health and Safety Executive will take steps to align with (a) EU mandatory hazard classifications (under EU Classification, Labelling & Packaging Regulation) and (b) EU decisions to (i) approve, (ii) not to approve, (iii) restrict and (iv) ban biocide active substances.

In Great Britain (GB) chemicals are regulated under a framework that was largely inherited from the EU system including the GB Classification, Labelling and Packing Regulation (GB CLP) and the GB Biocidal Products Regulation (GB BPR). GB CLP like EU CLP adopts the United Nations Globally Harmonized System of classification and labelling of chemicals (‘the UN GHS’); a voluntary internationally agreed system, upon which the classification and labelling provisions of GB CLP are based. Divergence between mandatory hazard classifications for chemicals (GB mandatory classification and labelling (GB MCLs)) and EU mandatory hazard classifications has been minimal to-date. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) conducted a public consultation between 23 June and 18 August 2025 on proposals for reforming both GB CLP and GB BPR. The GB BPR proposals included a proposal to adopt approvals from recognised jurisdictions. It is anticipated that the EU would be a recognised jurisdiction which would make it easier to adopt EU decisions where appropriate for GB. The analysis of the consultation responses is underway, and all final decisions including any decisions to align with the EU on GB CLP and GB BPR are subject to parliamentary scrutiny.

What assessment the Health and Safety Executive has made of its proposals to replace expiry dates for biocidal active substance approvals with a mechanism to ‘call in’ these substances for review on (a) the safety of active substances on the market and (b) their impact on (i) health and (ii) the environment.

The Health and Safety Executive's (HSE) legislative reforms aim to provide greater flexibility to the regulator while maintaining the current high standards offered by chemicals regulatory regimes, including the Great Britain Biocidal Products Regulation (GB BPR), to human health and the environment. The proposal to remove fixed expiry dates and introduce a risk-based 'call-in' system for active substance reviews would permit HSE to focus evaluation work where it would have the greatest impact particularly on addressing initial assessments that are required as part of the GB Active Substance Review Programme. Active substances requiring initial evaluation will as yet have had no evaluation, consequently risks are much less well understood than active substances (biocidal approvals) that have already been thoroughly evaluated and deemed acceptable. This proposed change of approach will enable HSE to continue to make efficient and effective regulatory decisions to address risks to people’s safety, health and the environment. All decisions on these proposals are subject to an analysis of the consultation responses, which is currently underway, and all final decisions are subject to parliamentary scrutiny.