Written questions by Roberts.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a separate resettlement route for people in Gaza to join families in the UK.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave on 13 March to Question 35970.

If she will list the number of care experienced prisoners with home addresses in Wales that were in prison in (a) Wales and (b) England by the local authority of their home address in each of the last five years.

We are committed to addressing the disproportionate number of care-experienced prisoners in England and Wales, both by improving support for people with care experience while in the criminal justice system, and by working with colleagues across government to reduce the number of people with care experience who enter the criminal justice system. Whilst we are working to improve data, our records are primarily based on children and adults self-reporting care experience and there are many reasons why people may choose not to disclose this information. We are therefore unable to provide reliable figures to answer these questions.

What categories of information are routinely collected by prisons on prisoners.

Prisons collect a wide range of information. The main categories are: personal and demographic; legal and custodial; health and wellbeing; risk and behavioural assessments; education and employment; rehabilitation and progress monitoring; and daily activities and privileges.

What recent estimate she has made of the proportion of care experienced children and young adults within the criminal justice system in Wales.

We are committed to addressing the disproportionate number of care-experienced prisoners in England and Wales, both by improving support for people with care experience while in the criminal justice system, and by working with colleagues across government to reduce the number of people with care experience who enter the criminal justice system. Whilst we are working to improve data, our records are primarily based on children and adults self-reporting care experience and there are many reasons why people may choose not to disclose this information. We are therefore unable to provide reliable figures to answer these questions.

If she will list the number of care experienced prisoners in each (a) prison and (b) young offender institution in (i) Wales and (ii) England in each of the last five years.

We are committed to addressing the disproportionate number of care-experienced prisoners in England and Wales, both by improving support for people with care experience while in the criminal justice system, and by working with colleagues across government to reduce the number of people with care experience who enter the criminal justice system. Whilst we are working to improve data, our records are primarily based on children and adults self-reporting care experience and there are many reasons why people may choose not to disclose this information. We are therefore unable to provide reliable figures to answer these questions.

What estimate his Department has made of the potential changes in the level of the average annual cost of electricity for people leaving the Radio Teleswitch Service.

Ofgem has consulted on plans to ensure that suppliers must take all reasonable steps to provide an energy tariff that leaves all their customers ‘no worse off’ than before once their RTS meter is replaced. Ofgem will make further announcements on this in due course.

What her planned timetable is for the switch off of the Radio Teleswitch Service in each Welsh local authority area.

The Radio Teleswitch Service (RTS) signal will be switched off in carefully targeted local areas, where suppliers are ready to respond quickly in case of any issues, starting from 30 June. Industry’s phase out plan will be flexible and subject to change, and therefore will not be published, as suppliers must demonstrate to Ofgem and Government that they are sufficiently prepared before they can proceed. Households will be contacted by their energy suppliers through multiple methods of communication to inform them well ahead of time of any phase out activity in their area. Ofgem will also contact local authorities to inform them of planned activity in their area in advance of any switch off.

What the total cost in (a) 2019 prices and (b) today after being adjusted for inflation of HS2 as estimated by CEO of HS2 Ltd in his preliminary report to her Department.

Mark Wild is leading a comprehensive reset of the programme to deliver the remaining works at the lowest reasonable cost. As part of this work, he will advise the Department on a revised cost estimate for HS2. As Mark Wild set out in his letter, HS2 Ltd’s unassured estimate of the maximum cost of HS2 excluding Euston in June 2024 was £61.8bn in Q3 2019 prices, however he identified the programme was facing significant additional pressures which he will assess as part of the reset. Once a revised cost estimate is agreed, this will be expressed in an updated price base and better capture the inflation incurred since 2019, following a commitment made by the Department to the Public Accounts Committee in December.

With reference to the June 2025 Statement of Funding Policy, published on 11 June, and the oral contribution of the Secretary of State for Wales during the oral question on Devolution: Crown Estate of 11 June, Official Report, column 958, whether the East-West rail project is classified by her department as carrying a 100% comparability factor for Wales.

The East-West rail project is classified as an England and Wales project. This approach applies to investment in heavy rail by the Department for Transport, including HS2 and East-West Rail, and is consistent with the funding arrangements for all other policy areas reserved in Wales as set out in the Statement of Funding Policy.

With reference to her Department's consultation on reforming Local Justice Areas, what assessment has she made of the adequacy of her Department's adherence to the statutory duty to provide a Welsh language impact assessment.

The Ministry of Justice produced a Welsh language impact assessment during consultation (published on 16 April 2025, shortly after the consultation’s launch), and has committed to publishing a further assessment alongside the finalised proposals, once these are determined.The existing assessment is available at section 10 of the Equalities Statement: LJA Consultation Equalities Statement.

What discussions he has had with the Welsh Government on the Strategic Defence Review.

The Welsh Government was invited to respond to the public consultation through a letter from Lord Robertson. I have also held a call with the Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales to brief the Welsh Government on the content of the Strategic Defence Review (SDR) and its significance for Wales. We will continue engagement with Welsh Government Colleagues on a range of Ministry of Defence matters including the SDR.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the ban on employment for women seeking asylum on levels of gender-based violence and exploitation.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave on 3 June to Question 53862.

Whether any of the six munitions and energetics factories announced in the Strategic Defence Review will be built in Wales.

Wales already contributes to munitions development, and we hope businesses based in Wales will continue to do so as we build our always on defence munitions strategy. We will set out that detail in due course, but our overall munitions investment will help support jobs and growth across every nation of the UK. We already have important facilities across the UK, supporting thousands of jobs. This new investment will be used to build at least six munitions and energetics factories across the UK, creating hundreds of skilled jobs and supporting the Government's Plan for Change by driving growth in every region and nation of the UK.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the work ban for people seeking asylum on future employment opportunities.

Our primary responsibility remains to crack down on illegal working, and ensure that those employers and employees who play by the rules are not undercut by those who are not. Asylum seekers who have had their claim outstanding for 12 months or more, through no fault of their own, can currently apply for permission to work in jobs on the Immigration Salary List (ISL). The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration and asylum system under regular review, and recently published a White Paper setting out the Government’s plans for reform in relation to the exploitation and abuse of migrant workers, and a wide range of other areas. The Home Office also continues to invest in a programme of transformation to speed up asylum decision making and therefore reduce the time people spend in the asylum system. This approach will ensure that genuine asylum seekers can be accepted quickly and gain access to the labour market, and those who are not can be removed to their home country.

If he will make an estimate of the number of radio teleswitch service meters in use in (a) Wales, (b) Gwynedd and (c) Dwyfor Meirionnydd constituency in the latest period for which data is available.

Most recent figures provided to the Department from Ofgem indicates that as of 2nd May there were c.9,500 RTS meters remaining in Wales.Ofgem does not collect constituency level data on RTS meters from suppliers.

What assessment has he made of the accuracy of the list of RTS Switch off Identified Properties for properties in Gwynedd which have storage heaters as their primary source of heating.

The Department is not aware of a list of RTS properties that separately identifies premises with and without storage heaters.

What steps his Department will take to support households unable to access Energy Company Obligation 4 before its expiration on 31 March 2026.

Eligibility for the Energy Company Obligation 4 (ECO4) and the Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS) does not guarantee assistance, the Department cannot direct who receives support. ECO4 and GBIS have already supported an estimated 292,490 households to February 2025, with around 9,000 homes per month in the last quarter. We are committed to meeting fuel poverty and Net Zero targets, and we are currently considering what policy mix will best achieve that, including what role energy company obligations should play post-2026.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of Ofgem's data on Smarter Meter Switch off Identified Properties on the number of properties in Gwynedd with storage heaters as their primary source of heating.

Smart meters, and the communication services that support smart metering, will not be switched off. The Department does not receive information from energy suppliers about the number of households with storage heaters.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of delaying the Radio Teleswitch Service switch off.

The industry-led Radio Teleswitch Service (RTS) is reaching the end of its operational life and can no longer be adequately maintained.The switch-off will start from the end of June, and the Government and Ofgem have called on suppliers to rapidly increase the pace of RTS replacements, so that there is a smooth transition and consumers are protected. We continue to closely monitor progress.

What estimate he has made of the number of households on Economy 7 tariffs in Gwynedd impacted by the Radio Teleswitch service switch off.

The Department does not receive information from energy suppliers on the number of households on specific tariffs, such as Economy 7.