Lord Wigley

Electricity generation capacity for hydroelectric power plants is published in Energy Trends table 6.1, available on gov.uk.

At the end of 2024 the installed capacity for hydroelectric power plants was: (1) England 43 MW, (2) Scotland 1,668 MW and (3) Wales 168 MW.

The UK has a strong civil nuclear relationship with the Republic of Korea, including an annual Civil Nuclear Dialogue, where officials from both governments discuss shared challenges and opportunities to collaborate.

The Government have not yet taken a decision on Zonal or Reformed National pricing. Zonal pricing has the potential to reduce bills for consumer across Great Britain, and we are currently conducting quantitative and distributional analysis to understand the impacts of zonal market design options on consumers, including those in Wales. A cost-benefit analysis will also inform policy decisions and help conclude how effectively the options meet the objectives.

Zonal pricing could be implemented with varying degrees of consumer exposure. We are working closely with the Welsh Government to understand how any potential REMA reforms could impact Welsh consumers and industry, and this will be taken into account as part of the final decision-making process.

There have been two nuclear reactors located in Wales; both are now being decommissioned. The nuclear power plant on the Trawsfynydd site came offline in 1991 and the plant on the Wylfa site in Anglesey stopped generating electricity in 2015. The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) regulate nuclear sites in Great Britain and publish a map of licensed sites on their website at www.onr.org.uk/our-work/map-of-sites-and-facilities/. GE Healthcare operated a Nuclear Licensed site in Cardiff which was used for radiopharmaceutical manufacture and de-licensed in 2019. There was no reactor present on this site.

Hydroelectric power accounts for 2% of the UK’s electricity generation. A majority of hydroelectric output is generated in Scotland.

In 2023, annual figures show that:

3% of hydroelectricity was generated in England*

7% of hydroelectricity was generated in Wales*

90% of hydroelectricity was generated in Scotland*

Latest data available on hydroelectric generation is available via the DESNZ publication, Energy Trends December 2024, Table ET 6.1: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6762b0d6cdb5e64b69e30735/ET_6.1_DEC_24.xlsx. This table shows annual generation (latest data 2023) of hydroelectricity in GWh, by country, on which the above information is based.

*Rounded to the nearest hundred.

In 2023 the film, TV, video, radio and photography industry had a GVA of £21.2 billion.

In 2024 production spend on film and high-end TV reached £5.6 billion, of which £4.8 billion was inward investment, the majority of which came from US studios. The value and success of our film industry is owed to a collaborative mix of inward investment and our domestic industry. Inward investment projects stimulate growth, good jobs and training across our nations and regions.

The deep ties between the US and UK film industries provide mutual benefits to both countries. Productions are by their very nature international partnerships, which are often developed and created across different countries and locations. The UK and the US both benefit when the likes of Star Wars and Mission Impossible are partly filmed in the UK, just as we both benefit from the close working relationship between our producers, talent and crew.

Based on the latest available data from VisitBritain and the International Passenger Survey (IPS), the UK received 38 million inbound visitors in 2023, of which Wales received 892,000 visits.

The Media Act 2024 gives commercial radio greater flexibility to organise its programmes to meet the changing needs of its audiences. While decisions on changes to local radio services are ultimately matters for commercial radio companies, we are disappointed in recent decisions which have resulted in the end of Welsh language programmes.

The Government is a strong supporter of Welsh language broadcasting and will consider the wider implications on Welsh language radio with the Welsh Government and other stakeholders in Wales. Neither I nor any DCMS Ministers have had any direct discussions on this matter with Global.

While tourism in Wales is devolved to the Welsh Government, VisitBritain, an arm’s length body of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, retains responsibility for marketing Great Britain on the international stage.

Visit Wales leads on the development of a tourism brand specifically for Wales, while VisitBritain works with Visit Wales to ensure that these brand values are reflected in the broader GREAT Campaign, which highlights a number of the many destinations and experiences on offer across Wales.

VisitBritain champions Wales as a distinguished travel destination, emphasizing its rich cultural heritage and landscape. VisitBritain also promotes UNESCO heritage sites on its website, including Wales slate communities.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

Earlier this year, the department announced an initial teacher training financial incentives package for the 2025/26 recruitment cycle worth £233 million, which is a £37 million increase on the last cycle. This includes a £10,000 tax free bursary to encourage trainees to teach music.

I refer the noble Lord to the answer of 16 December 2024 to Question 19397.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

The numbers of entries in A level music in the 2014/15 and 2022/23 academic years are published by the department in the ‘A level and other 16 to 18 results’ statistical release. There were 6,709 A level music entries in 2014/15 and 4,911 A level music entries in 2022/23

These numbers include all A level entries by students aged 16 to 18 in England in that academic year.

The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), now part of the Joint Information Systems Committee (Jisc), collects and publishes data on student enrolments across all UK higher education (HE) providers. This includes data on full person equivalents enrolled in different subject areas, categorised using the HE coding of subjects system. Counts of enrolments across all subjects from 2019/20 to 2022/23 are published in Table 49 of HESA’s Student Data, which can be found here: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/students/table-49.

Table 49 can be used to determine that in the 2022/23 academic year, there were 31,030 HE enrolments in ‘mathematics’ across 75 English HE providers and 31,405 HE enrolments in ‘music’ across 106 English HE providers. There were 58 HE providers in England that had enrolments in both ‘mathematics’ and ‘music’ in 2022/23.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

In the 2023/24 financial year, the department allocated £200,000 through the Strengthening Chess in Primary Schools grant, supporting primary schools to improve their pupils’ access to chess.

More broadly, at the Autumn Budget 2024, the government announced an additional £2.3 billion for mainstream schools and young people with high needs for the 2025/26 financial year, compared to 2024/25. This means that overall core school funding will total almost £63.9 billion next year.

Each year schools receive core funding from the department to cover their expenditures. These expenditures could include teacher salaries, school lunches, electronic resources, art and craft supplies, or any other number of items.

It is for headteachers to decide how best to manage their budgets, including spending on the promotion of extracurricular activities such as chess. This funding is not ringfenced.

Schools may also choose to utilise their pupil premium funding to support enrichment. The pupil premium grant is funding to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged pupils in state-funded schools in England. Schools must use this funding in line with the menu of approaches which are based on the evidence of how best to improve attainment for disadvantaged pupils. This includes the flexibility to use pupil premium to tackle non-academic barriers to success, including providing enrichment opportunities to benefit those pupils who may not be able to have access otherwise.

Both the UK Government and Welsh Government’s should act in accordance with the Intergovernmental Protocol on Water Resources, Water Supply and Water Quality in having regard to the interests of water consumers on the other side of the border in the exercise of their functions.

Planning consents for water resources infrastructure projects in Wales, such as reservoirs, are devolved to the Welsh Government. Where project proposals may affect cross-border links, applicants should work with the relevant administrations and regulatory organisations.

Global average temperatures are now 1.3°C above preindustrial temperatures, based on a 20-year average, centred on present-day by including 10 years from the past and projections for 10 years into the future.

The UK Climate Projections, produced by the Met Office on behalf of government, provide information on future climate for a range of potential climate scenarios. These scenarios underpin the evidence used in the UK Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA).

The assessment of risks and opportunities in CCRA3 was based on global warming scenarios of 2ºC and 4ºC above preindustrial temperatures being reached by 2100. The Government’s climate adaptation plans, as set out in the third National Adaptation Programme, published in 2023, follow the advice of the Climate Change Committee to plan for 2ºC. The Government remains flexible and responsive in our approach, assessing for different scenarios.

The Severn to Thames Transfer is part of the RAPID programme and this means it will receive regulatory oversight as the owners (Severn Trent Water, Thames Water and United Utilities) continue to investigate and develop this potential strategic regional option (SRO). The Severn to Thames Transfer progressed through gate two in June 2023 after it was assessed by the RAPID partner regulators (Ofwat, EA and DWI). It was decided that this SRO should continue to be developed towards gate three.

The Severn to Thames Transfer is not currently a preferred option in water companies' water resource management plans (WRMPs). However, at PR24 Ofwat decided that the Severn to Thames Transfer should continue to be developed. This is because securing our future water supply is of critical importance, and therefore it is crucial that there is contingency within the system.

In the event that the Severn Thames Transfer is progressed, it is likely to involve a pipeline connection of the River Severn to the River Thames to enable the transfer of up to 500Ml/d raw water to the Southeast during times of drought.

This Government is committed to building stronger ties and working collaboratively with the Welsh Government on shared priorities including tackling pollution, restoring nature and supporting our farmers.

Effective regulations play an important part in reducing diffuse agricultural pollution and cleaning up our waters, as well as supporting improvements to farm businesses. Both governments are working closely with regulators, local farmers and other key partners in England and Wales on these issues, for example by working with local farmers and environmental NGOs, alongside the Wye Nutrient Management Board and the Wye Catchment Partnership who are leading efforts to tackle pollution in the Wye.

Additionally, the Environment Agency also works with farmers through advice-led enforcement to improve compliance. These inspections are targeted to areas of the greatest risk, including the catchments of protected sites.

Research is ongoing to identify mechanisms for improving water quality in the Wye. This will take a collaborative “living labs” approach where data is collected on and by working farm businesses working alongside academics/researchers to assess how farmers can best manage their nutrients and reduce pressures on the River Wye. The project will be multi-disciplinary, bringing in social research and economics as well as natural science.

Defra is the Lead Government Department in England for flooding and works with the Environment Agency (EA) and Met Office to maintain a flood warning system for England.

The responsibility for flood warning systems in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland rests with the equivalent organisations to Defra and the EA in the Devolved Governments. The responsibility for storm warning systems in the UK is held by the Met Office.

Between September and mid-January 2025 over 1,400 Flood Warnings were issued in England. Defra, the EA and the Met Office regularly assess the effectiveness of their flood warning systems in England including after major events like Storm Bert and Storm Darragh. These assessments take various forms, including working with Local Resilience Forums in post incident reviews as well as annual performance reports under the Flood & Water Management Act 2010.

Defra, the EA and the Met Office continuously work to improve flood warning services, including by developing the capability of world leading Flood Forecast Centre. Examples of this work include a trial of Rapid Flood Guidance which took place in 2024, and which is currently being evaluated.

The Transport Act 1985 permit system was designed to recognise the value of not-for profit organisations that provide services for community, social and charitable benefit including schools and the wider education sector.

Whilst there are no immediate plans to alter the section 19 and section 22 permit system, ensuring the arrangements work well and are safe is something that is regularly under consideration.

Most operators currently have a National Rail Contract, which sets quantifiable performance targets for operators to earn a performance-based fee. There are six measures including train service cancellations and the punctuality at each station call. A proportion of the total fee is available for each of the six different measures designed to incentivise on-time operations and fewer cancellations.

Performance targets are intended to be stretching, balance a range of outcomes, and represent value for the taxpayer. These targets are set as part of a commercial contract and are subject to negotiation.

Work is currently underway on setting out new performance targets for train operators in public ownership.

The Department for Transport publishes Port Freight Statistics annually where the statistics are broken down by route. They show that in 2023 (latest data available), Great Britain imported 19.2m tonnes of goods from Northern Ireland through its maritime ports, and Great Britain imported 6.8m tonnes goods from the Republic of Ireland through its maritime ports.

The maritime freight from Northern Ireland to Great Britain and, from Republic of Ireland to Great Britain for 2020 and 2015 can be seen in table 1.

Table 1: Maritime freight from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to Great Britain in the years 2015, 2020 and 2023. (Source: Department for Transport)

For the time series back to 2000, please see the Department for Transport’s published tables, PORT0707 for Northern Ireland - Great Britain and PORT0499 for Republic of Ireland - Great Britain.

The Department for Transport (DfT) also publishes road freight statistics, which provides information about the domestic and international activity of British-registered and Northern Ireland-registered heavy good vehicles (HGVs). This excludes activity by foreign-registered HGVs and light good vehicles. This is collected by DfT road freight haulage surveys. Due to a methodology change in the data collection, domestic road freight statistics data before and after 2021 should not be compared.

For 2023 (latest figures), 2.2 million tonnes of goods were lifted by UK-registered vehicles between Great Britain and Northern Ireland and 0.5 million tonnes of goods were lifted by UK-registered vehicles between Great Britain and the Republican of Ireland. This is published in the domestic road freight statistics table RFS0130 and RFS0131. Please note, this refers to the volume lifted from and to, not just entering Great Britain.

The Department for Transport has not included aviation freight because these volumes are significantly lower than maritime and road freight (of the order of a few thousand tonnes).

The Department for Transport does not hold information on the proportion of the goods that were subsequently moved onwards to countries within the European Union.

There are currently 137 railway stations with step free access between the entrance/ exit and platforms in Greater London (this excludes those operated by Transport for London). Since April 2024, the Access for All programme has delivered step free access at 25 stations across Britain, with Newtown station in Powys being one of the most recent. This Government is committed to improving the accessibility of the railway and recognises the social and economic benefits this brings to communities.

Data on road injury collisions are reported by police using the STATS19 system. In STATS19, a fatality is defined as a death that occurred within 30 days of the collision. The rates of fatalities in road collisions in 2023 per million population for different parts of the United Kingdom are shown in the table below.