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Tag: Hywel Williams

  • Hywel Williams – 2023 Parliamentary Question on Research Funding for Welsh Universities

    Hywel Williams – 2023 Parliamentary Question on Research Funding for Welsh Universities

    The parliamentary question asked by Hywel Williams, the Plaid Cymru MP for Arfon, in the House of Commons on 18 January 2023.

    Hywel Williams (Arfon) (PC)

    What discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on research funding for Welsh universities.

    The Secretary of State for Wales (David T. C. Davies)

    I have regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on research funding for universities in Wales. We are committed to making the UK a science superpower, backed by nearly £39.8 billion, the largest ever research and development budget. Last week I was pleased to visit Bangor University—at the suggestion of the hon. Member—and to observe the cutting-edge research being done there. I remain committed to Welsh universities capitalising on the funding opportunities that are available.

    Hywel Williams

    The Secretary of State has seen for himself that Welsh universities can and do deliver world-class research, but I think he will accept that their research funding is perhaps less than would be expected. I accept that this is not a simple matter—it is not a matter of counting heads—but what practical help can the Secretary of State give to increase research support in Wales, particularly for new and innovative projects such as those he saw in Bangor?

    David T. C. Davies

    In terms of practical support, I want to visit every single university in Wales over the next few months. I have already met representatives of UK Research and Innovation to make clear my concern about the relatively low percentage of grant funding that is going to Welsh universities for research projects. I want to bring UKRI and those Welsh universities together at an event at Tŷ Gwydr later in the year, and given the hon. Gentleman’s own commitment to this particular issue, I will try to ensure that he is invited and is able to attend.

    Sir Oliver Heald (North East Hertfordshire) (Con)

    Does my right hon. Friend agree that Britain, including Wales, has a proud history of international collaboration? Will he continue to keep up the pressure on the European Commission to allow us to associate ourselves with the Horizon programme, which would make such a difference to the future of British science?

    David T. C. Davies

    I absolutely agree with my right hon. and learned Friend. I would support the Horizon programme, but if that is not possible for any reason, such as intransigence in the European Union, I will be making the case to UKRI that Welsh universities can produce some of the best research in this country and should be receiving a higher percentage of the money that is currently available.

  • Hywel Williams – 2023 Speech on the Procurement Bill

    Hywel Williams – 2023 Speech on the Procurement Bill

    The speech made by Hywel Williams, the Plaid Cymru MP for Arfon, in the House of Commons on 9 January 2023.

    Procurement in Wales is very much a devolved matter. I would have preferred to see our Senedd introduce its own legislation on the matter, but in this case there is a great deal of co-operation. The Welsh Government have opted to allow the UK Government to legislate on their behalf when it comes to developing post-EU procurement frameworks. Despite this, the Welsh Government are yet to recommend that the Senedd grants consent to the Bill. That is due to outstanding issues with the Bill passed by the House of Lords.

    In particular, the Bill provides for concurrent powers in relation to devolved areas; the Welsh Government would much prefer these powers to be amended to be concurrent-plus powers, which would put in place an important constitutional protection by requiring the UK Government to receive consent before exercising powers in devolved areas. The Welsh Government are also concerned about the Bill’s commencement powers. I understand that there was an initial commitment from the UK Government that Welsh Ministers would have commencement powers in the Bill, but, as it is, the Bill provides for Ministers of the Crown to have those powers. I would be grateful if the Minister updated the House as to what progress has been made on those matters.

    Given the creeping devolution power grab, I should note that there seems to be a significant degree of co-operation between both Governments on the Bill. I also welcome the fact that some amendments have already been made in the Lords at the request of the Welsh Government. I place on record my support for other amendments made in the Lords, particularly those setting out that requirements on climate change and the environment will be strategic priorities in the national procurement policy statement. I also welcome the amendments that will allow contracting authorities to exclude suppliers from contract awards for their involvement in activities linked to forced organ harvesting or unethical activities relating to human tissue. Those are non-Government amendments, but I hope that the UK Government will commit to retaining these changes. It would be good to hear from the Minister on that as well.

    As I said, procurement is devolved and although much of the Bill is relevant to Wales, the Welsh Government will develop its own Welsh procurement policy statement, which will be underpinned by legislation recently passed in the Senedd: the Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Bill. The aim of that legislation, with its emphasis on outcomes rather than regulation and inputs, is to ensure that the new Welsh procurement regime delivers social, environmental, economic and cultural results, including fair work.

    Many years ago, I co-delivered a long sequence of training for charity workers and trustees on the then new Charities Act. As a freelance trainer, living on my wits in the private sector, I needed no persuasion to see the value of that training. In respect of this legislation, the training and development of procurement professionals to ensure that they have the necessary knowledge and understanding of the new regime will be key to successful delivery. Both Governments intend to produce materials to support the delivery of the new regimes. There may well be significant differences between England and Wales in respect of procurement, so I ask the Minister to ensure now that the UK Government are mindful of potential divergence when commissioning future training and information, not least in respect of Wales securing materials and the actual delivery of training in both Welsh and English when intended for use in Wales.

    Returning to the Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Bill, my Plaid Cymru colleagues in the Senedd are pushing the Welsh Government to set out clear targets for the proportion of procurement spend spent in Wales and spent with specific types of suppliers, such as small and medium-sized enterprises or social enterprises—that point has been mentioned by hon. Members on both sides of the House.

    In conclusion, I am pleased to report that this is already a priority for my Plaid Cymru-run local authority Cyngor Gwynedd, which spent 61% of its procurement budget last year locally.

  • Hywel Williams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    Hywel Williams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hywel Williams on 2016-04-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what meetings (a) he and (b) his predecessor had with ministers in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (i) wholly and (ii) primarily about Tata Steel’s intentions for the Welsh steel industry.

    Alun Cairns

    My predecessor, the Rt hon Stephen Crabb MP, and I have, and continue to conduct regular meetings to discuss Tata Steel, and the Welsh Steel Industry with Cabinet colleagues, UK Government Ministers and Welsh Government Ministers.

  • Hywel Williams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    Hywel Williams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hywel Williams on 2016-04-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what meetings (a) he and (b) his predecessor had with Ministers of the Welsh Government (i) wholly and (ii) primarily about Tata Steel’s intentions for the Welsh steel industry.

    Alun Cairns

    My predecessor, the Rt hon Stephen Crabb MP, and I have, and continue to conduct regular meetings to discuss Tata Steel, and the Welsh Steel Industry with Cabinet colleagues, UK Government Ministers and Welsh Government Ministers.

  • Hywel Williams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    Hywel Williams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hywel Williams on 2016-04-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what meetings (a) he and (b) his predecessor had with cabinet colleagues (i) wholly and (ii) primarily about Tata Steel’s intentions for the Welsh steel industry.

    Alun Cairns

    My predecessor, the Rt hon Stephen Crabb MP, and I have, and continue to conduct regular meetings to discuss Tata Steel, and the Welsh Steel Industry with Cabinet colleagues, UK Government Ministers and Welsh Government Ministers.

  • Hywel Williams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Hywel Williams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hywel Williams on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what provision HM Prison Service makes to meet the spiritual needs of prisoners who speak Welsh in prisons in (a) Wales and (b) other parts of the UK.

    Andrew Selous

    The spiritual needs of Welsh speaking prisoners have been, and continue to be, provided by chaplains working in multi-faith teams. The framework for providing faith services in languages other than English is detailed in Prison Service Instruction 05/2016 Faith and Pastoral Care of Prisoners.

    This can be found on the Justice website at the following link:

    https://www.justice.gov.uk/offenders/psis

    “

  • Hywel Williams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hywel Williams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hywel Williams on 2016-05-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent reports he has received on allegations of torture and threats of physical and sexual violence against Baha’is sentenced to prison terms in Golestan province, Iran.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We consistently raise our concerns about the treatment of the Baha’i community in Iran with the Iranian Government. We call on Iran to cease harassment of all religious minorities and to fulfil its international and domestic obligations to allow freedom of religion to all Iranians.

  • Hywel Williams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hywel Williams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hywel Williams on 2016-05-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on (a) the mass arrest of members of the Baha’i community in Golestan province, Iran and (b) the length of their sentence of imprisonment.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We have had no specific reporting nor have we made representations on behalf of the group mentioned. However, we consistently raise our concerns about the treatment of the Baha’i community in Iran with the Iranian Government. We call on Iran to cease harassment of all religious minorities and to fulfil its international and domestic obligations to allow freedom of religion to all Iranians.

  • Hywel Williams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hywel Williams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hywel Williams on 2016-05-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Iranian counterpart on allegations that Baha’i people sentenced to prison terms in Golestan province were tortured, forced to sign confessions and denied access to legal representation.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We have made no specific representations on behalf of the group mentioned. However, we consistently raise our concerns about the treatment of the Baha’i community in Iran with the Iranian Government. We call on Iran to cease harassment of all religious minorities and to fulfil its international and domestic obligations to allow freedom of religion to all Iranians.

  • Hywel Williams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Hywel Williams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hywel Williams on 2016-06-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the quality of work capability assessments.

    Priti Patel

    Strict audit and quality control measures are in place to ensure the Centre for Health and Disability Assessments delivers high-quality assessments.