Ann Davies MP: speeches

Speeches

• 8 Dec 2025 · Child Poverty Strategy · Hansard source

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  Plaid Cymru has led the charge in Wales against the two-child limit, so we welcome the fact that scrapping it is a cornerstone of this strategy. As Members will know, 34% of our children in Wales live in poverty. There is a catch, however, because the benefit cap remains in place and around 10% of the children in Wales who are currently hit by the two-child limit will not see any improvement. On top of that, another one in 10 households could find themselves capped for the very first time. Will the Secretary of State build on the child poverty strategy by removing, or at least raising, the benefit cap?

• 3 Dec 2025 · Pension Schemes Bill · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for his opening remarks this afternoon. The Bill has provided an opportunity for the Labour UK Government to address long-standing pension injustices. Such injustices include the British Coal staff superannuation scheme scandal, whereby surplus sharing arrangements saw billions of pounds heading to the Treasury while former mineworkers’ pensions were eroded, and the lack of indexation for pre-1997 pension accruals under the financial assistance scheme and the Pension Protection Fund, which has caused hardship for pensioners. Addressing such scandals is exactly what my new clauses 2 and 6 set out to do. New clause 2 would require the Secretary of State to set out a timetable for transferring the whole of the BCSSS investment reserve to members, and to commit to a review on how future surplus will be shared. The coal mining legacy of south Wales extends to my constituency of Caerfyrddin, with the Amman and Gwendraeth valleys bearing the scars of previous industry, so it is of no surprise that my constituents were among those whose funds had been withheld, causing immense hardship for pensioners who had paid into the system for decades. In fact, it affected over 180 residents in my constituency, 20 of whom came to a drop-in earlier this year to share their stories of how this long-running issue has affected their lives. When the hon. Member for Aberdeen North (Kirsty Blackman) kindly moved new clause 2 on my behalf in Committee, the Minister’s answer gave some hope for long-awaited action. I therefore welcome the recent confirmation that the UK Government have finally listened and have implemented the transfer of the full £2.3 billion reserve to trustees. I pay tribute to my constituents for their hard work, and to former mineworkers everywhere for their long-fought campaign to make this day a reality. On behalf of 180 of my constituents, I thank the Minister. Former Allied Steel and Wire workers have also campaigned tirelessly to receive their rightful dues in retirement. When the company went bust in 2002, ASW employees lost not only their livelihoods, but the pensions they had worked hard for, and which they were relying on for security later in life. The financial assistance scheme and the Pension Protection Fund were introduced to provide some relief to pensioners in such a situation, but pension contributions made before April 1997 were not inflation-proofed, leaving pensioners without the secure retirement that they were promised.

• 3 Dec 2025 · Economic Growth · Hansard source

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  In order to secure rural economic growth in Wales, we need to ensure that our agricultural sector is supported. Every pound spent on agriculture generates £9 by supporting farm workers, vets, feed merchants, machinery sales and repairs, and local shops—I could go on and on. What is the Wales Office doing to support all those who live and work in rural Wales?

• 27 Nov 2025 · Packaging: Extended Producer Responsibility · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Lewell. I thank the hon. Member for Gower (Tonia Antoniazzi) for securing the debate. EPR, at its base, is a tax on recycling. Recycling is devolved in Wales, and we would not normally speak on devolved issues as Plaid Cymru spokespeople, but today, I am making an exception, because several local businesses have asked me to highlight the cost to their businesses and to obtain clarity. One such business, Evan Evans, is a small local brewery that produces the best-quality beer in Llandeilo, which is in my constituency. The owner of Evan Evans, Simon Buckley—a direct descendant of the family behind the famous Buckley’s Brewery, which is in the constituency of the hon. Member for Llanelli (Dame Nia Griffith)—stated: “I have seldom felt more demoralised than now. The outlook in Wales for a small brewery is not good. Wages bills are going through the roof, and were it not for the fact that we celebrate 260 years of family brewing in Wales in 18 months’ time, I would shut up shop.” Those are damning words. Rural breweries and small and medium-sized enterprises that employ local people within their communities will feel the cost of EPR the most. These businesses are the backbone of our Welsh tourist sector. Where, locally, is the alternative employment? In my constituency of Caerfyrddin, farming has been hit, contractors are working within calendar dates, national insurance contribution hikes have meant that many young people cannot find alternative work, and as we all know, hospitality is on its knees. Extended producer responsibility—phased in during 2023, and officially published as legislation in 2024—means that businesses have to report their packaging use, pay fees and purchase packaging waste recovery notes. The prices fluctuate based on supply and demand for recyclable materials—glass, plastic or cardboard—so businesses face cost variability. Previously, if someone’s turnover was less than £2 million or they had less than 50 tonnes of packaging a year, they were exempt, but that has all changed. If they manufacture, import or fill packaging that ends up with consumers, they may be responsible. If they supply packaged goods under their own brand, they may be responsible. If they import packaging products into the UK for sale, they may be responsible. The last one does not affect the manufacturing businesses within my constituency, but the first two do. As the hon. Member for Gower mentioned, businesses do not mind paying their share, but the lack of clarity between the two ends of the M4 makes it difficult for businesses to prepare and analyse the cost effectively. I say that while acknowledging that Wales has the best recycling rates in the UK; indeed, we are second in the world, with only Austria above us. We want to keep it that way, so we need to work with our businesses. My ask to the Minister is that all Governments speak to each other to get the clarity that my businesses and constituents deserve.

• 27 Nov 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Lloyds bank is to close the last bank in Ammanford on 12 January, leaving a banking desert in the second-largest town in my constituency. As we are all being encouraged to bank online and become digital, we forget the 39% of Lloyds’ Ammanford customers who do not bank online. Despite Ammanford having levels of deprivation seen in many post-industrial towns, a large number of young people not in education, employment or training, and high unemployment, Link does not feel that the town requires a banking hub, despite an appeal from me and colleagues. Will the Leader of the House allow a debate in Government time on the importance of banking hubs in rural and post-industrial areas such as mine?

• 27 Nov 2025 · Right to Trial by Jury · Hansard source

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  Diolch yn fawr, Mr Llefarydd. At the end of December 2024, there were 11,850 outstanding cases at our magistrates courts and 2,663 outstanding cases at Crown courts in Wales. Of course, some 23 Crown and magistrates courts have been closed across Wales since 2010. Does the Minister agree that fewer courts and their distance from communities are significant factors in reduced and delayed access to justice, and that that must be addressed as a priority?

• 25 Nov 2025 · G20 and Ukraine · Hansard source

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  I thank the Prime Minister for his statement. The draft deal states: “It is expected that Russia will not invade neighboring countries”. To say it is “expected” is wholly inadequate, given that we cannot place our trust in the words of leaders such as Vladimir Putin. What steps is the Prime Minister taking to ensure that this agreement includes clear, enforceable safeguards? What measures are being implemented to strengthen the UK’s resilience against Russian interference?

• 13 Nov 2025 · Police Reform · Hansard source

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  May I thank Dafydd Llywelyn for his excellent for his excellent work, especially on rural crime and domestic abuse, and take the opportunity to welcome Ysgol Gynradd Nantgaredig to the Gallery today? Today’s statement makes clear the absurd complexity of an England and Wales justice system. The UK Government will look to the Welsh Government to help replace the PCC system in Wales, but they have refused the same Government powers over policing. Does the Secretary of State now concede that the Welsh Government is the best place to control policing in Wales, and that devolving the entire justice system to Wales makes logical sense?

• 4 Nov 2025 · Cross-border Healthcare · Hansard source

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  My constituent Michael Riordan has asked his GP to refer him to a facility available to armed forces veterans located in Shropshire but, due to an issue with cross-border funding, the Welsh NHS will not fund that facility, despite his residence not being an issue when he volunteered for service to his country. This excellent facility is now unavailable to Michael. Does my hon. Friend agree that current issues in cross-border funding must be addressed for the sake of our constituents?

• 30 Oct 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I have had the pleasure today of hosting the Royal Welsh show rural leadership participants in Parliament; they are in the Gallery. We met in Committee Room 12, which, for those who do not know, was the very place where the Royal Welsh show was formed in February 1904, 121 years ago. Will the Leader of the House congratulate the Royal Welsh show on its continued success, and wish its participants from all over Wales well in their endeavours to keep rural Wales the vibrant food-producing community that we all want it to continue to be? I thank them all for their work—diolch yn fawr iawn i chi gyd.

• 29 Oct 2025 · Energy Infrastructure: Pylons · Hansard source

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  4. Whether she has had recent discussions with the Welsh Government on the replacement of overhead pylons with underground cabling.

• 29 Oct 2025 · Energy Infrastructure: Pylons · Hansard source

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  My constituency is the location of two major infrastructure projects—a network of pylons of 97 km and 60 km, alongside 248 wind turbines that are 230 metres tall. The cumulative impact of these projects is significant, occupying land that could support other development, and it remains unclear whether they will lower electricity bills or improve electricity connectivity for local households or businesses. What discussions has the Secretary of State had with the Welsh Government to ensure that those projects deliver genuine benefits for our communities?

• 27 Oct 2025 · Statutory Maternity and Paternity Pay · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Hobhouse. The UK’s statutory paternity leave offer is one of the least generous and lowest in Europe, at £187 per week. In fact, the TUC reports that half of families struggle financially when a parent takes paternity leave—as does research from Pregnant Then Screwed. Research showed that 70% of fathers did not take their leave due to the cost. Statutory maternity pay is also provided at the same rate after the first six weeks, an amount significantly less than the national living wage of around £488 per week. If someone is self-employed and a man, they get nothing. My constituent Tamara Morris is currently preparing to go off on maternity leave. The amount that Tamara expects to receive will not even cover her half of the household bills. She is really worried about how her family are going to cope. The UK Government could have rectified that during the Employment Rights Bill. I pay respect to my Plaid Cymru colleague, Baroness Smith of Llanfaes, for her efforts in the other place, pushing to increase the rate of statutory parental pay. If child poverty is really a priority for this Government, then they must consider the impact of poor parental pay on the first few months of a child’s life. I call on the UK Government to address the issues we have set out today, and finally put them right.

• 23 Oct 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  In 2020, my constituent Dorien Williams submitted a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman service about the professional conduct of his former legal representatives. It took the ombudsman four years to find in his favour. The delay took Mr Williams over the six-year limitation period, denying him the opportunity for legal recourse. Does the Leader of the House agree that the ombudsman’s defence that other customers experienced similar delays is totally unacceptable? Will he allow a debate in the House to provide accountability?

• 23 Oct 2025 · Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund · Hansard source

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  Some 90% of our fishing fleet in Wales are small, under-10 metre boats. The Seafish “Economics of the UK Fishing Fleet” report for the last year found that while Scotland and England saw strong fishing income growth, profits in Wales fell by nearly 10%, despite more active days at sea. Does the Minister agree that funding based on what the sector and the fishing communities need in Wales would be far more fair and effective than the outdated Barnett formula?

• 22 Oct 2025 · Coal Tip Safety and New Extraction Licences · Hansard source

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  I thank everybody for contributing today. I am delighted to see my fellow Welsh MPs here, across the parties. I am delighted that, for the vast majority of the debate, we have had consensus that we do not want to send our men, women and young people back down to the pits and the life they had 50 or 60 years ago. The way is forward. I am terribly disappointed with the shadow Minister— [Interruption.] No, I really am, because this is not the way forward. Sending people back down to extract coal is not the way forward for us in Wales. The subject of this debate was coal tips and extraction licences, and I am sorry to say that we heard very little from the hon. Gentleman on that matter. But I thank the Minister for his response, and I look forward to moving forward together. Diolch. Question put and agreed to. Resolved, That this House has considered coal tip safety and the prohibition of new coal extraction licences.

• 22 Oct 2025 · Coal Tip Safety and New Extraction Licences · Hansard source

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  We all know that the hon. Member for Clacton supports coalmining companies that have left our communities vulnerable, in the same way that he supports privatising our precious national health service. We will continue to campaign to make all coal tips safe and ensure that Westminster rights the wrongs of the past by paying in full to do so. The failure to replace coalmining with an economic alternative has left communities in decline. Many people are now without hope and are angry at Governments in both London and Cardiff for not listening or caring. Other parties want to blame these problems on others in society, rather than on the politicians and private companies that have caused them. This debate is about justice and dignity. It is about ensuring that the people of Wales are not left to carry the cost, financial or emotional, of decisions made generations ago. Let us act now, not when the next storm hits or when the next landslide slips. Let us act because it is right and just, and because our communities deserve nothing less. This Government must revisit their approach to coal tip safety in Wales to fully support the communities who, after decades since the last coal was hewn from our valleys, still bear the burden of its legacy. Diolch, Gadeirydd.

• 22 Oct 2025 · Coal Tip Safety and New Extraction Licences · Hansard source

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  Absolutely, but we need £600 million to make these tips safe. The Government responded to my written question in June that the Labour Welsh Government had not asked for the full amount of the estimated £600 million needed to make all tips in Wales safe. Plaid Cymru believes it is a grave injustice to the people of the valleys that the full cost is not covered by Westminster. I reiterate our call on the Government to fully fund remediation work to make coal tips safe in Wales. Without full funding from Westminster, it leaves the door open to a new generation of mining companies waiting to mine these coal tips under the guise of remediation. That is because the new Welsh Disused Tips Authority will require landowners to make the coal tips safe, and they will likely seek to avoid that extra cost. There is a real risk that mining companies will offer to carry out remediation work on behalf of landowners for free, in return for the commercial rights of any coal that they extract. These companies have proven to us that they cannot be trusted with the stewardship of our environment. The local authority area of Carmarthenshire has 170 coal tips. My constituency borders some of the largest tips in Wales, one of which is the waste from the East Pit open-cast coalmine, a prime example of where a company has betrayed the trust of the community. In that instance, the company, Celtic Energy, continued to mine coal from the site beyond the expiry of its planning permission. It then failed to restore the coalmine and remediate the local coal tip, abandoning the site and the community with the task incomplete. We cannot allow this to become a pattern by letting the coalmining industry of Wales’s past return to carve open our countryside once again. Making coal tips safe for our communities should be the priority, whether that is through flattening, removing or reprofiling them. The UK Government have pledged to ban new coalmining licences, but they have confirmed their belief that re-mining coal from the tips does not require a licence, meaning that such activity falls outside the scope of the proposed ban. Although the Welsh Government believe that their own planning policies will prevent re-mining, a loophole allowing coal extraction in “wholly exceptional circumstances” has raised concern among campaigners such as the Coal Action Network. I thank Anthony, who is here today, for his help in preparing for this debate. I also congratulate him on his wedding anniversary—when he should be home, he has come to support us here. The loophole can be resolved by amending the Coal Industry Act 1994 to require licensing for the re-mining of coal tips, and ensuring that that is included in a UK-wide ban. We must prevent a new industry of commercial coal tip mining from taking root and perpetuating fossil fuel pollution. I urge the Government to extend their coal licence ban to cover the re-mining of coal tips. Tomorrow is the Senedd by-election in Caerphilly—a local authority area with 207 coal tips, 56 of which are deemed a clear threat to public safety. As we know, voters will get to choose between two different visions for the future of Caerphilly. The vision of Reform and the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage) is one of reopening the coalmines in Wales. He wants to send our people back down underground to slave away in the dark for hours, developing pneumoconiosis from inhaling toxic dust—all to exploit the people of Wales yet again.

• 22 Oct 2025 · Coal Tip Safety and New Extraction Licences · Hansard source

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  Not at all; I would just like some clarification. The Government announced their intention in November 2024—nearly a year ago now—to introduce a Bill to ban new coalmining licences. Can the Minister tell us exactly when the Government will bring that legislation forward in Parliament?

• 22 Oct 2025 · Coal Tip Safety and New Extraction Licences · Hansard source

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  Absolutely. This is an issue for the whole of the United Kingdom. The disaster brought about the Mines and Quarries (Tips) Act 1969, which came into force to improve coal tips’ stability and safety. However, it did not go far enough. Aberfan should have been a moment to address the dangerous legacy of all coal tips once and for all, but the job remains unfinished. Now, because of increasingly violent storms caused by climate change, we have experienced further coal tip slips. There was a major landslide above Tylorstown in Rhondda Fach in 2020, and then in November 2024, in Cwmtillery, a slip was caused by heavy rainfall from Storm Bert. That led to a slurry and debris slide that forced the evacuation of homes. Plaid Cymru has long warned that the safety of our coal tips is not a matter for tomorrow; it must be addressed urgently. No family should go to bed fearing a landslide on the hillside above them. No community should be left to foot the bill for the negligence of past Governments. The Senedd recently passed the Disused Mine and Quarry Tips (Wales) Act 2025, which will establish the Disused Tips Authority for Wales, the powers of which will include requiring landowners to ensure that coal tips located on their land are stable. We must, however, not forget that the issue of coal tips predates the dawn of devolution. It is an historic injustice that the cost of making these tips safe has not been fully funded by Westminster, and that the people of Wales are now expected to foot a large part of this bill.

• 22 Oct 2025 · Coal Tip Safety and New Extraction Licences · Hansard source

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  That is true. It is ironic that the two incidents happened on exactly the same date—a few years apart, but on 21 October. We must never forget either.

• 22 Oct 2025 · Coal Tip Safety and New Extraction Licences · Hansard source

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  rose—

• 22 Oct 2025 · Coal Tip Safety and New Extraction Licences · Hansard source

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  I beg to move, That this House has considered coal tip safety and the prohibition of new coal extraction licences. Diolch yn fawr, Gadeirydd. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Twigg. Just as coal ran in rich veins beneath the Welsh valleys and mountains, it also runs deep through the history of the people of Wales. Around this industry, thriving and vibrant communities developed all across the south Wales valleys. Miners’ institutes, public libraries, trade unions and public healthcare all bloomed in the Welsh coalfields. Those institutions were founded and funded by miners, laying the foundation for the modern welfare state. Despite this dynamism, we should not forget that those communities were exploited, with vast amounts of wealth from coal profiting Westminster, not Wales. Mining was also dangerous work and took a terrible toll on the health of far too many men and young boys. When Margaret Thatcher began closing the mines in the 1980s without replacing those jobs, she destroyed livelihoods and left communities that once powered the world bearing economic and social scars that would pass on through generations. Thatcher’s decision to kick-start deindustrialisation in Wales—and the acceptance of this decline by both Labour and Conservative Governments—means that west Wales and the valleys are now among the poorest parts of Europe. The economic legacy is compounded by a physical one, too. The valleys are now littered with coal tips—black monuments from the past that cast long shadows over the present. Also known as spoil tips or slag heaps, these are the waste materials removed from the mines and left abandoned above ground. Today, over 50% of all coal tips in the UK are in Wales, despite our nation making up just 8.5% of the UK’s total land mass. Of the 2,590 coal tips, many are considered dangerous to the public. There is a risk that a significant number may collapse due to increasingly extreme weather, and that is not hypothetical, as history has shown us. Today’s debate is taking place just a day after the 59th anniversary of the Aberfan disaster, which involved the collapse of a colliery spoil tip in 1966, killing 28 adults and 116 children.

• 21 Oct 2025 · Electricity Infrastructure: Rural Communities · Hansard source

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  In my constituency, pylon proposals are causing huge distress among our rural communities. They will not bring any real benefit to those communities. In fact, developers often bypass the rights of landowners, and the proposed developments will ruin our beautiful landscape. Does the hon. Member agree that electricity infrastructure anywhere must be done with communities, not to them?

• 20 Oct 2025 · Post-16 Education and Skills Strategy · Hansard source

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  The Education Secretary’s focus today is on the new vocational qualification training, which will be welcome for students in England. In Wales, however, where her party has led the Government for the past 25 years, the apprenticeship budget has been cut by 14%. Will she be lobbying the Chancellor ahead of the Budget to ensure that Wales has a fair funding settlement that would support apprenticeships?