Ann Davies MP: speeches

Speeches

• 14 Oct 2025 · COP30: Food System Transformation · Hansard source

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  COP30, as with past COPs, requires us to be more sustainable, and that includes food production, as the hon. Member said. In Caerfyrddin, we have a public farm producing vegetables for schools and residential homes, so public land is being used for public benefit. Why can all local authorities not follow suit, supported as we were by shared prosperity fund funding, and use public funds and public land for the public plate?

• 14 Oct 2025 · COP30: Food System Transformation · Hansard source

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  No, it is not a speech. Thank you, Mrs Harris; I appreciate your guidance. Does the hon. Member agree with that sustainable and seasonal way of reducing food miles by using public land?

• 14 Oct 2025 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  The images of ceasefire and families reunited are deeply heartening and a moment of relief and celebration amid such immense suffering, yet this fragile peace remains vulnerable, particularly to the corrosive effects of misinformation. True and lasting peace must be built on openness, transparency and the free flow of information. What steps is the Prime Minister taking to press Israel to grant journalists access to Gaza as part of a broader commitment to truth, accountability and a just peace?

• 4 Sept 2025 · Future of Terrestrial Television · Hansard source

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  Diolch yn fawr; it is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Twigg. As the right hon. Member for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale (David Mundell) has set out, the future of terrestrial TV is uncertain once current licences expire in the 2030s. While some industry figureheads advocate for switch-off, I call on the UK Government to ensure that terrestrial TV retains its place as part of a hybrid approach that places the needs of our communities first, rather than business profits and that all-important bottom line. That is because switching to a digital-only model will not be easy for many people in our communities, including older people, as the hon. Member for Glasgow North East (Maureen Burke) said. In Wales, more than a fifth of our population is over 65. As it stands, 21% of those over 65 have no internet access at home, and 23% of Welsh homes rely solely on terrestrial to watch TV, lacking any other means to do so. Let us not forget why people watch television in the first place. Beyond its importance in providing trusted news and information, 75% of people in the UK say that the availability of free-to-air terrestrial TV helps to reduce loneliness or isolation, which is a significant challenge in older, more rural areas such as my constituency. That rurality does make a difference. I was quite jealous when the hon. Member for Isle of Wight West (Mr Quigley) said that 99.3% of his area had digital; I think we are at 49% in my constituency. According to Ofcom’s 2024 “Connected Nations” report, full-fibre broadband was available to 71% of all urban premises, but only 52% of rural premises and 48% of rural premises in Wales. As of January 2025, the figure is only 49% in Caerfyrddin. We do not have that digital connectivity, and many are unable to get decent broadband at all. Storm Darragh at the end of last year made our vulnerability crystal clear, when 745,000 homes were impacted across south and west Wales. Thousands were without power and water for a whole week. Communication issues in the storm’s aftermath were particularly shocking. Constituents had difficulty using alerting systems and receiving news and information that would have historically been provided by local radio stations, since turned digital. That drilled home the importance of non-digital infrastructure when things go wrong, including critical national infrastructure such masts. With numerous sites in Caerfyrddin alone, including Carmel, which serves 72,000 homes in my constituency, the terrestrial TV network has become a vital link for critical services such as emergency communications and utilities. The economic operational viability of this infrastructure should not be put at stake. Terrestrial TV should be made part of future emergency planning. I reiterate the calls made in this debate and ask for the UK Government to provide concrete certainty for terrestrial TV beyond 2034. It is clear that a hybrid TV model remains the best option, and one that works for everybody.

• 4 Sept 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Diolch yn fawr, Madam Dirprwy Lefarydd. After the insolvency of Allied Steel and Wire, money that workers paid into their pension schemes before April 1997 was not fully inflation-proofed through the financial assistance scheme. The previous Work and Pensions Committee recommended that the UK Government legislate to provide pre-1997 indexation. I have tabled two amendments to the Pension Schemes Bill to do exactly that. Can the Leader of the House allow Government time to update the House on actions to rectify that scandal and others, such as the British Coal staff superannuation scheme scandal?

• 3 Sept 2025 · Property Taxes · Hansard source

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  Absolutely, and I will come on to that in a minute. In Wales, between 75% and 90% of farmers will be affected by the policy, according to NFU Cymru and FUW. It is clear that this Government’s APR changes will not hit tax-avoiding wealthy land hoarders. Instead, they will punish working farmers in Wales, whose income dropped by an average of 34% last year, forcing many to sell what their parents and grandparents spent lifetimes building. And it is not just farm business owners. Family Business UK estimates that the changes will cause a £15.5 million reduction in GVA in my constituency of Caerfyrddin alone, along with the loss of 282 full-time jobs. The new inheritance tax rules will be introduced amid mounting financial pressures on our farmers, from the financial implications of bluetongue restrictions and testing requirements to the effect of Wales’s hottest summer on record on crops and pasture. Our rural businesses will also suffer, with car garages, food wholesale businesses and uPVC project businesses among those in my constituency that are hard hit by this Government’s BPR changes. All employ hundreds of my constituents. We cannot afford to lose our rural businesses or our family farms. We cannot lose the knowledge, the heritage and the community—the work that sustains and feeds our nation. Ahead of the autumn Budget at the end of November, I call on the Government once again: please reverse these changes before it is too late. Diolch yn fawr.

• 3 Sept 2025 · Property Taxes · Hansard source

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  I begin by referring the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. I represent a rural, agricultural community. As we look forward to a Budget for Christmas, this Labour UK Government’s last autumn Budget remains of significant concern. The wide divide between rural Wales and Westminster was made clear as day last year when the Chancellor announced plans to restrict full inheritance tax relief from April next year to the first £1 million of combined agricultural and business property. Combining APR and BPR means that the asset value of the tools and the machinery necessary to operate a farming business are affected, as well as the agricultural land and property. While the Government maintain that this policy will affect only about 500 estates a year and that small family farms will not be affected, the calculations of the Farmers’ Union of Wales and NFU Cymru show otherwise. When I told the Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs that 92% of one local accountancy firm’s clients would be hit, it was totally dismissed, but now even the producers of the research used by this Government to justify their plans have conceded that working farmers are more likely to suffer under the policy than the wealthy.

• 1 Sept 2025 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  Data from the Israeli military shows that 83% of people killed in Gaza since October 2023 have been civilians. Killing at this mass scale for months on end is unparalleled in modern conflict. Will the Foreign Secretary act to place far more pressure on Israel to end the mass killing of civilians by suspending the UK’s current trade agreement with Israel and sanctioning those responsible for breaching international law?

• 17 Jul 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Coming from a rural background and constituency, and having visited London only a handful of times before becoming an MP, it was a massive culture shock to come here last July. Representing our constituents would not be possible without the kindness and consideration of the whole of the House, including the Speaker’s Office, the Table Office, the Vote Office, the Tea Room, the catering staff and those who ensure our offices are clean and tidy in the morning. All the staff play their part in ensuring that we are able to do our work. On behalf of my hon. Friend the Member for Ynys Môn (Llinos Medi) and myself from Plaid Cymru, as well as all the 2024 intake, I thank them for all the help we have received over the past year. I hope that the Leader of the House will join me in thanking everybody who ensures that the cogs of this place run so efficiently. Diolch yn fawr iawn.

• 9 Jul 2025 · Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill · Hansard source

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  I stand to support new clauses 8 and 11, and amendments 12, 38 and 39, among others, which I will mention as I go through my speech. I promise to keep to the unofficial four-minute time limit. A week after the cruel Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill and its arbitrary eligibility cut-offs was first discussed, we are today being asked to amend and pass this deeply flawed Bill in a couple of hours. Of course, it is now a completely different Bill from what was first introduced—even the title will be changed. I am not alone in welcoming the removal of clause 5, which means that no one will lose vital personal independence payments so that the Government can save some money. However, unlike other hon. Members, I do not believe that the UK Government’s concessions make the Bill any more worthy to become legislation. The Government have conceded that placing an arbitrary cut-off date on PIP eligibility is unsupportable, so why on earth do they continue to do exactly that for claimants of the health element of universal credit? I commend the hon. Member for Leeds East (Richard Burgon) for amendment (a) to amendment 2, which would keep the health element of universal credit at £423.27 for all new claimants, rather than lowering the rate for people who are unlucky enough to require that support after 2026, which will cause real hardship. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation estimates that, without further changes, over 700,000 disabled people will still face a cut to their income of up to £3,000 a year by 2030. We do not know what data has informed that approach or how it will impact on the great people of Wales. An assessment of the specific impacts on Wales has been necessary since the UK Government first announced their welfare cuts months ago. Now that their plans have changed considerably, that impact assessment is all the more crucial. People in Wales need transparency and certainty about how the changes will affect their lives. In what functioning democracy does a Government Bill get fundamentally altered in the middle of the first debate on that very Bill, and then elected representatives are given only a few hours to scrutinise it before it is passed? We need time to scrutinise the Bill fully and effectively. We need time to co-produce it with the constituents whose lives it will affect. This is a chaotic and shameful state of affairs, especially in the light of the substantial impact that the Bill will have on thousands of disabled people on the lowest incomes.

• 9 Jul 2025 · Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill · Hansard source

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  I am just coming to the end of my remarks, if the hon. Member does not mind. I am keeping to my four-minute time limit. The Bill should be scrapped. It is neither fair nor compassionate welfare reform. It is not fit for our constituents.

• 8 Jul 2025 · Road and Rail Projects · Hansard source

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  Spiralling costs mean that Wales is owed at least £4 billion from HS2, yet, as the hon. Member for Monmouthshire (Catherine Fookes) said, we are set to receive just £445 million over a 10-year period, which will be used for five stations, with nothing west of Cardiff. St Clears in my constituency has been promised a station for years. Can the Secretary of State say if there will be any additional money for this vital project, or are we expected to be grateful for the continued underfunding of Welsh railways?

• 1 Jul 2025 · Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill · Hansard source

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  I have heard some really passionate, personal speeches in the Chamber today, and I thank all hon. Members for their testimonies and contributions. The Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill is a direct attack on ill and disabled people, just to cut costs. Arbitrarily restricting eligibility for PIP, and cutting the health element of universal credit, will have devastating and lasting consequences. Whatever this Labour Government claim, there is neither fairness nor compassion in their approach to welfare. It is certainly not fair or compassionate for the people of Wales, who will be disproportionately impacted by these measures. I thank organisations such as Policy in Practice and the Bevan Foundation for their vital work in filling the absence of data for Wales, which the UK Government have all but refused to provide. Four of the 10 local authorities that are worst hit by the welfare cuts are in Wales, impacting on 6.1% of the Welsh population at a cost of £470 million for our communities. In Carmarthenshire alone, the economic impact will be nearly £17.5 million, and too many people will suffer. My constituents will suffer.

• 1 Jul 2025 · Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill · Hansard source

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  I will allow the Minister to answer that in his closing statement. I could not possibly comment. My constituent Clare Jacques has several disabilities, including arthritis. She currently receives PIP, which has helped her to build on her master’s degree in equality and diversity in work and allowed additional support, such as the ability to have a carer accompany her when necessary. Ms Jacques does not have four points in any one part of the daily living component. Versus Arthritis has calculated that 79% of people who claim PIP in Wales for arthritis alone score fewer than four points, which is nearly 17,000 people. This is not just about claimants. Mencap, which has been mentioned, has estimated that over 13,000 carers may lose their carer’s allowance in Wales due to caring for people with fewer than four points. The Government’s justification for this suffering is completely flawed. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has found that 60% of recipients scoring four or fewer points are already in employment in England and Wales, rising to 63% in my constituency of Caerfyrddin. The UK Government claim that their amendments to the Bill will lessen the blow—we will have to wait until after Second Reading to see them—but they are set to penalise people who become disabled after the arbitrary cut-off date of November 2026. What data has informed these concessions, and what specific evidence suggests that people can pick and choose when they become sick or disabled, because that to me looks like discrimination? Legal experts for the Equity union agree that it could be “unlawful on the grounds of arbitrariness.” Such arbitrariness looks half-baked considering the PIP assessment review will be published only in autumn 2026. The UK Government’s amendments to the Bill do not address the fundamental injustice at the heart of these measures. Is plunging 150,000 people into poverty rather than 250,000 really a marker of success? Is only punishing people who will get ill or disabled in future, or those who turn 18 later, really a sign of a fair and compassionate welfare reform? I call on hon. Members across this House, and particularly my friends on the Labour Benches, to vote against this cruel Bill. The Labour UK Government must abandon these damaging plans entirely, and instead create a welfare system founded on dignity, equity and compassion, and one developed with disabled people and representative organisations. Plaid Cymru Members will be voting for the reasoned amendment moved by the hon. Member for York Central (Rachael Maskell) and against the Second Reading of the Bill.

• 30 Jun 2025 · Welfare Reform · Hansard source

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  The UK Government’s amendments to the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill were not included in the initial statement on the Bill’s compatibility with the European convention on human rights. Discrimination is a real concern, given that two people with the same condition could receive different support, based on when they become sick or turn 18. Will the Secretary of State make an updated statement on compatibility and confirm that her Department has complied with the public sector equality duty under the Equality Act 2010?

• 19 Jun 2025 · UK Infrastructure: 10-year Strategy · Hansard source

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  The Chief Secretary’s statement made no mention of rural areas. When it comes to infrastructure, Welsh rural communities have for decades lost out, with a lack of investment in both our physical and digital infrastructure. Unfortunately, the £445 million on rail does not come anywhere near rural Wales. What are the Government doing to prioritise investment in disadvantaged rural areas in Wales?

• 18 Jun 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Q9. Diolch, Mr Llefarydd. Welsh farmers are taking hit after hit, from Tory trade deals to Labour taxes. Now, on top of that, bluetongue restrictions affecting Wales and England will hamper cross-border trade. Over 550 farms on the border and key livestock markets rely on summer trading. Once-in-a-year opportunities like the Royal Welsh Show are crucial, and the disruption will be devastating. Will the Deputy Prime Minister commit to working with the Welsh Government on a scheme to compensate the losses?

• 17 Jun 2025 · Disabled People in Poverty · Hansard source

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  Diolch yn fawr iawn. Analysis from Policy in Practice has found that four of the 10 UK local authority areas worst hit by the welfare cuts are in Wales—and we only have 22 local authorities—impacting 6.1% of our population at a cost of £470 million. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s “Poverty in Wales” report, which was published last week, found that 37% of disabled working-age adults in Wales are already in poverty, compared with 19% of non-disabled working-age people. According to the report, relative poverty increases by 219% among households affected by the loss of both personal independence payments and the healthcare element of universal credit in Wales, with the average depth of poverty among affected households increasing by 65% to £538 per month. If the administration of the social security system were devolved to Wales, the needs and experiences of disabled people in Wales, rather than cost savings, could be placed at the root of welfare provision. More than four in 10 PIP claimants are already in the bottom fifth of the income distribution; the removal of this lifeline, at an average financial cost of £4,500 a year, will inevitably increase the rate of poverty in Wales and across the UK. The UK Government must urgently stop their welfare plans and instead listen and work with disabled people to address the challenges they face, rather than exacerbate them.

• 12 Jun 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  My constituent Mr Wayne Arnold has compiled a dossier of faults following an ECO4 upgrade at his home last year. I have the lever arch file here—it is two inches thick and well worth looking at. It has taken 62 weeks for the works to be completed. Another constituent, Judie Haines, cannot find local engineers to service the ECO4 system that has been put into her home. The company has become insolvent, meaning that my constituents cannot get remedial works completed. Will the Leader of the House allow a debate in Government time on the poor work that has been carried out under ECO4, the effect that that has had on vulnerable households and the lessons learned as we move on towards ECO5?

• 11 Jun 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Q1. If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 11 June.

• 11 Jun 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Diolch, Mr Llefarydd. My constituent Mr Michael O’Leary was brutally murdered five years ago, and his body was desecrated. Working alongside the hon. Members for York Outer (Mr Charters) and for Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr (Steve Witherden), I have made a number of requests to discuss the case of Mr O’Leary, and those of other victims, with Ministers and to explore introducing legislation to make the desecration of a body a criminal offence. Will the Prime Minister meet Mr O’Leary’s family and the families of other victims, including April Jones of Machynlleth, Sarah Everard and Helen McCourt, to hear why they are calling for the introduction of a new criminal offence of desecrating a body?

• 11 Jun 2025 · Clean Energy: Wales · Hansard source

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  Diolch yn fawr, Mr Llefarydd. Green energy deserves green transmission, so will the Minister commit to undergrounding any new electric transmission in Wales?

• 9 Jun 2025 · Planning and Infrastructure Bill · Hansard source

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  I rise to speak to new clause 61, on the issue of cable ploughing—specifically, on the plans put forward by Green GEN Cymru. It proposes a 90-km power line, much of which would be suspended on pylons, across the breathtaking Twyi valley, and an additional 65 kilometres of power line across the equally beautiful Teifi valley. This is not just any landscape; it is the heart of rural Wales. These are not just two valleys across rural Wales; they are treasured by communities that have lived and worked there for generations. From the beginning, residents and farmers made one thing clear: we support green energy, but it does not have to come at the cost of our countryside. We have called persistently for cables to be placed underground so that we can embrace a sustainable future while preserving Wales’s natural beauty and agricultural land. Unfortunately, our voices have gone unheard. Surveyors have come on to the land without proper respect, disregarding the rights of landowners, and in some cases people have felt intimidated and pressured into signing away land that has been in their families for centuries.

• 9 Jun 2025 · Planning and Infrastructure Bill · Hansard source

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  I would love to have that opportunity. I thank the hon. Lady for putting forward her new clause—it was a pleasure to sign up to it. We should not expect the behaviour that I mentioned from those who claim to be building a greener future. Let us be honest: if Green GEN Cymru had chosen to place the cables underground from the start, as the new clause proposes, it would have saved itself significant trouble. It argues that that is too expensive, but what about the cost of delay and the legal cost of taking landowners to court, which is what has been happening? There is another cost: the cost of resilience. Just look at what happened over the last winter during Storm Darragh and Storm Éowyn: overhead lines failed, power was lost in my area for up to seven days and compensation from the National Grid had to be paid. If those cables had been placed underground, the impact would have been minimal. Long-term thinking is not just the right thing, but the practical thing to do. I remind the Chamber that Wales has the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, which is a commitment to development that is truly sustainable and does not compromise the ability of our children and grandchildren to thrive just to cut costs today. Let us ensure that the transition to clean energy serves the needs of both the present and the generations yet to come. Let us ensure that it is not done to our communities, but done with them. Let us deliver a future that is both green and grounded.

• 4 Jun 2025 · Regional Growth · Hansard source

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  Following on from High Speed 2, there is a new chapter in the great Welsh train robbery—I am sure hon. Members know where this is going. The East West Rail project between Oxford and Cambridge has been classified as an England and Wales project. I have lived in Wales all my life, and I have got to say that it is nowhere near the Welsh border. The last time I looked, neither of them were anywhere near Wales. Honestly, will the Chief Secretary explain why the Treasury has made the farcical decision again to deny Wales millions of pounds in funding, which we desperately need to transform our dilapidated, crumbling rail network?