Liz Saville Roberts MP: speeches 2025

Speeches

• 22 Apr 2025 · “For Women Scotland” Supreme Court Ruling · Hansard source

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  While the Supreme Court ruling brings clarity to some, it brings undeniable fear and uncertainty to others. The Minister’s statement today still leaves vulnerable trans people lost in a maze of complex equalities law. She talks about dignity and respect. Let us look at our prison system, which is just one setting for which her Government are responsible. It is dangerously dysfunctional. What safeguards will now be strengthened so that no trans person is placed in greater danger as a direct result of this ruling?

• 12 Apr 2025 · Steel Industry (Special Measures) Bill · Hansard source

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  I will take no interventions. His Government did not intervene in Wales. Under his Government, Scunthorpe gets security; Port Talbot gets a pittance. Plaid Cymru believes that Port Talbot should and could have received equal treatment alongside Scunthorpe. That is why we have tabled an amendment to include Wales in the terms of the Bill, and to highlight that the measures we are debating today could have been used to save the blast furnaces at Tata Steel in Wales. We will not let Labour hide from the fact that it owns the decision not to intervene to save Welsh steel when it had the opportunity to do so. Workers and communities must be at the heart of any long-term solution for the steel industry. So far, Labour in Westminster and Labour in Cardiff have worked in partnership to dispatch thousands of Welsh workers to uncertainty and hopelessness. People in Wales will not forget today. It is a day of bitter disappointment for Port Talbot.

• 12 Apr 2025 · Steel Industry (Special Measures) Bill · Hansard source

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  When the blast furnaces in Port Talbot closed down last September, this Government could have taken exactly the same legislative action as they have chosen to take today. We will endeavour to amend the Bill to include Wales, because there is still the opportunity for this Government to make a real difference to the community of Port Talbot and the 2,800 jobs that have been lost there.

• 12 Apr 2025 · Steel Industry (Special Measures) Bill · Hansard source

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  The right hon. Gentleman’s Government did not intervene in Wales.

• 12 Apr 2025 · Steel Industry (Special Measures) Bill · Hansard source

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  It does not apply to Wales.

• 12 Apr 2025 · Steel Industry (Special Measures) Bill · Hansard source

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  Diolch yn fawr iawn, Dirprwy Lefarydd. Today’s legislation to safeguard the UK’s last bastion of primary steelmaking capacity is of course to be supported, but what my party cannot support is this Government’s approach to steel in the UK, which deems that steel in Scunthorpe is worth saving but steel in Wales is not. Today is a bitter day for the people of Port Talbot, where the blast furnaces have been extinguished because Labour let that happen. Job losses there will take an estimated £200 million from the local economy in lost wages. People in south Wales have been loyally voting for Labour for decades. Do this Labour Government feel proud that those votes have been paid back by Tory-style deindustrialisation in Port Talbot? Plaid Cymru has called consistently for nationalisation, but the Labour First Minister of Wales rejected our calls and described nationalisation as “pipe dreams”. Labour in Wales was quick to mock our proposal, which we made 21 times—over and over again—in Cardiff and here in Westminster. Now it is UK Labour policy. The Government must set out how much of the £2.5 billion steel fund will be allocated to securing Scunthorpe, and how that compares with the amount given to support laid-off workers in Wales.

• 7 Apr 2025 · Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate · Hansard source

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  Previous Labour and Conservative Governments did little when Welsh livelihoods were swept away by global market forces at places such as the Ford plant in Bridgend and the steelworks in Port Talbot. Wales’s car sector is facing 25% tariffs thanks to President Trump. That threatens an industry that employs 30,000 people. The Welsh Automotive Forum has said that the Government’s commitments are not enough; it is calling for direct support. Recycled fines are hardly direct support. Are the Government prepared to step up and provide that?

• 3 Apr 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Diolch yn fawr, Mr Llefarydd. The House should know that, unlike in England, Welsh public services are not fully protected from the cost of increased employers national insurance contributions. That is because compensation from the Treasury does not take into account Wales’s bigger public sector, and it means Wales is losing out on £65 million. Can we have a debate about why it is fair that the NHS in England gets more money proportionately than the NHS in Wales?

• 3 Apr 2025 · UK-US Trade and Tariffs · Hansard source

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  Diolch yn fawr, Madam Dirprwy Lefarydd. Some commentators are fawning over a 10% tariff simply because our nearest neighbours have been hit worse. Let’s get real: the 25% tariff on steel and aluminium will hit Wales’s biggest export to the US—machinery and transport equipment. The EU is Wales’s greatest trading partner, with Welsh exports valued at £11.2 billion. In the face of the American President’s obsession with international economic revenge, does the Secretary of State recognise that it is economic common sense to accelerate the scrapping of trade barriers with Europe?

• 1 Apr 2025 · Sentencing Council Guidelines · Hansard source

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  Black people in Wales were the most over-represented ethnic group in prison in 2023, followed by those from a mixed background and people belonging to an Asian ethnic group. That over-representation is worse in Wales than in England. Pre-sentencing reports can help us to understand why people of black and minority ethnic backgrounds are more likely to be sent to prison. Even if she disagrees with the method, surely the Secretary of State agrees that action is necessary to tackle evidenced inequality within the criminal justice system, so what solutions is she bringing forward?

• 25 Mar 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-eighth sitting) · Hansard source

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  Diolch yn fawr—thank you very much, Ms McVey. I rise to speak to clause 32 stand part and to new clauses 36 and 37. It is gratifying that everybody on the Committee has taken so seriously the need to recognise where the powers lie in relation to the Senedd in Wales and Welsh Ministers, and Westminster and the Secretary of State. The evidence we heard from Professor Emyr Lewis is that clause 32 would contravene the Sewel convention by giving the UK Government powers of regulation to provide an assisted dying service in the NHS in Wales. I am very appreciative of the way in which we have discussed the matter. This is, of course, a private Member’s Bill; by the nature of the subject it is discussing, it is unprecedented since devolution in 1999. As we talk about constitutional matters and the Sewel convention, it is important to remember what we are doing as a Bill Committee: we are trying to make sure that we tease out the questions about the environment in which all these services will be provided, and that we are giving people who are at the most vulnerable time in their life the appropriate protection and the appropriate autonomy. That is what we should always be balancing. New clause 36, which relates to England, and new clause 37 certainly appear—I use the word with as much generosity as I can—to clarify the responsibilities as between Welsh Ministers and Secretaries of State. My amendments would go through the Bill clause by clause and would then insert a definition into clause 40, rather than making a broad statement as the new clauses do. Although we have debated the content of new clause 36, I believe strongly that it is not for us in Westminster to specify how Welsh Ministers may make provision for those areas over which they have responsibility. It is appropriate that we have a debate, because that raises awareness of the potential for a legislative consent motion or motions. It is appropriate to have that discussion; it is also appropriate to be aware that there may be a discussion about the commencement date and the implications, which we will address in the debate on a later amendment. I am looking particularly at Wales, and new clause 37 would do what my amendments were attempting: it would give us future-proofing. The powers that have been granted to the Senedd in Wales are considerably different, and lesser in their extent, than those that have been granted to Scotland and to Northern Ireland. That may well change in future, and new clause 37 would allow for that. I put it on the record that I await further discussions between Welsh Ministers and the hon. Member for Spen Valley, although I understand that some have already taken place. It is already on the record that UK Ministers, the Secretary of State, the hon. Member for Chesham and Amersham and I will have further discussions as we move ahead. There will be opportunities on Report to do what the Committee is trying to achieve, which is to future-proof the legislation and ensure that it works as effectively as possible. I welcome the changes that the new clauses would make. Clause 32, as it stands, does not recognise the constitutional arrangements of the United Kingdom, and it is important that we do that.

• 25 Mar 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-eighth sitting) · Hansard source

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  I appreciate the hon. Lady’s comments. I think there is a lesson to be learned. I understand that the legislation is unprecedented in coming through the private Member’s Bill route. After this, we will have to think about how we deal with such legislation because we are feeling our way. I appreciate the opportunity to work with the co-operation of colleagues on something for which there is no road map, but I fear, although I also appreciate, that we are making the road map as we go.

• 25 Mar 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-ninth sitting) · Hansard source

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  On that point, we are also expecting a decision in Holyrood in Scotland, which I think the Committee will agree is part of the United Kingdom. These jurisdictions influence our discussions in this place.

• 25 Mar 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-ninth sitting) · Hansard source

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  I honestly feel that the legislation as it stands—the Welsh Language Act 1993, and the 2011 and 2018 standards in relation to health—is not sufficient for what we are endeavouring to do. People have a right to use their first language, and it is of some regret to me that the only two languages protected by law in England and Wales are English and Welsh. I would be happy if there were more, but they are the only two I can discuss, and Welsh is obviously very close to my heart. On this last day, I feel my obligation to push the issue to a vote; otherwise, we will default to legislation that is not sufficient for what we are endeavouring to do. Question put, That the clause be read a Second time.

• 25 Mar 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-ninth sitting) · Hansard source

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  I rise to support amendment 535. I do not intend to say much, because the hon. Member for Richmond Park has made many of the points I wished to make. The amendment recognises that an opinion was stated in a debate in the Senedd in October, which dealt in detail with the principles of this Bill, and that Professor Emyr Lewis told us that one way of recognising that would be to consider different commencement provisions in Wales. Reference has been made to the different criminal law arrangements in England and Wales to do with smacking children, and during covid there were quite definitely different arrangements between England and Wales. After a quarter of a century of devolution, we have devolution divergence, and we are seeing that in action. We have already accepted the principle that there are aspects of the Bill that are devolved, responsibility for which must be passed to Welsh Ministers. We are still debating the wording of that, but we are working towards it, and I think we have accepted the principle of it. We should also acknowledge that the Senedd and Welsh Ministers may well be able to make a move that would have the same effect of changing the commencement date, but I support the amendment because it shows that we are acknowledging the consequences and implications of a legislative consent motion. Incidentally, I could often stand up here and talk about the fact that legislative consent motions can be overridden by Westminster, but we are working from the point of view of seeking to respect devolved powers alongside the powers that we have here, so I will be supporting amendment 535.

• 25 Mar 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-ninth sitting) · Hansard source

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  I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time. We have received additional evidence from the Welsh Language Commissioner that bears on this new clause quite considerably. The comments result from our discussions of amendments 413, 427 and 428, and amendment (a) to new schedule 2, and it is worth having an interpretation of them on record. The safeguarding process is a matter of Welsh language legal rights and a clear communicative necessity. The Welsh Language Commissioner says that “it is essential that Welsh speakers can discuss the decision to end their own life through the medium of Welsh if they so wish.” The key word here is “discuss”. We are very used in Wales to the convention of documentation and information being available in bilingual forms., However, in previous amendments on the Welsh language, I have endeavoured to make sure that those involved in the process are—to the degree that all reasonable steps have been taken—able to converse with fluent proficiency in the preferred language of the person who comes before them seeking their support and their judgment in relation to capacity and coercion. Therefore, all reasonable steps should be taken to ensure that the key human aspect of this discussion—the conversations between the person and the co-ordinating doctor, the independent doctor and the panel—should be conducted in Welsh, where that is the preferred language. Welsh speakers should not have to request to be able to use Welsh every time the process moves from one person to another; that should be recognised at the beginning of the process. Again, all reasonable steps should be taken to ensure that people are able to communicate in the language with which they are most naturally comfortable—the language that comes to them when they express perhaps their deepest fears and greatest emotions. On occasion, it will be difficult to find people in a reasonable timespan, and we will need to train people in certain roles, but that is where the “all reasonable steps” requirement comes in. Forgive me, it is late, but it is important for me to take a little time, because the commissioner notes that there has already been some discussion in Committee about whether provisions are necessary in the Bill. The commissioner goes on to say: “The Welsh Language Standards (No.7) Regulations 2018 are the relevant standards which apply to health boards and NHS trusts in Wales. Although the standards place duties to provide a range of services through the medium of Welsh (such as correspondence, case conferences, documents and forms), they do not go as far as to place duties on health boards to ensure that Welsh speakers can receive clinical services through the medium of Welsh.” That is why we need my new clause in the Bill. Legislation as it stands in relation to Wales is not sufficient even to give us the “reasonable steps” provision. The commissioner says that although in Wales “Welsh Language standards apply to NHS primary care services that are contracted by the health boards, Welsh language standards currently don’t apply to independent providers. However, a limited number of Welsh language duties have been placed on independent primary care providers”— that is GPs, of course. The commissioner continues: “As is the case with respect to the Welsh language standards, these duties do not go as far as ensuring that Welsh speakers can receive clinical primary care services through the medium of Welsh.” That again is why “all reasonable steps” is about doing the best we can to ensure that people are able to communicate in the language that comes most naturally to them. The commissioner also says: “It is important to note that the standards set out duties relating to health services in general, while the Bill in question relates to a much more specific and specialised service. It also relates to a highly sensitive issue where being able to provide in an individual’s first language is essential. The key point here is that stronger provisions could be made in an area such as assisted dying compared to that which would be practically possible in standards relating to health services more generally. As such, if there is an opportunity to make specific provisions in legislation regarding ensuring clinical services through the medium of Welsh then it should be done.” I know that there are two concerns, and I have already mentioned the phrase “all reasonable steps”. I want us to have a decision in this place, here and now, and to hear back from the promoter and Ministers that there is an appreciation that we need something in the Bill. The Welsh Language Act 1993, as it applies to the judiciary, gives the individual only the right to speak Welsh; it does not give them the right to discuss or to be understood. Through the written evidence I have quoted, I hope I have been able to show that the Welsh language standards in Wales do not go as far as we need them to in this legislation. The other point—again, this is part of our finding our way with amendments—is that my understanding is that the new clause would apply to the geographic area of Wales only; it would not apply in England, as is normal with other legislation in this respect. I want to hear the response from the promoter and Ministers before I decide whether to press my new clause to a vote. However, I do feel, on this final day, that we need to have something on record that says we respect the use of the Welsh language and we will do our best to ensure that the provisions act effectively in that respect.

• 25 Mar 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-ninth sitting) · Hansard source

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  The Committee should be aware that the Isle of Man has today passed an assisted dying Act, and we already have divergence between the different jurisdictions of the United Kingdom.

• 24 Mar 2025 · European Union: UK Membership · Hansard source

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  Indeed. Ensuring that there is a workforce for leisure and tourism is proving more and more challenging for a number of reasons, including the shortage of workers who previously came from the EU. To return to Erasmus+, the Welsh Government made the decision to launch their own scheme in 2021. That was welcome, but the First Minister at the time, Mark Drakeford, said in February last year that “if we had a choice we would much rather we were part of an established scheme”, like Erasmus. Disappointingly, the UK Government announced last summer that they have no plans to rejoin the Erasmus scheme, but I ask the Government to reconsider and look at recent successes in making closer ties with our neighbours. Calls for a youth mobility scheme have also been scorned by the UK Government. What is it about enriching young people’s lives that frightens this Government so much? Just this month, the UK marked an important milestone with Horizon Europe that indicates an alternative route. Since becoming an associated country in 2024, after three years of non-membership, the UK has boasted a strong performance in recent funding rounds. In particular, the UK hosted 18 successful projects under the European Research Council’s synergy grants, the second highest number among participating countries. Ahead of the spring statement, when the Chancellor will undoubtedly be looking for opportunities to drive growth amid a dismal economic outlook, I urge the Government to find inspiration in our progress with Horizon and to pursue closer ties in further areas. My party believes that returning to the single market and the customs union as soon as possible would be a meaningful step towards remedying the economic damage suffered by households and businesses alike. Recent figures by the Economic Cost of Brexit Project show that the average person in the UK is now £2,000 worse off as a result of leaving the European Union, worsening the effects of the ongoing cost of living crisis. Five years on from our exit from the EU, the world is a more uncertain, more dangerous and less predictable place. From my home in Morfa Nefyn in north-west Wales, the closest capital city is Dublin. Our nearest neighbours for everyone, everywhere in the United Kingdom, are in the EU. The benefits of closer ties with our neighbours and our allies are plain to see, and I urge the Government to take heart from recent successes such as Horizon Europe and to pursue the same bold approach on youth mobility, on Erasmus, and on the customs union and single market.

• 24 Mar 2025 · European Union: UK Membership · Hansard source

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  The January poll by YouGov that I quoted earlier notes that everybody sees that tourism has been hit—by fewer people from the UK going to the EU as tourists and fewer people from the EU coming to the UK. In areas such as my hon. Friend’s in Ceredigion and mine in Gwynedd, tourism provides the chief employment in our economy, along with the universities.

• 24 Mar 2025 · European Union: UK Membership · Hansard source

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  I am sure the hon. Gentleman will join me in expressing dismay at the fact that, for the bivalve fishing industry, the waters of Wales were no longer acceptable, and that industry died with Brexit.

• 24 Mar 2025 · European Union: UK Membership · Hansard source

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  Will the Minister give way?

• 24 Mar 2025 · European Union: UK Membership · Hansard source

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  The end of January marked five years since the UK left the EU. Although a majority of people in the UK, and indeed in Wales, voted to leave the EU at that time, the majority do not think it was a good idea any more. Polling shows that 55% of Britons now say that it was wrong for the UK to leave the EU, with just 11% seeing Brexit as more of a success than a failure. Let us also not forget that young people voted decisively to remain.

• 24 Mar 2025 · European Union: UK Membership · Hansard source

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  I absolutely agree. It is a priority for us as parliamentarians and for the Government to ensure that we do everything we can to widen the horizons for our young people and to give them the best opportunities. According to polling data from YouGov, three quarters of 18 to 24-year-olds voted to stay in the European Union in 2016. There was a myth peddled at the time that they did not turn out to vote, but that is wrong: around 70% of registered young voters went to the polling booth. Nine years later, the next generation remains decisively opposed to Brexit, with 75% saying it was a mistake. As we look to the future, we must think seriously about the effect of the decision on young people who entered the workforce under its cloud, although many of them would not have been able to vote in 2016. What has “getting Brexit done” meant for them? The UK no longer allows young people to take part in the Horizon Europe or Erasmus+ programmes, which is a huge loss to students the length and breadth of the UK. Those vital exchanges provided opportunities for young people to live and study in other countries, and their many benefits included improved language skills, cultural immersion and personal growth, leaving the sort of memories that stayed with somebody for ever.

• 19 Mar 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-sixth sitting) · Hansard source

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  We should acknowledge the reasons that people go into residential and nursing care homes. They go into them because they need day-to-day help to live. Would the hon. Gentleman reconsider what he has just said? It seems to fundamentally discriminate between people who are able to live at home, have families or carers around them and can operate in that way and people who need to go into residential, and particularly nursing, homes.

• 19 Mar 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-sixth sitting) · Hansard source

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  They might not have one.