Future provision of a station at St Clears is subject to ongoing discussion by the UK and Welsh governments within the Wales Rail Board as part of its consideration of future rail investment priorities for Wales.

We have previously made £4.7m available to the Welsh Government towards the cost of reopening a railway station at St. Clears. The Welsh government has requested work on this project is paused, pending a decision on the location of a new hospital.

The information requested is not held centrally.

The Alternative Fuel Payment (AFP) scheme delivered payments of £200 to households who use alternative fuels such as heating oil, liquefied petroleum gas, coal or biomass, helping around 2 million off-gas-grid households to meet their energy costs. The scheme particularly supported households in rural areas that are not connected to the gas grid.

Over 85% of eligible households received the payment automatically via their electricity supplier during February, and a small proportion of households needed to apply for the AFP, for example when households in their local area predominantly use electricity or mains gas for their heating.

As far as I am aware, no such request has been made.

United Kingdom Government Ministers have not had any discussions with the Welsh Government on this subject. Although waste is a devolved matter Ministers are always open to discussions if Ministers from Devolved Administrations wish to discuss specific issues.

The Government has welcomed industry efforts to develop coordinated initiatives to support access to cash. Following the Government’s commitment to legislate to protect access to cash, the Cash Action Group announced plans for industry to assess the access to cash needs of communities where there is a closure of a core cash service or upon the request of a local community. These assessments are undertaken independently by LINK (which operates the UK’s largest ATM network) and the provision of shared bank hubs is a commercial decision for industry. Where LINK recommends the introduction of a bank hub, industry has established the Bank Hub company to oversee the rollout of banks hubs across the UK. Further information about the assessment process can be found on LINK’s website.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) recognises there is a high demand for learners who are wanting to take their practical driving test following the suspension of routine driver training and testing during the pandemic.

The DVSA is working hard to provide as many practical driving test appointments as possible and has a number of measures in place to do this.

These include:

• offering a national recovery allowance and annual leave buy back to examiners;
• asking all those qualified to conduct tests, but who do not do so as part of their current day job, to return to conducting tests;
• conducting out of hours testing, such as on public holidays and weekends; and
• asking recently retired driving examiners to return to testing.

As of 22 March 2022, driving test waiting times at Carmarthen is 2 weeks, and Llanelli is 8 weeks.

The DVSA has a live recruitment campaign covering Carmarthen, Llanelli and Swansea, and has recently completed a campaign to recruit Welsh speaking driving examiners. The DVSA is also launching a new national campaign to recruit an extra 161 examiners across Great Britain to help meet the increasing demand for driving tests. This is in addition to its previous campaign to recruit more than 300 additional examiners.

The DVSA does not take the decision to cancel tests lightly and will only do so when it has exhausted every possible avenue and tried to find another examiner to provide cover. All available practical driving test appointments, including cancellations, are shown on the live booking system to everyone, including approved driving instructors (ADI), at the same time. Any additional tests are added as soon as they become available. The DVSA has a 24-week forward booking window and tests are not available to book beyond this.

Candidates, and ADIs, can check for earlier appointments at their local test centres on the gov.uk/change-driving-test services. Other candidates cancelling or rescheduling their test also free up slots for others to book, and appointments may be available at other nearby centres. The DVSA advises everyone to regularly check for new appointments.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) recognises there is a high demand for learners who are wanting to take their practical driving test following the suspension of routine driver training and testing during the pandemic.

The DVSA is working hard to provide as many practical driving test appointments as possible and has a number of measures in place to do this.

These include:

• offering a national recovery allowance and annual leave buy back to examiners;
• asking all those qualified to conduct tests, but who do not do so as part of their current day job, to return to conducting tests;
• conducting out of hours testing, such as on public holidays and weekends; and
• asking recently retired driving examiners to return to testing.

As of 22 March 2022, driving test waiting times at Carmarthen is 2 weeks, and Llanelli is 8 weeks.

The DVSA has a live recruitment campaign covering Carmarthen, Llanelli and Swansea, and has recently completed a campaign to recruit Welsh speaking driving examiners. The DVSA is also launching a new national campaign to recruit an extra 161 examiners across Great Britain to help meet the increasing demand for driving tests. This is in addition to its previous campaign to recruit more than 300 additional examiners.

The DVSA does not take the decision to cancel tests lightly and will only do so when it has exhausted every possible avenue and tried to find another examiner to provide cover. All available practical driving test appointments, including cancellations, are shown on the live booking system to everyone, including approved driving instructors (ADI), at the same time. Any additional tests are added as soon as they become available. The DVSA has a 24-week forward booking window and tests are not available to book beyond this.

Candidates, and ADIs, can check for earlier appointments at their local test centres on the gov.uk/change-driving-test services. Other candidates cancelling or rescheduling their test also free up slots for others to book, and appointments may be available at other nearby centres. The DVSA advises everyone to regularly check for new appointments.

There are regular meetings between the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and the Home Office about the Emergency Service Network’s Extended Area Services (EAS) sites being used for the Shared Rural Network (SRN). The two departments discuss EAS site suitability, deployment and activation timelines. There has been no specific meeting in relation to sites in Rhandirmwyn.

All (Extended Area Services) sites are available for SRN in principle, where site conditions, planning legislation and a willing site provider align and where they meet the DCMS viability criteria. SRN have provisionally carried out a strategic evaluation of each proposed site. DCMS’s current approach is where site conditions allow, all 292 EAS sites are under consideration for SRN .

There are 2 EAS sites in the Rhandirmwyn area and these are both being considered for commercial connectivity via the SRN. We are currently working with the DCMS and Mobile Network Operators to facilitate sharing of the EAS sites as quickly as possible.

The SRN Programme also has regular monthly updates with the Devolved Administrations, where regular updates are given on the progress of the programme. In addition, DCMS regularly keep the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales updated on the progress of the SRN EAS program with regular stocktakes.

There have been no discussion on 5G deployment with DCMS as SRN is providing 4G services.

The Broadband Upgrade Fund Pilot provided an opportunity to test an innovative approach to demand stimulation in the broadband market. The final stage of the Broadband Upgrade Fund only recently completed, in January 2021, and many suppliers are still in the process of engaging with communities to put together project proposals to submit to BDUK for approval. Therefore, a full assessment of the effectiveness of the Broadband Upgrade Fund Pilot will be undertaken once there has been sufficient opportunity for proposals to turn into gigabit capable connections.

However, an initial assessment shows that communities in Carmarthenshire were particularly active, with over 3,200 residents and small to medium sized businesses registering their interest in the Broadband Upgrade Fund. Suppliers were also equally responsive to the demand identified in Carmarthenshire. Around 98% of businesses and residents who registered for the pilot received at least one offer from a broadband supplier, with 96% receiving two or more offers.

The Government supports the creation of an inclusive transport network, and enabling disabled children to travel to school alongside their non-disabled peers is important for making this a reality.

Officials engage regularly with colleagues at the Welsh Government, as well as other stakeholders, concerning the application of the Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations (PSVAR) and the impact of exemptions issued, on home to school transport services across Great Britain.

Initial discussions, followed by negotiations, for the ESN site at Ystradffin started in February 2018. The proposed annual leasing costs for the site are commercially sensitive and cannot be disclosed.

Initial discussions, followed by negotiations, for the ESN site at Ystradffin started in February 2018. The proposed annual leasing costs for the site are commercially sensitive and cannot be disclosed.

Initial discussions, followed by negotiations, for the ESN site at Ystradffin started in February 2018. The proposed annual leasing costs for the site are commercially sensitive and cannot be disclosed.

Initial discussions, followed by negotiations, for the ESN site at Ystradffin started in February 2018. The proposed annual leasing costs for the site are commercially sensitive and cannot be disclosed.

Initial discussions, followed by negotiations, for the ESN site at Ystradffin started in February 2018. The proposed annual leasing costs for the site are commercially sensitive and cannot be disclosed.

The Ministry of Justice provides a range of estates management services to other government departments, including the Home Office.

A lease, in the name of the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, has been taken, on behalf of the Home Office, to accommodate infrastructure for the new Emergency Services Network (ESN).

The site at Ystradffin Farm was identified by the ESN Programme as a suitable location for a 22.5m Extended Area Service (EAS) Communications Tower (lattice mast). Planning for the site has been submitted but not yet granted.

A lease, in the name of the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, has been taken, on behalf of the Home Office, to accommodate infrastructure for the new Emergency Services Network (ESN).

The site at Ystradffin Farm was identified by the ESN Programme as a suitable location for a 22.5m Extended Area Service (EAS) lattice mast. Planning for the site has been submitted but not yet granted.