Welsh Secretary looks ahead to the New Year

Secretary of State for Wales Jo Stevens looks back on 2024 and ahead to the year to come.

In July this year, Wales voted decisively for change.

I had the privilege of being appointed the first female Labour Secretary of State for Wales with a clear mission: to deliver what we promised.

At the election, we promised safer streets, green energy and, above all, new jobs and economic growth for people across Wales. We said we would work with the Welsh Government to improve and reform public services, with more money for the NHS and other public services after more than a decade of neglect.

Underpinning all of this was the promise of a transformed relationship between the UK and Welsh Governments.

We have hit the ground running.

Gone are the days of corrosive squabbling, replaced by a partnership in power that truly delivers for the people of Wales for the first time in a generation.

The Budget provided a record settlement of £21 billion to the Welsh Government, with £1.7 billion extra next year to spend on public services improve public services in Wales like the NHS and drive down waiting lists.

The Welsh Labour Government are set to spend more than £600m in new money on health and social care next year. People across Wales are clear that they want better health services. If other parties agree, they now need to vote for these plans in the Senedd in the new year.

We also want to put more money in people's pockets and grow our economy.

The Investment Zones in Cardiff and Newport and Wrexham and Flintshire are a crucial part of our work with Welsh Government to provide a rocket-boost to sector strengths like creative industries, life sciences and advanced manufacturing.

We've given the green light for Welsh freeports to unlock billions in private investment and galvanise almost 20,000 jobs in our port communities like Milford Haven, Port Talbot and Holyhead.

I've launched an innovative economic advisory group with businesses, unions and universities from across Wales to make sure we are the front of the queue for investment in our leading sectors, but also unlocking the jobs and industries of the future.

The golden opportunity of floating offshore wind will be a critical part of this. Wales can lead the world in the creation of huge turbines out at sea that will help drive down energy bills and create the jobs of the future. Bringing that investment to Wales is my first priority early in the new year.

The Wales Office and the role of Welsh Secretary has been reinvigorated, with a strong voice for Wales at the Cabinet table once again.

When I was appointed in July, I was shocked to discover that the £80m of support for workers and businesses in Port Talbot promised by the previous government was part of the billions in unfunded spending commitments they had made.

I made it my mission to fight tooth and nail for that money. Weeks later, I was able to announce millions of pounds in new money to support workers and businesses. Labour's first Budget confirmed that £80 million in full. In just four months, there are now three funds worth more than £40 million up and running, with more to come.

After years of deadlock and disagreement, the UK Government stepped up with £25 million for the Welsh Government to maintain and secure coal tips. There can be no better illustration of the new relationship between the two governments than this co-operation on a matter of huge concern for people in hundreds of former coal mining communities across Wales.

We have ended the historic injustice endured by over 100,000 former mineworkers. They will now receive billions kept from their pensions, raising the amount they receive each year by a third.

Money for Port Talbot steelworkers protected, first-time funding for coal tips and justice for Welsh mineworkers – three things that would not have happened if there wasn't a representative speaking up for Wales in Cabinet and across UK government.

But this new government has only just begun and we will move even further and faster in 2025 as we deliver on our Plan for Change.

People in Wales can expect to see more police back on the beat, keeping our streets safe. Earlier this month I opened a new base for Gwent Police in Abergavenny so officers can better serve the town.

We are investing in 13,000 additional neighbourhood officers, PCSOs, and special constables across Wales and England and these officers will work to restore the visible, accessible policing that our communities deserve.

We will also be taking forward exciting plans for our rail network. Wales has not had the investment in railways that it needs and deserves. I am making it my mission to tackle this in the year ahead, as we work with the Welsh Government to build and run the services people need every day and help local economies grow. 

In August I joined Welsh Transport Secretary Ken Skates to announce the number of trains running on the North Wales mainline would increase by 50%. That is a change that people will be able to see on platforms. Not some half-baked, pie in the sky promise that never materialises.

We cannot go back in time and change the way the Conservative government conceived, classified and mismanaged the HS2 project, but we will work with Welsh Government and others to make sure that services for passengers will be transformed for generations to come.

There is a bright future ahead for Wales in 2025 and beyond. With Eluned and I – a partnership in power – Wales's voice is strong once again. We can raise our hopes and ambitions as we put our nation at the forefront of a decade of national renewal.