Prime Minister Andy Burnham makes first official visit to Wales – live updates

Requests from the Welsh Government for control over the Crown Estate in Wales will be “given a fair hearing” when leaders of devolved nations meet in October, Andy Burnham has said.

The Prime Minister was asked by reporters if he saw merit in giving Wales’ devolved government control over the company, as the Scottish Government has, which administers the holdings of the Monarch, including the seabed where offshore wind farms are placed.

Mr Burnham replied: “I’ve called the National Economic Council for October, and one of the messages that I will want to give to all of the first ministers, but including the new First Minister of Wales at that meeting, is that No 10 North is as much at your disposal as it is at the disposal of the devolved areas of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and as requests come for further devolution, they will be given a fair hearing.

“I’m not making any commitments today because it needs to be done carefully in a proper way, but obviously, that is what devolution should be about.

“I used to do it as myself, as mayor of Greater Manchester, we would make requests and it’s proper for devolved entities to make those requests. But you know, there then has to be a process for considering the issues involved.

“So that is part of why we’ve called the meeting. But I do also want to consider where we may deepen devolution here to get the growth mission being felt in a real way in all parts of in all parts of Wales.”