Crown Estate powers 'risk' to jobs - Jo Stevens
Three offshore wind turbines in the sea off the coast of the UK
More than two thirds of Wales' coast and riverbeds are owned by the Crown Estate
Devolving the Crown Estate to Wales would put the potential for floating offshore wind "at risk", Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens has said.
She told MPs that wind power could create 5,300 jobs and give a £1.4bn boost to the economy.
The Labour MP said handing powers over the estate to the Welsh government would "put all that at risk".
Her party's Welsh government says the Crown Estate should be devolved so money raised from windfarms and other projects can be spent in Wales.
The estate, which belongs to the monarch, owns more than £603m of land in Wales, including 65% of the seabed around the coastline.
Profits from the estate go to the Treasury in Whitehall for the UK government to spend, with a proportion going to the Royal Family.
Labour's Welsh government says it should have the same powers as the Scottish government to control the Crown Estate - a call backed by Plaid Cymru.
In the House of Commons on Wednesday Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi asked whether the "priority should be ensuring that the Crown Estate can unlock the thousands of new well paid jobs in Wales that will come with floating offshore wind, rather than being distracted by calls to devolve the organisation in the middle of this national mission – risking the investment, jobs and lower energy bills Wales desperately need?"
Ms Stevens said she wanted "to see people in Wales benefit from those 5,300 new jobs, particularly young people who then don't have to leave Wales, where they've grown up, to earn or learn".
"I want to see that £1.4bn boost to the economy," she added.
"We are not prepared to put all that at risk – the risk of market fragmentation, of undermining or potentially destroying developer confidence in flow, and then have to watch that investment go elsewhere in the world."
King Charles and Queen Camilla walking with a stone wall in the background. He is wearing a suit with a blue striped tie. She is wearing a white dress.
The Crown Estates belong to the King, but he is not involved in running the business
The Welsh Government has tabled a debate about the Crown Estate in the Senedd for 25 March.
A spokesperson said: "This is a debate to discuss the importance of the role of the Crown Estate in Wales recognising our stated position that the Crown Estate should be devolved to Wales."
In February, Treasury minister James Murray said devolving the estate made "no commercial sense".
At the time, Plaid Cymru said the UK government's stance was a "direct contradiction to Welsh Labour government policy".