Lee Waters: As the Member knows, we are planning to extend superfast to 26,000 premises by March 2021, at a cost of nearly £22.5 million in Welsh Government and EU funding through the flexible roll-out of fibre. It should also be noted that this is not a devolved area. This is an area that the UK Government has responsibility for. Left to the market alone, only some 45 per cent of premises in Wales...
Lee Waters: That's a perfectly fair question, and I think it's fair to say that we are still thinking through the implications of how we do that. One of the problems we have is the diminishing appetite of the private sector to engage in this area. There is more profit available for the private companies in providing faster speeds to people who already have broadband than there is in reaching those who...
Lee Waters: Well, I entirely share the frustration. We have made significant funding available to tackle this issue, which, as I repeat, is a non-devolved area. We're not getting a Barnett consequential for this. We're doing this out of our own budgets because the UK Government and Ofcom are not meeting the needs of Wales, so we have stepped in. But there are limitations to the impact we're able to...
Lee Waters: Thank you. The Valleys taskforce are working closely with partners in Caerphilly, delivering a number of commitments within the 'Our Valleys, Our Future' delivery plan, including the development of an integrated transport hub and strategic master plan, and developing a discovery gateway site as part of the Valleys regional park.
Lee Waters: Of course we're committed to spending £25 million on the taskforce developing the plans around the hubs. What I'm trying to do is to take stock of the delivery plan and the views of the partners of the best next steps. I've met the taskforce and had a very frank discussion about where we go next. I've met also with AMs representing Valleys constituencies. I'm meeting with more in the coming...
Lee Waters: Well, I don't think anybody is under any illusions about the scale of the task ahead of us. There has been over a century of economic decline across many of these communities, and it's going to take a multigenerational approach to tackle the deep underlying causes of that. The Valleys taskforce has performed a really important role over the last couple of years. I pay tribute to my colleague...
Lee Waters: Diolch. Wales-based suppliers to the Honda Swindon facility will of course be impacted by this devastating news. Our officials, together with the Wales automotive forum and the UK Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, will be working with these companies, utilising all available resources to help.
Lee Waters: Thank you. In fact, there are 18 Wales-based companies in the Honda supply chain. For the majority, Honda accounts for less than 10 per cent of their total business, but there are three companies—all of which are Japanese-owned—where Honda accounts for 80 per cent of their business. There is one other company, also Japanese-owned, where Honda accounts for nearly 50 per cent of their...
Lee Waters: Thank you. I think that's a little bit of a stretch to try and link those two issues together. We do have a £2 million fund, which we've agreed jointly with Plaid Cymru, to roll out electric vehicle charging. On the point of Brexit not being a deciding factor, I think, again, the Member is stretching credibility a little. This morning—
Lee Waters: This morning, the former ambassador to Japan, Sir David Warren, has said that it is fanciful to claim the decision was not related to Brexit. At the end—[Interruption.] I'm having heckles from the Conservative benches. Their anger would be better directed at their own Government who are failing to provide certainty for businesses about what the trading environment is going to be at the end...
Lee Waters: I am listening to businesses, who are telling us that at the end of this month, they could well be facing a tax of £400 on every engine, on top of non-tariff barriers, if we don't get a good deal, which will disrupt the whole just-in-time business model that the car industry relies upon. So, the Conservative benches are living in fantasy land if they think that the uncertainty around Brexit...
Lee Waters: Thank you. The Wales Automotive Forum is seeking early engagement with all the companies—all 18 Wales-based companies in the Honda supply chain—to understand the positions they're in and how the Welsh Government can help mitigate this loss. As I say, we have a suite of interventions available and we do have three years. There are going to be no major redundancies from this announcement,...
Lee Waters: It's worth remembering that Neil Hamilton made very similar arguments to argue against the phasing out of leaded petrol. He has been consistently wrong on protecting consumers and protecting vulnerable people from polluting vehicles, and he seeks to point the blame everywhere but at the reckless policy he has pursued to destroy jobs on the back of lies about what the impact of withdrawing...
Lee Waters: Neil Hamilton points to the fact that Turkey is also closing its plants. That is what happens when you have free trade deals; there are consequences both ways. We've undertaken a trade deal with Japan that makes it cheaper for Japan to produce its cars in Japan, and that's the way free trade works. Outside of the protection of the EU, we're going to be more vulnerable to changes in...
Lee Waters: Thank you. Yes, I'm aware of the position at Kasai and the 200 jobs. As I said, there'll be no immediate redundancies in any of the plants, as this announcement will not take effect for three years, and we will be working with the companies in the meantime to help see how we can support them to find alternative markets. Kasai, as Dawn Bowden said, produce the inner door panels for the Honda...
Lee Waters: The First Minister and the Minister for the economy met with the UK chair of Ford last week to see if we could provide any further help and assistance. Clearly, the situation they face is serious, and they too, like Honda, are facing the changing nature of the automotive sector and the confluence of different forces that have come together at the same time to cause difficulties for the...
Lee Waters: Diolch, Llywydd. It’s a curious position I find myself in as the Minister responding to this debate. I’m thrilled to be given the opportunity to try and advance this agenda and turn into reality some of the things I’ve been saying for some time. It’s a nice touch that I have Dafydd Elis-Thomas sitting next to me, because it was to Dafydd, when he was the Presiding Officer in October...
Lee Waters: Of course.
Lee Waters: Absolutely, and I think that when Carwyn Jones, the former First Minister, said that he wouldn’t dream of cycling in Cardiff, he was roundly criticised, and I think he was right to say that. It’s important for people to feel comfortable to say that they don’t feel happy to cycle or walk under current conditions. The answer to safety is to have enough people doing this so you feel safe,...
Lee Waters: I would.
