Ken Skates: Well, I agree with the Member, and I think my comments so far suggest that her views and mine are fully aligned in questioning the business case and the rationale for the decision that's been announced. We should remember as well that it's not just workers in Cardiff who will be affected by this decision, but also in Coventry. Again, we need to question why it is that Barclays have decided to...
Ken Skates: Because we've got great confidence in the ability and the quality and the expertise of the workforce in Wales who are employed in the contact centre sector. I should just inform the Member that the sector panels have been wound up—that includes the financial and professional services sector—with a new ministerial advisory board that has consolidated all of the sector panels into one board...
Ken Skates: Can I thank David Melding for his questions and also welcome his astute observations and wise opinion regarding this sector? In the coming years, industry commentators predict that technological disruption will lead to, yes, a reduction in lower-skilled jobs, but actually an increase in higher-quality jobs that are demanding higher levels of skills and commanding higher wages right across the...
Ken Skates: Diolch, Llywydd. Yesterday, a statement was made in the House of Commons by the UK Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Greg Clark, on the proposed Swansea bay tidal lagoon project. The UK Government made it clear that, 'it would be irresponsible to enter into a contract with the provider' as the 'proposal has not demonstrated that it could be value for...
Ken Skates: Can I thank the Member for his questions? I apologise for the lateness of his receipt of the statement. I, too, received the statement, due to it being redrafted at very late stages, just a few minutes ago. But I have to say, I've been there when tough decisions have had to be made, and the Member identifies the Circuit of Wales decision as one primary example of how, in the face of intense...
Ken Skates: Can I thank the Member for his contribution, the points that he's raised, and the obvious fury that he's relayed from Swansea bay? I think it was Shakespeare who said something along the lines of 'could not wield the words to matter', and right now I think people are lost for words in expressing their anger, their frustration, their disappointment with the UK Government for taking a...
Ken Skates: Can I thank Caroline Jones for the contribution she's made today, her comments and her questions? First of all, with regard to the speculation that has appeared over many weeks now in the press, it would appear to me—perhaps I'm just becoming more cynical, but it would appear to me that a decision perhaps was reached some time ago and that an opportunity was being looked for in order to...
Ken Skates: Yes, I agree entirely. I talked about the advances that the French have made, and I am in no doubt that some of the competitors that we faced in this field are cheering the decision by UK Government. I think Mike Hedges makes a very, very important point that, if you're not open to new ideas and new technology, you're not going to make progress; you're not going to maintain your...
Ken Skates: Can I thank Simon Thomas for his contribution? I think given the points that he made right at the outset of his contribution, it's quite clear that the UK Government has become a master of both pork barrel politics and broken dreams, having invested so much in so few votes within the House of Commons but letting down so many people in Wales by taking the decision that it has. I think what it...
Ken Skates: Can I thank John Griffiths for his contribution? I'm conscious of time, but I would like to put on record my thanks to Charles Hendry for the work that he did. He produced a report that was compelling in terms of the evidence provided to support taking forward this project as a pathfinder, and I'm sure that Members across this Chamber would wish to thank him for the commitment that he...
Ken Skates: Diolch, Llywydd. I am grateful for the opportunity to make this statement today. Last week, Airbus Group published its own risk assessment outlining the urgent threats to its business arising from the UK exiting the European Union without a withdrawal agreement. The risk assessment is deeply concerning; it identifies that should the UK leave the EU next year without a deal, and without any...
Ken Skates: Can I thank Russell George for his contribution and his questions? I'll say at the outset that I know that there are also good Conservatives in Westminster as well, who, like the Member, share concerns for the future of Airbus. I think, based on the comments that both Stephen Crabb and Guto Bebb have made recently, we do have Conservative parliamentarians who are there to champion Airbus....
Ken Skates: Can I thank the Member for his questions and his contribution as a whole? It's a tragic fact that Shotton still holds the European record for the most lost jobs in a single day in modern industrial history across Europe. I was in receipt recently of a 1963 black-and-white photo of that year's intake of apprentices. It featured my dad, that's why it was sent to me, and upon scrutinising this...
Ken Skates: This is—. It's embarrassing, frankly. I hope nobody within any industrial sector and no investors have listened to this contribution. But just one quick question that's been playing on my mind whilst listening to the Member: where is the Member that is supposed to be representing the 6,500 people in Broughton within your party right now? I don't see the UKIP Member for North Wales present...
Ken Skates: Finally, in terms of the point that the Member made concerning false warnings that have taken place elsewhere in the industry, not just concerning Brexit, but other historical, other factors, one big point to bear in mind is that many politicians only woke up to the threats that Tata were making, and the concerns that Tata were expressing, when the businesses here in Wales and across the UK...
Ken Skates: Can I thank Jack Sargeant for his contribution and for his questions? He's absolutely right—what investors want when they look at any country is certainty in terms of the political and economic environment and they need the right skills to be available and the right infrastructure in place. In Wales, we're improving the skills base, we're developing the right infrastructure, but Brexit...
Ken Skates: Yes, I'd agree very much with Jayne Bryant. I know how much she's championed Airbus in Newport since being elected to this Assembly, and I also know how much this particular employer matters to the region—450 skilled people are employed at the site. The site is one of our proudest industries of tomorrow, offering immense opportunity for many people who are entering a specific field in which...
Ken Skates: I'm pleased that Mark Isherwood has discussed this issue with the senior vice-president of Airbus UK and with many other managers in Broughton and in Toulouse. I imagine that pretty much all of those senior executives will have disagreed with the Member over the vote to leave the EU. And those UK Airbus employees that he'll have met in Toulouse, I'm afraid, if the course of direction is not...
Ken Skates: Formally.
Ken Skates: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I very much welcome the opportunity to debate this important subject today, and I'd like to thank Simon Thomas for bringing forward this report. I'd also like to reiterate what Russell George said; I think this is an exemplar use of research budgets. This is a superb research report and I welcome it very much. I think it's fair to say that the future, in many ways,...
