Ken Skates: Okay, look, I know that the Member began her contribution by saying that we had to work on a cross-party basis and we shouldn't attribute blame, but she then used the contribution for pure party political opportunism. The fact of the matter is—[Interruption.] The fact of the matter—[Interruption.] The fact of the matter is that Nigel Farage has talked about the need for a clean Brexit...
Ken Skates: Indeed I will, and can I thank Dai Rees not just for his questions but also for his tireless fight for Port Talbot steelworks and indeed for UK steel more broadly? Deputy Llywydd, Dai Rees made the very important point that the US-China trade war is influencing the challenges and contributing to the challenges that Tata and the steel industry in the UK face right now, suppressing demand...
Ken Skates: Can I thank Rhun ap Iorwerth for his questions and for identifying some very significant and important points? One: the question of how much influence Welsh Government has over what is largely a UK problem—and you could extend it and say that it's actually, in some respects, a European problem, and in other respects, it's a global problem. Does Welsh Government have the ability to truly...
Ken Skates: Can I thank Russell George for his contribution and his questions and first of all agree entirely that cross-party support on this very important issue should be maintained during the current election period? I'll come to the degree of engagement that we've had with the UK Government in a moment, but I can say that the discussion that took place this morning with Tata was very constructive. I...
Ken Skates: The statement does not provide any information on the geographical spread of job losses or timescales for implementation. However, I have today spoken with the company and I was told that further work will take place in the coming months to identify, function by function, what jobs will be lost. Then, an assessment on the site-by-site impact will be made, with implementation by March 2021....
Ken Skates: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Yesterday, I issued a written statement following a press release from Tata Steel outlining details of their proposals for transformation of the European business. Today, I would like to take this opportunity to update Members on this announcement, which I know will be of concern to many of you and your constituents. Following the announcement in May of this year that...
Ken Skates: Can I thank David Rowlands for his kind words regarding the people who deliver Business Wales services? I think the fact that 37 per cent of businesses who responded to the survey said that that they would be content or indeed happy to pay for Business Wales support and advice indicates just how effective Business Wales services are right now. That is why we are so keen to ensure that the...
Ken Skates: I think Rhun ap Iorwerth makes a number of really important points today and raises vitally important questions about the delivery model moving forward, but can I thank him, first of all, for kindly recognising the professionalism of staff who are delivering Business Wales services? I recognise the huge contribution that they make, often in very demanding circumstances, and capacity and...
Ken Skates: Can I thank Russell George for a number of very persuasive suggestions for improving the Business Wales model as we move forward? There is a major challenge, though, in maintaining the financial support for Business Wales services if replacement funding is not guaranteed by the UK Government, in the form of ensuring that every penny is passed to the Welsh Government to spend on vital business...
Ken Skates: The impact of Business Wales can perhaps be most clearly seen in the positive effects it has had on our economy. For every £1 spent through the Business Wales service, £10 is generated in the wider Welsh economy, with up to £17 in the more focused areas of support. The four-year survivability rate of start-ups supported by its work now stands at 85 per cent and that compares to 41 per cent...
Ken Skates: Diolch, Dirprwy Llywydd. As Minister for the economy, I have always been clear that small and medium-sized businesses are the backbone of the Welsh economy. Not only are they important in number—of almost 300,000 currently active businesses in Wales, more than 257,000 are micro, small and medium sized—they are all so critical to the way our economy and the way our communities operate....
Ken Skates: Can I thank Mark Isherwood for his questions? Yes, I would be more than willing to meet with Kevin Hyland, but I think it would also be helpful if a Minister from the Home Office were to agree to do so as well. I think it's important to stress right at this moment that we are yet to receive any firm information that would confirm that this case is linked to people smuggling, modern slavery or...
Ken Skates: Can I thank Rhun ap Iorwerth for his questions? Of course we will be inviting Home Office Ministers to Holyhead port. Is the port vulnerable? Well, let's allow the investigators to answer that following a thorough inquiry into what's happened. But I can say that, from my experience, there is no lack of professionalism at Holyhead with border security. Whether there is a question about...
Ken Skates: Llywydd, I'd like to begin by putting on the record the thoughts of myself and the entire Welsh Government—our thoughts are with the families who are suffering truly horrific news today. You'll understand that I don't have all of the details of this terrible incident, and I think it is right and proper that a full police investigation takes place into the incident. Suffice it to say that,...
Ken Skates: I now turn to the assessment of people applying to the scheme. I think every Member will be aware that it is for local authorities to decide who meets the eligibility criteria, but Welsh Government has developed tools to assist them in their duties. The national online service, the blue badge digital service, led by England, enables online applications and arranges the production and...
Ken Skates: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Firstly, may I thank the Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee both for their inquiry and for their report into the blue badge scheme here in Wales? Their report includes 19 recommendations, which I have carefully considered and reflected on. Some of these recommendations will require further work, research and discussions across the four UK nations,...
Ken Skates: Absolutely. I would agree entirely with Suzy Davies on this point. And the reason that we hosted the summit for Honda supply-chain businesses was because we wished to ascertain just the extent to which businesses were exposed to Honda's decision and whether they were looking at diversifying and whether there was any prospect of those businesses attracting contracts from other OMUs. Now, in...
Ken Skates: Can I thank Dai Lloyd for his questions and, first of all, say that I disagree with your assessment about the support that the Welsh Government is giving to manufacturing in Wales and the importance of innovation? We're just about to open the doors on the advanced manufacturing research centre in north Wales. That will be a unique research centre. Indeed, your own Members have called for an...
Ken Skates: Can I thank Russell George for his questions? Now, in terms of exports, exports form one of our calls to action in the economic action plan—one of the five criteria that businesses can utilise to draw down funding from the consolidated grant funding programmes that Welsh Government operates. All evidence points to the fact that, if you wish to drive up productivity rates within an economy,...
Ken Skates: Well, can I thank Dai Rees for his questions? And I'm sure that Dai Rees will share my concerns about the future welfare of those workers as they face a very anxious time between now and 2020 or possibly 2021, when the site is due to close. We will, of course, press the company to ensure that there is at least 12 months of work for those people who are affected by today's announcement. Those...
