Ken Skates: Llywydd, this is clearly devastating news, and my thoughts are with the employees of Hi-Lex and, of course, with their families at this very difficult time. Our focus is now on supporting the workforce and finding alternative local employment, and, of course, this is, sadly, the latest in a series of announcements across the United Kingdom concerning job losses in the auto sector and comes on...
Ken Skates: The Member raises a series of important points and questions. On the last point that he raised, I think it's worth recognising that, whilst we have lost many jobs in recent times, we have also led to the creation of many jobs as well. And it is deeply, deeply disappointing that Marco have decided to consult on closure, but the Welsh Government has invested in new businesses and existing...
Ken Skates: Our deepest sympathies go to everybody affected by this worrying news. This is a deeply uncertain time for the workers at Marco Cable, for their families and, I think, also for the wider Anglesey community, but we will work closely with everybody concerned during the consultation period to explore every available option to assist and support people.
Ken Skates: No amount of protection will prevent every single business in Wales from being burned in a ‘no deal’ Brexit. Businesses will suffer. Anybody in industry will tell you that a ‘no deal’ Brexit is dangerous for our economy. We will do our upmost to protect workers during the coming months. We are ready to deploy more than 500 people across the Development Bank of Wales, Welsh Government...
Ken Skates: There will be severe problems for many of the families, I’m in no doubt, as a result of the announcement as a result of the collapse of the company, but we stand ready to help every single one of those employees and every family that is affected by the announcement. I can assure the Member that our ReAct programme will be deployed, and it has a strong record of supporting individuals that...
Ken Skates: Can I thank the Member for her questions and say that her party has consistently warned of the consequences of Brexit? Those consequences are now coming to pass, and there is a common cause: it is Brexit. That is absolutely and abundantly clear. It is not because of the Welsh Government's industrial strategy; quite the opposite, actually. We've got more than 250,000 businesses in existence in...
Ken Skates: Can I thank Russell George for his comments and his questions? First of all, the media have reported that the collapse of the company was—in part at least, if not largely—due to the loss or the delay in securing Government contracts. That regards the contract, as far as I'm aware, with the Department for Work and Pensions, as the Welsh Government have no contractual relationship with...
Ken Skates: Dirprwy Lywydd, can I share Dawn Bowden's thanks to the partners that have been working tirelessly since the announcement was made in supporting the affected workers? Can I also thank Dawn Bowden for recognising the efforts that were made by my officials in trying to save and restructure the company? I really do recognise the closure of Triumph Furniture will have a major impact on the...
Ken Skates: Yes. This is clearly a deeply disappointing statement and series of events that have led to the company's collapse. Our thoughts are, clearly, with the employees and their families at this difficult time, and we'll seek to work with the administrator to do all we can to minimise the impact on the local community and the wider economy.
Ken Skates: Can I thank Jenny Rathbone for her questions? Clearly, the huge demand for access to the Transport for Wales website and particularly the page concerning the replacement of the card, posed difficulties. Transport for Wales have been offering drop-in sessions here in the National Assembly for Wales, and I can assure the Member that I wrote to all Assembly Members on 5 June of this year,...
Ken Skates: Can I thank Dai Rees for his questions? He's absolutely right that people need to know when they are likely to be eligible for the concessionary bus pass under the new regime. I will circulate the table that I have right in front of me that shows every age from 50 to 60 on 1 April 2022 and when people will then become entitled to their concessionary card. I'll do that, if possible, Dirprwy...
Ken Skates: The Member is absolutely right: nobody will lose their pass as a result of the renewal programme—nobody at all. Can I thank Rhianon Passmore for also raising a very important point that I've made, that free travel, in and of its own, does not entice people to shift from the private vehicle onto a bus? However, with other reforms that we have contained within the buses Bill, we are confident...
Ken Skates: We are constantly—. Can I thank Janet Finch-Saunders for her questions? We are constantly monitoring the number of applications that are being processed on a daily basis, and that's why we were able to update since the statement was translated. The figure concerning the number of applications that have been dealt with is now over 210,000. When this was translated, I think it was 150,000. It...
Ken Skates: Now, I firmly believe that as a consequence of people working for more years of their lives, they're actually going to be more active for more years and they're going to be better connected to other human beings because they're in work for longer in their lives, and therefore the likelihood of this increasing loneliness and isolation is not a real threat, in my view. Indeed, the current...
Ken Skates: Mike Hedges, you're sounding very, very suspicious and cynical about Transport for Wales's protection of data, but it is for that very reason. It is also because the manufacturing process that's involved in the new cards is such that we have to ensure that the cards can be used anywhere in the UK, in the event that such an equitable system of applying the concessionary fare scheme is...
Ken Skates: It's been done in Liverpool.
Ken Skates: Well, can I thank David Rowlands for his qualified support for what we are seeking to achieve? I think he makes a very important point that we have to act responsibly in order to prepare the public purse for an ageing society and also for an increasingly active ageing society as well. Let me be absolutely crystal clear that, if you have a bus pass now, you will keep your bus pass in the...
Ken Skates: Can I just be clear, and thank Rhun ap Iorwerth for his questions, that local government is not making money from the concessionary fare scheme? In fact, local government is contributing towards it. The key is in ensuring that the 80-plus bus operators across Wales that currently get reimbursed for the concessionary scheme operate on business models that are sustainable for the future. And...
Ken Skates: Sorry. I'm pleased to—. I apologise—just three more questions that the Member raised. In terms of a grace period, I can tell Members today that it is my intention to have a short grace period of up to a month. I’m confident that, based on 210,000 applications already being made, we will see the vast majority of applications processed by the end of November. In terms of cross-border...
Ken Skates: Can I thank Russell George for his very constructive contribution, and his questions? I'll take each one in turn, as briefly as I possibly can, Llywydd. First of all, with regard to the consultations that have taken place—and there have been multiple consultations over the past few years—we've attempted to address all of the concerns that individuals and representative organisations of...
