Ken Skates: Thank you, acting Deputy Presiding Officer. A little more than a year ago, the first Wales-only legislation for the historic environment received Royal Assent and became law. Since then, the greater part of the Historic Environment (Wales) Act 2016 has been brought into force, and an impressive body of supporting policy, advice and best-practice guidance has been published. It is an...
Ken Skates: Wales also now boasts the only statutory list of historic place names in the UK, and perhaps even the world. The list included nearly 350,000 entries at its launch in early May. It will raise public awareness of the importance of these elements of our national heritage and encourage their continuing use by individuals and public bodies. Specific instructions on the use of the list in naming...
Ken Skates: I thank Lee Waters for the points that he raises. Actually, the discussion that took place on Monday—which he convened, I think—was incredibly informative. It was as a consequence of that meeting that I considered it essential that we move forward with this piece of work concerning specifically contact centres, but that, given the emerging strategy, will be relevant to all sectors right...
Ken Skates: Can I thank Jenny Rathbone for the points that she raises and for her question? I think no matter how competitive a market is, employees shouldn’t be treated with anything other than upmost respect and loyalty by their employers. Of course, shoppers play an important role in influencing corporate behaviour and I’m sure that many shoppers will be somewhat disappointed by the way that those...
Ken Skates: I think the Member raises a very important point about the need to ensure that people who face redundancy are given the right support to get back into work or, indeed, to start their own company. ReAct 3 will provide financial support to people who are affected, and also financial support to potential employers of those people who may be affected. But there are also Welsh Government-supported...
Ken Skates: Can I thank Hefin for the points that he raises? I agree entirely with him; I am concerned that Tesco’s engagement with public servants needs to be improved, and so too Tesco’s engagement and communications with its own employees—the people that generate those profits that they are seeking to increase—need to improve as well. Anna McMorrin and Jo Stevens have fought very hard for...
Ken Skates: Can I thank the Member for his questions and also agree with his concerns about the way that this announcement was made? It does appear as though news had leaked, and that that news might otherwise have been part of today’s announcement by Tesco of a major restructuring effort in an attempt to cut £1.5 billion from the bottom line as it seeks to become more competitive and achieve higher...
Ken Skates: Can I thank the Member for his questions and also for agreeing with my sentiments concerning Tesco’s decision? I’ll deal with that final point first, if I may. It wasn’t just the Welsh Government that was not informed in good time about the decision. The UK Government—I think that the Secretary of State is on record as saying that they were not given advance notice either. I think...
Ken Skates: I’d like to thank the Member for the points he raises and the questions as well. I was deeply, deeply disappointed, not just by the decision, but by the way that Welsh Government, and, indeed, many, many workers, came to learn about the proposed closure of the facility. It’s quite apparent now that many employees learned about the decision on social media, which is an entirely...
Ken Skates: Further to discussions and meetings with Tesco and with USDAW, I’m meeting with the Welsh Contact Centre Forum today to explore employment opportunities at other regulated customer service centres in the region. We are also establishing a taskforce to secure the best possible outcome for staff.
Ken Skates: Can I thank the Member for his contribution? I am happy to commit to bring forward details of the technology park project at speed, and to ensure that regular updates are provided to Members. I’ve already spoken with a number of stakeholders in the region and stakeholders within the sector, and there is widespread support for the development of a technology park. I’ve also spoken with...
Ken Skates: Can I thank Lynne Neagle for her questions? I do recognise the strong support that she has given the proposal. I recognise that she has been consistent over many years in supporting the project and I do share her remorse at the fact that we are not able to offer the guarantee that was sought. But I do believe that, reluctantly, it would have been wholly irresponsible to have granted that...
Ken Skates: I’d like to thank the Member for his questions. I was very clear, last summer, when I said that the project developers needed to ensure that 50 per cent of the finance and 50 per cent of the risk fell on the shoulders of the private sector to ensure that we have value for money and to ensure that it didn’t come on balance sheet. It’s the due diligence process, which was only completed...
Ken Skates: I can tell Members, as I said in my contribution to Russell George, that we have spoken to TVR, Aston Martin Lagonda, Jaguar Land Rover and other stakeholders. As far as TVR is concerned, the plans are still there to build the car with the launch this autumn and to build it in Blaenau Gwent. We are working incredibly closely, not just with TVR, but with the supply chain to ensure that we get...
Ken Skates: Can I thank the Member for his questions? I think the Member is right to say that there will be disappointment that, after almost seven years, this project is not able to go ahead. Insofar as questions about why it has taken so long are concerned, they should be levelled in part at the development company. For our part, we have tried at every occasion to make this project work. It’s gone...
Ken Skates: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Members will know, from my written statement issued earlier today, that the Cabinet met this morning to consider a decision on whether the Welsh Government is able to provide a financial guarantee to the Circuit of Wales project at Ebbw Vale. We’ve been working to support the development of this project for a significant period of time, both in financial...
Ken Skates: Politics is about difficult decisions, and today’s in relation to the Circuit of Wales was no exception. I do not take the impact of this decision lightly, and neither do my Cabinet colleagues. We made every effort to make this project work. However, this is about getting the decisions right, and getting the right investment into Blaenau Gwent and the wider south Wales Valleys—investment...
Ken Skates: I’d be more than happy to meet with the Member and any other Member who would like to discuss stations in their particular regions or constituencies—I’ve already done that in other areas; I’ve had a number of meetings now concerning Newport provision. I’d be happy to meet with the Member. I should just say that this is an ongoing process. Once the assessment of the priority list is...
Ken Skates: Yes. We provide over £180 million a year in franchise subsidy payments and funding for additional services across the Wales and borders network. Rail infrastructure is not devolved, but, since 2011, we have invested over £200 million into rail infrastructure in Wales.
Ken Skates: I’d like to pay tribute to the passion that the Member shows concerning business growth, not only in Neath, but across the whole of Wales. We’ve already taken steps to make it easier for Welsh businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs to access information through Business Wales. But, moving forward, I do believe that there needs to be a greater alignment of activities concerning Business...
