[R] signifies the Member has declared an interest. [W] signifies that the question was tabled in Welsh.

I have accepted an urgent question under Standing Order 12.66, and I call on Dawn Bowden to ask the urgent question. Dawn Bowden.

What is the Welsh Government’s response to the announcement that 350 jobs are at risk due to the decision of 2 Sisters Food Group to move all its retail services from Merthyr Tydfil to Cornwall? EAQ(5)0065(EI)

Yesterday’s decision was extremely disappointing, and our thoughts are clearly with the workers there and their families. We will be working with the directors and management at the abattoir facility, with a view to being able to minimise the impact that the decision has on the premises and any resultant job losses. Further discussions will be held with directors of the wider group in order to identify opportunities that may mitigate the worst effects, should the consultation period conclude with job losses.

Thank you, Cabinet Secretary, for your response because it certainly was with considerable shock that we learned about this announcement only yesterday afternoon, and we know that we’re now starting a 45-day statutory consultation process. It was only earlier this week that I was at a conference, speaking at the Bevan Foundation, on the living wage, when I was talking about the signs of uplift in the economy in Merthyr—we’ve had lots of new jobs coming into the area—so this was a real body blow to the area, as you’ve already identified. If those proposals do follow through, it goes without saying almost that we’re talking about 350 workers and their families who will be affected, as well as the impact on the local economy, and all of this in the lead up to Christmas.

I’m pleased that the company has agreed to meet with me and with Gerald Jones, the MP, and I believe with you and the First Minister to explore the basis of their proposals and the suggestion that they will relocate their entire retail function to the site in Cornwall, which, from what I know at this point in time, seems to be somewhat illogical when the distribution plant or the distribution centre for the meat factory in Merthyr is actually in Avonmouth. If the packing plant is taken to Cornwall, then it doesn’t seem very logical that you have a slaughterhouse in Merthyr, the meat packed in Cornwall and then it’s brought back to a distribution centre in Avonmouth. So, I hope that all of these things will be taken on board when we have the conversation. So, can I just ask the Cabinet Secretary to assure me that the Welsh Government will be doing everything that it can to support the people who are affected potentially by these proposals?

Yes, I can and I will, of course, meet with the company along with Dawn Bowden and the First Minister, and I’ll also be liaising closely with my colleague the Cabinet Secretary for environment and natural resources in an attempt to ensure that our response is across several departments.

The announcement gives, I think, very significant cause for concern for those staff who are working in the company’s retail packaging operation in the Merthyr Tydfil site. The other 700 jobs, we’ve been assured, are safe. However, we’ll be working with key partners to ensure that there is a co-ordinated response to any job losses after the 45-day consultation period expires.

I think we also need to understand what the logic is behind the company’s decision for the very reasons that the Member has outlined, especially given that the company signed up to conditions of support with Welsh Government that meant that jobs would be secure at that site up until 2021.

I would also like to extend my condolences to the workers and their families who have been affected by this statement. This is a blow to the community—a community that already faces enough economic and social challenges.

I accept that it’s early days as of yet, but is it clear yet why the company has decided to relocate these jobs to Cornwall? I accept what the Cabinet Secretary has just said, but given that there’s already been investment by the Government on the basis of a jobs commitment, how can he be sure that the rest of the jobs won’t follow to Cornwall or to another site?

What is the specific strategy now for the Government for the consultation period that has started? Is there hope, in the Cabinet Secretary’s opinion, that it would be possible to intervene to save, if not all, then some of the jobs that are under threat? As I said, there has been investment in the past, is consideration now being given to further investment? Is that an option in order to try and save those jobs?

Yesterday, we had a statement on the Valleys taskforce group. Does this group have a role in this kind of situation? Has there been correspondence between the Cabinet Secretary and this group to see whether there might be a broader role for it in this situation in Merthyr?

Finally, does the Cabinet Secretary believe that this statement reflects a broader problem in the meat processing sector? Some unions have raised this question already. Is the Government therefore considering having a broader risk assessment in the sector on a national basis so that we can respond before these kinds of statements happen again in the future?

Yes, can I thank the Member for his question and, again, share his concerns for the workers that are affected in terms of the reasons given by the company and the rationale that we have learned of? The red meat sector in the UK is, of course, facing significant challenges, and the company believes that its Merthyr site is no longer sustainable. We wish to know why that is the case and why the decision was taken to relocate those positions to Cornwall. In terms of the conditions that were applied to the very generous support that we gave to the company not just to take over that site, but also sites on Anglesey and Flintshire, there was a minimum condition of 1,000 jobs for eight years. If those 350 jobs are lost, there would still be the 700 jobs. However, there would have to be an adjustment in terms of the support that we give the company, and therefore there would be the potential to claw back that support. I’ve been assured today that there are no implications in terms of jobs at other sites on Anglesey or in Flintshire, and that the other 700 jobs at the Merthyr site are safe. However, I’ve asked that my officials remain in close contact with the company during the consultation period with a view of us being able to assist in the best possible outcome for all of those people who could be affected by this decision.

I declare an interest in that I supply product to the factory, I do, but this is devastating news to say the least. The company that currently operates that site is the third owner in 17 years. So, that gives us a sense of how many companies have been through the process of reorganising this site. The whole point of that site was that it was an integrated site, in that you turned the product into a shelf-ready product, ready for the consumer, and it is vital that that integration, I would suggest, stays, but the company, obviously, commercially has the ability to choose where they do that operation. It is vital, Minister, that you get the assurances that the rest of the plant is not in jeopardy. If that plant were to go, then the implications for the livestock industry in Wales are absolutely devastating. I would put it on a par—and I don’t want to be exaggerating this—with Port Talbot shutting, in relation to the implications for the local community, but also the implications for the wider agricultural community. It would have a massive knock-on effect particularly in the cattle section of the livestock industry in Wales. I hear that you’re going to meet the company, but I would urge that you do go up to the factory, Minister, along with the First Minister—who I think actually could have been the rural affairs Minister at the time when the factory opened—and actually, for yourself, see the integrated nature of the process up there and really get the assurances off the 2 Sisters Food Group that the other remaining jobs on that site are safe and secure not just for the next month, not just for the next six months, but are there in the long term. If there is any way that the Welsh Government can step in and keep the integrated nature of that plant intact by retaining the 350 jobs that are under threat, then I urge you to leave no stone—no stone—unturned because the ramifications to the wider economy are huge.

Yes, can I thank the Member for his question? For the reasons that he outlines, it’s essential that my department acts with my colleague’s department in identifying any opportunity to retain what is a fully integrated facility and one that’s very important, not just to the agriculture sector but also to the economy of Merthyr Tydfil. I’ve already sought and received assurance that those 700 jobs—the additional 700 jobs at the site—are safe, but I will be seeking assurance over the long-term viability of the site if we cannot retain it as an integrated facility. But my wish would still be to support the maintenance of over 1,000 jobs at the site. During the course of the 45-day consultation period, I’ve told officials to do all that they possibly can to give those 350 people at the plant who could be affected by the decision the best hope of ongoing employment within the company.

Finally, Simon Thomas.

Thank you, Llywydd. I thank the Cabinet Secretary for his statement. In addition to being a huge blow to local people in Merthyr Tydfil and the surrounding area, of course, as has just been mentioned, this is going to be a blow to the food chain in general in Wales. We heard in the Climate Change, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee this morning from your colleague, Lesley Griffiths, about the growth in the food industry in Wales over the past two or three years. It’s one of those industries that are prospering. In losing these jobs, we are not only losing the ability to process meat once it’s been slaughtered in the abattoir, but we’re losing skills, we’re losing investment and we’ll be losing the opportunity to build other businesses around the processing that happens on that site. So, it’s extremely important, I think, that the Government leaves no stone unturned in overturning the company’s decision as it currently stands, because retaining these jobs in Wales is not only important to Merthyr, but it’s important to the food chain in general in Wales.

One final very specific question to the Cabinet Secretary: can he confirm today that no other public money is being used in Cornwall to attract these jobs from Wales? I want to ensure that Cornwall, which is a European assistance area—as is Merthyr, of course—isn’t using European funds to attract jobs from one region that receives financial support to another region.

I’d like to thank Simon Thomas for his question and say we are trying to ascertain whether any public money is being used to attract those jobs from Wales, not least because public money is already being used to secure those jobs here in Wales. As soon as I have any information with regard to the use of public funding to attract the jobs from Wales, I will of course share it with Members.

But the Member is also absolutely right in that the food sector is a growing sector for Wales. It’s something that we can be incredibly proud of, and I know from my work that it’s one of the most important parts of the Welsh export portfolio, not only supporting valuable economic activity, but also ensuring that Wales has a quality brand abroad that it can be very proud of.

I thank the Cabinet Secretary.