Can I thank the Member for her questions and say that I couldn’t agree more with her concerns? I also recognise the important work of her committee and the increasing importance that it will take in the coming years in analysing the media landscape and the important role that the print media plays. This proposal is currently out to consultation and I will be responding formally.

Unfortunately, as the Member may be aware, it is not a decision that is being taken here in Wales locally or by the Media Wales team. Instead, it’s being taken by another company within the Trinity Mirror group. So, I’ll be making direct representation to that company, in which I’ll be seeking assurance over the future employment of those people who would be affected if closure goes ahead. It’s my understanding, based on the discussions that I had with the local team today, that printing would be concentrated and consolidated in three presses in England, those being Watford, Birmingham and Oxford, which is clearly unacceptable given the significance of the newspapers that are currently printed in Cardiff to south Wales.

Now, unfortunately, there is a trend in consolidating printing presses across the UK, and we’re witnessing this as sales of newspapers fall and activity instead moves towards an online presence. That said, it is absolutely essential—and the member will recognise that this is a long-standing argument—that the print media recognises a need to be realistic in the profits that it expects to return in the twenty-first century. In being more realistic, it should take greater account of those people who are employed in printing and in journalism within those newspaper groups, whether they are owned by Welsh companies or owned by British companies.