8. What discussions has the First Minister had with the Prime Minister regarding the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon since the Hendry report was published? OAQ(5)0409(FM)

Could I thank the Member for the heads up on his supplementary? Not directly with the Prime Minister, but I know that the Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs and the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure met Charles Hendry last week, and officials are certainly in close contact with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in Whitehall.

Thank you for your patience, Llywydd.

You’re welcome.

Charles Hendry—we were delighted he was here last week briefing Assembly Members. It was a clear and resounding endorsement of the Swansea lagoon as a pathfinder, and he said in his report, and I quote,

‘The costs of a pathfinder project would be about 30p per household per year over the first 30 years.’

Thirty pence.

‘A large scale project would be less than 50p over the first 60 years. The benefits of that investment could be huge, especially in South Wales, but also in many other parts of the country. Having looked at all the evidence, spoken to many of the key players, on both sides of this debate, it is my view that we should seize the opportunity to move this technology forward now.’

So, would the First Minister note the cross- party support here in the Senedd, the cross-party support among many Welsh MPs, the cross-sectoral business support, the university support and, whilst we do need to deal with the remaining environmental concerns, the wider NGO support for this landmark sustainable energy scheme? Would he further agree that this, as I said to Charles Hendry when he first came here to take views, is a no-brainer, or, as he said in his report, ‘a no-regrets policy’ for Government, and we would welcome a supportive statement from the UK Government for the pathway project at the very earliest opportunity? What can he do to help get that supportive statement?

Very much so, and you’ve made that very, very clear. This is a project that does not just deliver green energy beyond our own lifetimes, which is not something we’re used to predicting in politics, but that’s the reality of it, it’s also a project that has the potential to create at least 1,300 jobs, particularly in the Neath Port Talbot area, in the maintenance and manufacturing of the kit that’s required to generate the energy. I hope we can get to a position where the marine licensing issue is dealt with, where the strike price is agreed and we can move forward with a project that can only be of benefit to the people of Wales.