<p>Coilcolor in Newport</p>

Part of 3. 3. Topical Questions – in the Senedd at 3:14 pm on 12 July 2017.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Steffan Lewis Steffan Lewis Plaid Cymru 3:14, 12 July 2017

This is very concerning news that a company with a good reputation that supplies multinational companies has had some very harsh things to say about Welsh Government. I’d be very interested to hear the Cabinet Secretary’s view on why he believes the company has got some very serious things to say about the way the Welsh Government has handled this situation. Obviously, 50 families stand to be devastated if the company were to wind down. We understand that there’s been an increase in enquiries from companies in terms of being supplied by Coilcolor, despite the fact that they haven’t got the means to purchase stock at the moment. On the point of the without-prejudice payments, can he clarify again that there wasn’t such an offer made? And, perhaps, can he shed some light on what offer was made and where the misunderstanding may have arisen from? I understand that the flooding came from land that was owned by the Welsh Government, adjacent to the company. Does he believe that the Welsh Government’s got a bit more of an obligation, therefore, to intervene rather than to just point them in the direction of Finance Wales?

On the broader point, particularly when we think of Wales’s reputation as a business-friendly country, what does it say that the best we can offer Welsh small and medium-sized enterprises is a Finance Wales loan with an 11 per cent interest rate, when many people are wondering how large multinationals seem to get a better deal?