The City Deal for the Swansea Bay Region

Part of 1. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Transport – in the Senedd at 2:11 pm on 2 May 2018.

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Photo of Ken Skates Ken Skates Labour 2:11, 2 May 2018

Well, I think a sector deal is absolutely vital—a steel sector deal. In order to ensure that we're able to corral all interests within the steel sector in Wales towards maximising the opportunities the UK industrial strategy offers, we have designated one of the five calls to action—if you like, the prisms through which we'll be funding businesses in the future—a decarbonisation agenda. We're also inviting businesses to come forward through a challenge facility to ensure that they're well placed to be able to take advantage of sector deals and also challenge fund opportunities within the UK industrial strategy. But we've been very clear through the economic action plan that, in the future, both with the economic contract, to get through the door to Welsh Government, and with the facility that you use in order to get financial support, you'll have to be able to demonstrate that you're contributing towards decarbonisation. I think the steel sector, probably more than any other sector, gets the importance of needing to decarbonise, because it contributes towards energy efficiency. Energy costs are one of the major problems that are hampering steel operations within the UK, with huge, huge differences between energy costs here and continental Europe. That has to be addressed; it has to be addressed by UK Government, but Welsh Government also has a part to play in ensuring that the sector becomes more modern and embraces decarbonisation.