Tata Steel and ThyssenKrupp

Part of 3. Topical Questions – in the Senedd at 2:48 pm on 4 July 2018.

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Photo of Suzy Davies Suzy Davies Conservative 2:48, 4 July 2018

Thank you, Cabinet Secretary, and I associate myself with the questions, actually, that were asked to you by David Rees. I think there will still be some residual concerns, going back to what we were talking about 18 months or so ago about the relationship with ThyssenKrupp and Tata, and the date that David mentioned, I think, is something that's firmly printed in our minds now. With that in mind, have you had any indication at all of the timeline for any potential investment in this plant? Obviously, the blast furnace is of huge importance there, and it's great to get the promises, but until somebody signs a cheque, it's a bit difficult to rely on those promises.

With the steel sector deal, obviously I agree that we need to know about this now, and I don't suppose that the Trump announcement has helped enormously.  Energy costs—and I think you did refer to it briefly—were a big issue when we were talking about this some months ago. Have you had any, shall we say, promising mood music that that's less of an issue now, and what steps have been taken to try and resolve those?

And then, finally, Tata has of course made huge commitments in terms of Swansea bay university, and a relationship with the steel innovation centre under the city deal. I wonder if you've had any news on whether this merged partnership would also be prepared to commit in the way that Tata's done to date. You said that you were considering the announcement, and perhaps you could raise that in any questions that you have when you're speaking to Tata and ThyssenKrupp.