Part of 2. Topical Questions – in the Senedd at 1:53 pm on 12 December 2018.
Thank you for that answer. For those who may not be aware, Interserve were awarded a £25 million contract by Cwm Taf university health board to deliver part of a redevelopment there. Now, I have four questions I'd just like to quickly ask you about this issue, Cabinet Secretary. We know that, in Westminster, your party has called for a—admittedly unlawful—temporary ban on Interserve bidding for public contracts, but it's not the case here. You obviously don't agree with that decision and I wondered why that might be, and if you could perhaps expand on that.
In February 2018, in the wake of a profit warning by Capita, shares in Interserve slid by almost 20 per cent, and this was after a fall of 30 per cent the previous October. So, Cabinet Secretary, for me that is a sign of a company that's not in robust financial health. Were these financial problems taken into account, do you know, when either you and/or the health board awarded this contract to Interserve for the Merthyr redevelopment? Now, Interserve have negotiated a rescue plan going forward, which is very welcome, because an awful lot of people depend on them for jobs. But can you provide guarantees today, Cabinet Secretary, that there are plans in place to ensure that the work undertaken at Prince Charles is not going to be disrupted, and that you have mitigation against anything else untoward that may happen to Interserve? The UK Government have made the decision to continue to put contracts with or to maintain current contracts with Interserve, but what they say is they have a very robust monitoring mechanism in place, and they've got plans in place of a further crisis with Interserve. So, could you outline again for us today whether or not you have such a contingency in place here to protect our valuable investment?