14. Statement by the Counsel General and Brexit Minister: The Impact of a 'No Deal' Brexit on Wales

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 7:24 pm on 22 January 2019.

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Photo of Jeremy Miles Jeremy Miles Labour 7:24, 22 January 2019

I thank the Member for those questions. He mentioned the steel sector and the automotive sector, but there's also the aerospace industry, advanced engineering—all of these sectors are the sectors that will be hit by tariff and non-tariff barriers. So, the short answer to the Member's question is that, in the context of no deal and in the context of the Prime Minister's deal, there is no reassurance that can be given. That is exactly why we, as a Welsh Government, together with Plaid Cymru, in 'Securing Wales' Future', describe the sort of post-Brexit relationship with the European Union that could best protect outside the European Union the industries that he talks about, where we have a customs union, full participation in the single market and a progressive set of rights for people in Wales in their workplace and environmental and other standards—not just frozen in time as of today but progressively matching those of our other European neighbours. That is the fundamental reason why we have advocated for that sort of relationship over the last two years, and it is surprising to me, I must say, that the UK Government was not able to achieve a similar level of clarity much, much sooner than it has been able to do. And even today, we don't have that clarity.

He talks about Paratoi Cymru and what more we could do. Well, I think we must make every effort to ensure that people know where to find Paratoi Cymru. What we are saying, as he will have seen on that website, is that, in terms of the daily lives of people in Wales, we are not asking them to make different decisions today than they would have been making yesterday. We are working with public services across a range of sectors to ensure their resilience as best we can and, as you heard the economy Minister say earlier, to ensure that businesses engage with the assets that the Welsh Government have made available to ensure that they understand the impact of Brexit in different scenarios on their businesses, so that they can be as ready as is possible in very difficult, uncertain circumstances in order to face the prospect of Brexit.

And the final point he raised was in relation to the European advisory group and the PMC. I very much enjoyed both of those meetings and I thank him for the invitation to attend. It struck me how important it is that we take this opportunity to engage consistently and continuously with our stakeholders and partners throughout Wales. This is a difficult challenge for any part of Government. It's a difficult challenge for any sector and for anybody operating an organisation or a business in Wales, and the best way of seeking to be as prepared as we can be and to do what we can to help mitigate the worst risks of Brexit is exactly the kind of partnership working that he mentioned in his question.