2. Will the Minister make a statement on the Welsh Government's actions following REHAU Ltd.'s decision to consult on the future of its factory in Amlwch? 273

Diolch. My officials met with the company management on Monday, along with Anglesey council representatives and the local Member of Parliament, Albert Owen. The meeting was very constructive and all parties have now agreed to work together in an effort to retain employment at the site. We are also ready to provide support to the employees throughout the consultation period. 

Thank you for that response. I’ve just met senior officials locally and at a national level. I’m grateful to Welsh Government officials and Anglesey council officials for working with REHAU. It was an announcement that came from nowhere, if truth be told. It’s a company that’s operated in Amlwch for over 40 years. There is a productive and loyal workforce there. It’s a company that’s not in difficulties. This is a restructuring, and, unfortunately, Amlwch is having to pay the price for that because of the reduction in the demand for the particular product produced there—104 work there, of course. The north of Anglesey can’t afford to lose those jobs. It’s an area that’s suffered blow after blow economically. There was the Hitachi announcement, of course, about the suspension of the Wylfa Newydd scheme, which came just a week before REHAU’s announcement. There are further jobs, some 150, to disappear from the old Wylfa site in about a year's time as the decommissioning process continues.

I’ve asked specifically over the past few weeks to you and the Government for economic development support anew for Anglesey, and this area specifically. But, in terms of REHAU, I have four questions. May I ask for further assurances, in addition to what you’ve said initially, that the Government will provide sufficient resources to make a substantial offer of support to the company that may persuade them to diversify or make other products there, perhaps? Could I have further assurances too that the Welsh Government will provide support for keeping all options on the table for possible continuation of the work there, including looking at any options for supporting management buy-outs and so on and so forth? But, if the worst comes to the worst, I do hope that we will be able to rely on the Government to invest substantially in reskilling opportunities and seeking re-employment for the workforce. May I ask for assurances in that regard? And also the workforce is concerned about what kind of redundancy packages may be available, if it does come to that point. May I have an assurance from the Government that all advice and support will be referred to them to ensure that they are—in a position where they aren’t able to negotiate through unions, I understand—given fair play?

Can I thank Rhun ap Iorwerth for raising this important question for his constituents and perhaps, first of all, give some background to the decision that's been made by the company and then highlight some of the options that—collaboratively with the company and with the Anglesey council officials that the Member refers to—we are looking at taking forward, including the support that might be available for those options? And then, thirdly, if I could, Dirprwy Lywydd, I'd just like to touch upon the work that has taken place now within Welsh Government concerning both north-west Wales, in particular Anglesey, and also, given alarming news from Airbus and speculation over the future of the Broughton site over the long term, the support that we are looking at offering north-east Wales as well—in fact, the entire north Wales region.

First of all, in terms of the background, Rhun ap Iorwerth is absolutely right: the Amlwch site produces a particular type of PVC edge band for furniture products that has seen a sharp decline in recent years—a decline of something in the region of 75 per cent. Its sister site in Tortosa, Spain, has a number of advantages over the Amlwch site, including the fact that it has room to accommodate expansion, whereas the Amlwch site is limited. It has a more diverse product mix as well, and it has an established tooling capacity on site. Now, in terms of the options and the work that is now taking place and the potential support that we could offer the business, first of all, we're looking at the possibility of investing in the Amlwch site in order to create as level a playing field as possible with the Spanish sister site. Secondly, we are looking to assist the Amlwch site in diversifying the manufacturing base of the actual plant so that it can produce more than the specific edge band products that we've seen a sharp decline in over recent years. This, in turn, would allow a longer term strategy to be implemented that would see resilience built into the business. And then, thirdly, and I think very importantly, we and the company are exhausting all of our contacts, not just within Wales and the UK, but internationally, to look at whether there are third parties that could utilise the Amlwch site for manufacturing activity on a contract basis or, indeed, allow third-party manufacturers to utilise the existing facility. So, every option is being examined at the moment. 

A number of actions have arisen from the meeting that took place on Monday, including, of course, all of the support that could be offered by Welsh Government to workers if the site were to be closed after the consultation period. We'll be relaying all of the available support in the ReAct programme to the workforce. We're identifying those third parties that could come into the Amlwch site or use the Amlwch site to produce other products. And I'll also be communicating with the main board of the company. Of course, the company is based in Germany. Its administrative headquarters is based in Switzerland, and it's run by a Swiss family. I'll be seeking to establish lines of communication with the board in order to influence the company's decision over the next 90 days.

Looking more widely and broadly at Anglesey, north-west Wales and, indeed, the whole of north Wales, I have asked officials in my department to examine all opportunities for accelerating capital spending projects in north Wales, and in particular on Anglesey, given the decision relating to Wylfa Newydd. I think it's absolutely essential that we bring forward a pipeline wherever and whenever possible in the region, but particularly on Anglesey, which can replace the jobs that have been promised in the shorter term with the Wylfa Newydd project whilst a decision is made over whether to resume that particular programme of work.

When REHAU Group announced proposals that may lead to the closure of its manufacturing site in Amlwch, after being there for over 40 years, it not only said that there was no sign of the market for PVC edge band recovering, but also that the manufacture of alternative products on the site was, quote, 'impossible due to space restrictions'. Given what you've just told us, what discussion have you had either prior to this decision or announcement, or now that you're in dialogue with the company since their announcement, regarding the space on the site so that they could possibly diversify?

I thank Mark Isherwood for his question, and he is absolutely right: there is no end in sight in terms of the decline in demand for the particular product that's produced at the Amlwch site, and he's also right—and as I have already stated—that there's limited space on the site. However, what we're looking at doing is diversifying and switching from what is a declining product—there's a declining demand for that particular product—to either other products within the group that could be diverted temporarily or more permanently to the Amlwch site or indeed those third parties.

Now, if we were to remove some of the edge band production from the Amlwch site and then see new products brought into the site, it would, of course, require a degree of investment, and that's specifically what Welsh Government officials are now working with the company in examining. If support is required from Welsh Government, then I'm sure that we would look on it very sympathetically indeed, not least because all of the examination so far of the business would lead us to believe that it is a very responsible employer and, therefore, in our view would in all probability be able to abide by the four points of the economic contract and, of course, given what the company has traditionally produced, we believe that, in terms of the lens through which we invest in business and our calls to action, the business would be in a position to be able to draw down support. But, first of all, we need to examine precisely what opportunities there are within the group and with third parties.

Thank you very much, Minister.