The Dawnus Construction Company

Part of 3. Topical Questions – in the Senedd at 3:20 pm on 20 March 2019.

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Photo of Rhun ap Iorwerth Rhun ap Iorwerth Plaid Cymru 3:20, 20 March 2019

I won't repeat the questions that have been raised already, but I reiterate that I share the concerns that have been raised about the workforce and so on. This was a company that was very, very important, of course, in Wales. A proud Welsh company, a strong Welsh name—'dawnus' is Welsh for 'talented', reflecting the real talent that there was within the company. It is a call for all the help to those talents within the company, and those associated with it as subcontractors, that is foremost in our minds today. Concerns have been raised by my colleagues Bethan Jenkins and Dai Lloyd in the south-west of Wales where the company was based, but the concerns, you're right, are Wales-wide, and Dawnus was involved in some key contracts in my constituency as well.

So, we are concerned about the directly employed staff, and the subcontractors are owed millions of pounds, of course. I've spoken with one, a really good company in my constituency, who's owed £175,000. For a small company, that is a lot of money. If you could explain, either now or in coming days and weeks, all the steps that are being taken to maximise the money that can be repaid to those subcontractors, and also the work being done to ensure that those subcontractors are supported in getting involved in continuing with the projects that Dawnus was involved in in various parts of Wales—. Another key question for me moving forward is what is being done to look at the possibility of allowing TUPE—Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981—transfer for those workers that were directly employed with Dawnus to contractors that will be carrying on the work on various contracts in various parts of Wales, because, of course, that would give a degree a protection to those workers. 

Just a couple of key questions looking back: you have confirmed that you were involved in working with the bank and Dawnus itself once it had become known that the company was facing some difficulties. Could you perhaps describe what happened towards the end, and why, if it was not possible to share more information that could have given various public bodies and others a little bit more preparation, that was not done? Also, perhaps you could confirm whether there was an investor that actually was ready and had been willing to step in to make an investment in Dawnus that perhaps could have saved the company.