Questions Without Notice from the Party Leaders

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:46 pm on 14 May 2019.

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Photo of Adam Price Adam Price Plaid Cymru 1:46, 14 May 2019

I can confirm that the cold storage sector in Wales is full to capacity—it has been, I believe, for some months, and, First Minister, you should be aware of this yourself because your own Government, prompted by concerns within the sector, commissioned a study before Christmas into cold storage capacity in Wales that was completed in January. Now, why have you refused to publish that study, and given the understandable public concern, will you commit to doing so now?

In a response to a written question from me, asking what representations you had received as a Government about a potential lack of capacity for cold food storage facilities in Wales, the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs rather pointedly replied that you had only received a representation from one business within the sector. Can you confirm, First Minister, that there are only two companies in the sector in Wales and the one you received representation from—Wild Water Group—operates two of the three cold storage facilities for food in Wales? Can you confirm specifically that they have asked you to urgently invest in the development of a new storage facility because of the pressure Brexit has already put on the food sector and supply chain in Wales? You've done precisely this for medical supplies. Given the lack of warehouse capacity in that area, why not do the same for food, given the devastating impact you yourself claim the pressure on supply chains Brexit will cause?