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Part of 4. Topical Questions – in the Senedd at 4:04 pm on 16 October 2019.

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Photo of Ken Skates Ken Skates Labour 4:04, 16 October 2019

Absolutely. I would agree entirely with Suzy Davies on this point. And the reason that we hosted the summit for Honda supply-chain businesses was because we wished to ascertain just the extent to which businesses were exposed to Honda's decision and whether they were looking at diversifying and whether there was any prospect of those businesses attracting contracts from other OMUs.

Now, in terms of diversification, some businesses are so specialised within the automotive sector that it's very difficult for them to find or develop alternative products to manufacture or assemble in Wales, but for others there most certainly are opportunities.

Members in north Wales will know that I recently wrote to them concerning the Vauxhall plant in Ellesmere Port. After the Honda announcement, I asked officials within the Welsh Government, working with officials in the UK Government, to gather intelligence on Wales's exposure, given that PSA have said that future investment in the Ellesmere Port plant is dependent on the outcome of Brexit negotiations. 

As a consequence of that evidence and intelligence-gathering effort, we've been able to appreciate the extent to which the supply chain in Wales is exposed to the potential loss of Vauxhall. It's my intention, as a next step, to convene a further summit of all automotive supply-chain operators in Wales—there are many, and they do employ a huge number of people—to encourage them to look at diversification, to identify opportunities with them, to work with them where possible and to plug into opportunities in the UK industrial strategy, as well as through the economic action plan, to ensure their long-term viability.

Suzy Davies also makes the very important point that we shouldn't lose sight of the fact that there are significant numbers of jobs being created in south Wales right now in the automotive sector. INEOS will be creating 500 jobs in the coming years—initially 200 at the start-up point. I was pleased to note very recently that Aston Martin Lagonda announced that it intends to increase the number of people that it takes on for the St Athan site from 700 to 1,000. So, significant numbers of jobs are being created.

The common theme, of course, with the two is that the Welsh Government has been critically important in attracting those businesses to south Wales. It's my intention to maintain the effort that we initiated in drawing as many employers as possible and as we can to a region that is suffering as a consequence of decisions by Ford, Honda and other businesses.