1. What discussions has the Welsh Government had with the UK Government in respect of its proposed Freight Capacity Framework Agreement? OAQ54604

Llywydd, discussions have been held between the Welsh Government and the Department for Transport, and other departments in UK Government, regarding the freight capacity framework agreement, although these were often late in the procurement process.  That process was undertaken solely by the UK Department for Transport.

Thank you for that answer, First Minister. Each year, Welsh ports, as you know, handle 48 million tonnes of freight. They carry 2.5 million passengers. They employ 6,000 people, including 1,000 seafarers, and it's worth £1 billion a year to the Welsh economy. The Government's Brexit mismanagement is likely to turn into a disaster for the Welsh economy and for Welsh jobs. So, if there is no deal, the freight capacity framework agreement is a potential charter for workers' exploitation, and already companies like Irish Ferries and Fastnet Line, have been named by trade unions such as the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers as the 'ships of shame', because of they're non-recognition of trade unions and exploitative rates of pay below the UK minimum wage. Now, if there is a deal, First Minister, the new Tory Siegfried line that will be the customs border down the middle of the Irish sea will lead to companies bypassing Welsh ports as they head tariff-free to the European Union. So, under the Tories' Brexit arrangements, First Minister, Welsh workers face either exploitation or unemployment. So, will you, as First Minister, meet with me, and with RMT, to discuss the steps that Welsh Government can take to protect Welsh workers and Welsh ports?

Well, Llywydd, Mick Antoniw is right to the point to the significance of Welsh ports. It's often, I think, not easily understood in other parts of the United Kingdom, but Holyhead is one of the busiest ports in the whole of the UK. Now, if we leave the European Union without a deal—an eventuality that we have absolutely regularly pointed out to be disastrous as far as the Welsh economy is concerned—then there will be immediate and adverse impacts at Welsh ports. And while we have worked with the UK Government and with ports authorities to mitigate those impacts, they will be real and they will be felt in Wales, as well as elsewhere. 

Llywydd, Mick Antoniw went on to point out the impact of the deal that the Prime Minister has now struck. And we are not well prepared for that deal, because we have proceeded on the basis of the Prime Minister's previous pronouncements on this subject. On 2 July, he told an audience in Belfast,

'under no circumstances', he said

'whatever happens, will I allow the EU or anyone else to create any kind of division down the Irish sea.'

The second of July, that's what he said—an arrangement that Mrs May described, let's not forget, as something that no UK Prime Minister could ever agree to. And here we are, a few short weeks later, and that is exactly what is now being proposed. And that without any opportunity for us to explore with this administration the impact that that decision will have on ports here in Wales, and those impacts will be absolutely real. The Johnson deal makes Wales, and Welsh ports, the front line between Great Britain and the European Union. 

Now, I've seen the Member's correspondence with my colleague Ken Skates on these matters, and I'm very happy to discuss a ministerial meeting involving Mick Antoniw and the trade unions. 

First Minister, I think it is essential that the freight capacity framework agreement can provide Government departments with the ability to secure freight capacity for supply chains between the UK and the EU. But it's also important to improve cross-border freight capacity between Wales and England. And I noticed during the evidence gathering for the Marches and mid Wales freight strategy, which was published last year, that the business community outlined the opportunities for greater domestic food production. I also say that in the context of the importance of agriculture to areas of Wales such as my constituency. They also stressed the importance of interventions that would increase the capacity of the road network in mid Wales, for better flow into the midlands. So, can I ask what specific discussions you've had with the UK Government in regard to better flow of freight between Wales and England, in the context of the points that I've raised?

I thank the Member for that point. He makes an important point about freight capacity on the mainland between Wales and England. But discussions with the UK Government on this point have focused entirely on not whether there will be enough road capacity, but whether there will be hauliers with the necessary licences to operate their lorries on those roads at all. Because, in the event of a 'no deal' Brexit, we know that there simply will not be sufficient permits to allow HGVs to operate in the way that they have while we've been members of the European Union. The freight capacity framework agreement has focused primarily on additional capacity across the short straits, but it also has an impact here in Wales as well, between Welsh ports and the Republic of Ireland. Those ports, in the event of a 'no deal' Brexit, will find themselves with hauliers unable to operate in the way that they do now, stranded potentially on the continent of Europe, unable to return. And our problem in that context will not be whether the roads themselves are fit for purpose; it will be that we won't have the capacity that we have today to operate along them.