Tata Steel

Part of 4. Topical Questions – in the Senedd at 3:32 pm on 8 January 2020.

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Photo of Ken Skates Ken Skates Labour 3:32, 8 January 2020

I thank John Griffiths for his questions and his contribution, and assure him that Orb is indeed at the forefront of our communications with Tata, and with the UK Government as well. I think it's absolutely essential that if they are to intervene, they won't just intervene with warm words, but with hard cash. And it wouldn't take, in the great scheme of things, a vast sum of money from the UK Government, through the industrial challenge fund, for Orb, to provide it with a future, particularly with regard to the manufacturing of electric vehicles. And, at the moment, as John Griffiths is aware, Orb doesn't currently make the advanced steels used for electric vehicles, but the Syndex proposal outlines the work that would be required in order to move the site to making non-grain-oriented steels, in addition to grain-oriented steels. 

Now, we visited, together with the First Minister, and with Jayne Bryant, the Orb facility back in mid-November. We met with the trade unions' representatives; we met with the workforce, and we discussed the opportunities for the site, which are very, very real. I'm pleased to say that Tata will continue to discuss with potential buyers any opportunity to ensure that there is continued manufacturing at the site, and we will do all we can to ensure that those talks come to a fruitful end.