1. Following yesterday’s announcement by Tata Steel regarding the number of job losses in the UK, will the Minister make a statement on the impact these losses will have in Wales, and in particular the plant in Port Talbot? 404

Yes, of course. First of all, Tata Steel did not make an announcement yesterday. However, the news articles did report on questions that were asked of staff and an internal memo from Tata Steel. I can assure the Member that we continue to engage with Tata Steel about how their transformation programme will impact on operations in Wales and, indeed, we continue to impress upon them the importance of standing by their commitment to seek to avoid compulsory redundancies and reduce job losses to an absolute minimum.

I thank the Minister for that answer, and I thank him for his correction of my question as well. But clearly, we have mixed views on the news that came out yesterday, whichever way it came out. The 1,000 job losses that had been projected for the UK have gone down to 500, so that's a good bit of news. But of course there are still 500 job losses, whether they are compulsory redundancies or not, which we have been informed they will not be; they are still job losses and an opportunity for young people to move into careers in the steel industry.

We still have no detail as to where those job losses will be or what functions they would be within. It is important, I think, that we now get that detail, and I'm sure you agree with me that it is important that they respect that and that they respect the steelworkers and give them those details. In the original announcement, they indicated that by February we'd know where the functions would be. It's now March, and we just simply have information that the job numbers have gone down, but there's still no detail on where those functions will be or where those functions are located, and that's important.

Steelworkers have given continued dedication to Tata, maintaining and strengthening the steel industry over difficult times. They've faced challenges since the 2017 announcement, and there are global challenges as well. So, it is important that they are given that same respect back by Tata by giving them those details.

I also agree that it doesn't remove the challenges facing the steel industry in Wales and the UK, and the chief executive officer of Tata Europe, Henrik Adam, has himself indicated that there are serious financial challenges still facing the industry. Therefore, will you ensure that the Welsh Government looks at how we can support investment in the steel sector? And will you again—I know you've called upon them before—call upon the UK Government and the new Secretary of State to have a steel council meeting to look at how we can actually expand the steel industry?

They've just sold British Steel in Scunthorpe off to a Chinese company, with a commitment of £1.2 billion investment over the years. Tata have indicated some investment, but we need investment of that level to ensure that we have a playing field in which Tata in Port Talbot and Tata in Wales can actually face the global challenges that are coming down the line. Therefore, will you take that message back to London, to ensure that this is a twenty-first century business? It is modern, it's not old; it is a modern business. It has a strong future, and the UK economy needs a strong steel industry. We need to make sure that message is made loud and clear in London.  

Can I thank Dai Rees for his questions and the points that he's made, which are absolutely right? After I repeatedly called for a UK steel round-table to be convened, one was convened on 5 February. There were two major issues raised at that round-table: one concerned procurement and the need to ensure that we use steel produced in the UK on UK infrastructure projects, and then the second concerned the incredibly high cost of energy and the need for the UK Government to address this. 

Now, Dirprwy Lywydd, I haven't been able to check on the very latest announcements as part of the budget, but the message was absolutely clear at that round-table that the Government had to take an opportunity in this budget to announce measures to alleviate the high and volatile costs of electric. That is absolutely vital if the sector is to transition to a low-carbon position in the years to come, which will be assisted by, of course, development money from Welsh Government and UK Government. 

A lot has been said about funds such as the industrial energy transformation fund and the clean steel fund, but I think we need to bear in mind the scale of these funds compared to funds that are being rolled out elsewhere. It amounts to about £500 million in total over several years for the whole of the sector in the UK and, indeed, other sectors where energy-intensive operations are found—£500 million over several years. Compare that with the £5 billion that the Dutch Government is investing every year in decarbonisation of industry, and that demonstrates why the UK Government really does need to take more ambitious action in this regard, listen to the steel sector and implement change as necessary.

Now, Dai Rees is absolutely right that, whilst it would be inappropriate to discuss at length a leaked memo, it does give us heart that we're seeing a movement in the right direction insofar as Tata is concerned and the Welsh plants are concerned. I can inform Members that I, along with the First Minister, had a very, very productive meeting with Henrik Adam, CEO of Tata Steel Europe, just a few weeks ago where we discussed a number of issues, including their transformation plan. The company made it clear that they would be providing me with a formal update on the impact on the Welsh sites according to their transformation plans as soon as that information is available. They're still looking into issues concerning the identity of the proposed jobs that will be lost, but I pledge to update Members as soon as I have had that formal notification.

I'm very grateful to David Rees for placing this question, and to the Minister for his response. I fully appreciate that the Minister doesn't want to get drawn into detailed discussions about what turns out to be a leaked memo, but I would associate myself with what he and David Rees have said about how this looks as if it is travel in the right direction and that this is encouraging.

I'd also very much agree with the Minister that the UK Government's investment in supporting the long term future of the steel industry, and particularly in decarbonisation, is pretty woefully inadequate. I think that one of the opportunities that we were offered by Brexit, were we not, was that some key industries that perhaps could not be supported because of state aid rules could now be perhaps more strongly supported? I wonder if the Minister will undertake to raise that point with UK Ministers: that they've, in a sense, been hiding behind the whole state aid process and saying, 'We can't invest. We have to be really careful'—I'm not sure that either the Minister or I would have fully accepted those excuses. But now, of course, we're in a position where we're moving away from that and, in terms of medium term investment, we may be in a position where further investment could be made in ways that perhaps were not available to us before.

The emphasis is obviously here on the huge scale of the jobs in Port Talbot and the huge importance to that community, but I'd also draw the Minister's attention the 649 jobs in Trostre in Llanelli, in my region. Now, that isn't as many jobs, but in terms of the importance of those jobs to that community and the quality of the work, the stability of the work, we would obviously be very concerned in mid and west Wales if some of the jobs that are targeted to be lost were there, or if very many of them were targeted in Trostre. My understanding is that because it's a pretty specialised type of process that they are relatively not at risk, but will the Minister undertake today—and I'm grateful for him telling us that he'll come back to this Chamber as soon as he knows more from Tata—to specifically raise the case of the plant at Trostre and the workers there?

Because, just as David Rees has said, these are people who have worked incredibly hard; they've been prepared to make changes; they've shown a lot of loyalty and dedication to the company; and I'm sure that the Minister would agree with me that that loyalty and that flexibility deserves to be rewarded. 

Can I thank Helen Mary Jones for her question and her contribution this afternoon? I promise I will raise concerns about the numbers that could be lost from Trostre and every other steel site in the Tata family in Wales. The Member is absolutely right that the transformation planning is seeking to identify primarily white collar jobs that could be cut rather than blue collar. The numbers, as I understand them, of white collar at Trostre are not hugely significant, although there are obviously many backroom office jobs that could be affected. So, I will absolutely fight the case for Trostre and the retention of as many jobs there as possible.

I would agree with the Member as well that the state aid defence is a weak defence now, and it's also a weak defence, as we discussed yesterday, in terms of the support that could be offered to Cardiff Airport and many other sectors in the economy. Steel is strategically important in numerous ways for the UK. No other nation, as far as I can see, would be willing to allow steelmaking to be lost from their shores. Here in the UK, the UK Government must work with us in partnership. We wish to work with the UK Government. I'm determined to work with BEIS. I wish to see experience and expertise exchanged between Welsh Government and BEIS in order to ensure that we give the best possible fighting chance to the steel sector and many other areas of our economy for future generations. And that work should begin today with a concerted effort by the UK Government, through the budget, to address high energy prices.

Thank you, Minister. I think the fact that—this may be a leaked memo, but, obviously, you and the First Minister have been having conversations with Tata. There's an indication here, isn't there, that some granularity has been discussed here and that there must be some certainty on the part of Tata now about which parts of their operation they consider to be the most vulnerable and who's likely to be affected by them. So, the sooner we have that news, good or bad, the better, I think, not least because I think it needs to be shared with regional skills partnerships and colleges so that they can start the work on mitigation work, where, if we are going to have yet another flood of skilled people hitting our joblessness figures, then the opportunity for colleges and the regional skills partnership to plan for that would be, actually, very, very helpful indeed. And, of course, we're not just talking about employees potentially at Port Talbot, but their supply chains as well. So, my question is: what are you likely to be telling them, and when?

I agree with you that the underlying issues haven't particularly gone away. You mentioned the high energy costs; I'm not going to disagree with you on that point, but every time you mention energy costs, I'm going to mention business rates, which is something that is within the gift of Welsh Government to deal with. So, I wonder, on the back of that, if you can tell me whether—perhaps it's a bit early to answer this question, to be fair—the Bank of England announcement today about a reduction in interest rates will help Tata at all in any way, managing, at least, their cashflow, if nothing else.

And then, finally, somebody's got to mention coronavirus in this context. And we did raise it, or you raised it, actually, in your response to a question I raised at the last cross-party group on steel, about whether there were unforeseen circumstances that could be new hits on the global steel picture—obviously, coronavirus is one of those—and what steps can we take in terms of early conversations with Tata not to use this virus as an additional excuse to try and close parts of the industry that are located in the UK, actually, overall, but particularly in Wales. Thank you.

Can I thank Suzy Davies for her questions and the points that she made? Again, really important points, and I'd agree with pretty much everything that she's said. In particular, if I could just touch on the issue of coronavirus. Discussions are already under way with BEIS in relation to the impact that coronavirus could have on the economy, and particularly in those areas of the economy where we rely on quite considerable movement of people, or high dependence on goods from those territories where economic activity is either slowing down or seizing up as a result of the virus.

It's quite clear to everyone concerned that the damage to the economy could, in a worst-case scenario, be quite considerable, and therefore, it will require a concerted effort by the UK Government to ensure that as many businesses as possible can overcome what will be a temporary period of difficulty. I'm yet to receive full detail of what the Chancellor has announced today in terms of support for business through the coronavirus, but I very much hope that it will be a sufficient package to enable not just companies in the steel sector but across the economy to address the challenge of coronavirus in the months to come.

I think it's probably too early to determine the potential benefit of interest rate reductions by the Bank of England in terms of how that might assist with cashflow issues. However, the Development Bank of Wales, the high street banks I will be speaking with are already saying that they will be ready to assist many businesses, and that is very welcome indeed.

And I just repeat the point that, as soon as anything formal is available to me from Tata, I will share that detail with Members. And Suzy Davies is absolutely right, the RSPs need to know, at the earliest opportunity, so that plans can be made to accommodate those who could be left without work to ensure that they get the right support to get back into employment.

Thank you. Finally, John Griffiths.

Diolch yn fawr, Dirprwy Lywydd. Minister, thank you for your response to questions, and, particularly, stating that you will have in mind all the Tata sites in Wales in your discussions with UK Government and with Tata in general, because, obviously, for me, the Llanwern site in Newport East is still very, very important, having several hundred jobs and being very important to suppliers and contractors. Of course, we have a particular situation with the Orb site, which is idle at the moment, but, obviously, we still very much hope that that will come back into production and play a part in the steel industry in Newport and Wales.

So, within the general picture, Minister, I would welcome your reassurance, adding to what you've already said this afternoon, that Newport's steel industry will be very much in your mind, as you have talks and discussions, and make sure that steel has a very strong future in Wales.

I can assure the Member that Newport steel has been right there, right at the forefront of my mind, whenever I've spoken with Tata, whenever I've discussed these issues with counterparts in the UK Government. That will go on. I'm determined to ensure that as many jobs as possible within the steel sector in the Newport area are retained, and that we can actually build on the strength of the sector in Newport.

There was positive news recently in terms of the Welsh steel sector, and that came with the announcement of around 100 new jobs in the sector. I thought that that was particularly important at this moment in time, given the uncertainty that's being caused by a number of factors, including energy prices, ongoing uncertainty concerning Brexit, and, of course, coronavirus. That gave a very welcome shot in the arm of the sector in south Wales in particular, where the announcement was made, but for the whole of steel making across the UK.

Thank you very much, Minister.