Supporting the Aviation Sector

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 11:16 am on 1 July 2020.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Helen Mary Jones Helen Mary Jones Plaid Cymru 11:16, 1 July 2020

I thank the First Minister for his answers, and I'm sure that we're all thinking of the staff members and their families who are living through this very uncertain time. I fully understand, of course, the points the First Minister makes about the vital role of the UK Government, but we may find ourselves in a situation where there will be some Airbus jobs that will be lost, and, obviously, our priority must be ensuring minimising the number of those jobs that are lost here in Wales. So, to a certain extent, there's an element of competition there.

I wonder—. The First Minister mentions the summit, and that is obviously very welcome. I wonder what discussions the Welsh Government has had or will have with Airbus about what steps we might be able to take to give the Welsh workforce the best possible advantage. Are there, for example, things that need to be done in the field of infrastructure, whether that be digital infrastructure, practical infrastructure, that could be offered as not an immediate solution, but as a short-term solution to make it more attractive for Airbus to stay here and keep the work here if there is some inevitable loss—not that we would wish, of course, any workers to lose their jobs anywhere?