Part of 7. Topical Questions – in the Senedd at 3:34 pm on 1 July 2020.
Can I thank Llyr Gruffydd for his questions and perhaps answer that last one first? Because I think it's absolutely vital we recognise the mental and emotional toll that this could place many people under. It's absolutely vital, therefore, that the support we offer is not just concerned with employment matters and skills opportunities, but also support for mental and emotional health. I have to say that the company itself has shown remarkable responsibility over many years in providing support and advice for workers who face mental health issues, and we will ensure, through the Working Wales programme, that we take care of individuals who are facing particular emotional strains right now. Working Wales was set up with the purpose of ensuring that it identifies all of the challenges, all of the barriers that individuals face when they are out of work, and that we put in place guidance, advice and support for them to overcome each and every barrier, including mental health.
Llyr, you raised a number of questions about alternatives, and it is vitally important that we look for every possibility to invest in jobs and businesses within that geographical area, recognising that it will be some time before the aerospace sector fully recovers. The Advanced Manufacturing Research Institute will provide a unique opportunity for collaboration and co-location by a number of primes that are interested in research and development around particularly electronics and electronics repair work. That will be very complementary to the aerospace presence at Broughton.
We're also looking at some other complementary sectoral activity that could be introduced within the Deeside area, and of course you'll be aware of the Heathrow logistics hub potential for the Tata Steel site. That could prove to be vitally important in providing alternative work for these incredibly skilled individuals. We believe that there are around 150 businesses within the Airbus supply chain that could be affected by the announcement overnight. We've already had discussions with them, and we've asked the Wales aerospace forum to carry out an audit of the likely impact of the announcement by Airbus overnight. As I said to Mark Isherwood, we're looking at opportunities through the forthcoming summit to introduce a number of businesses within the supply chain to other major manufacturers that they could supply goods or services to.