5. Will the First Minister make a statement on arrangements in the Port of Holyhead after the transition period comes to an end? OQ55984

I thank Rhun ap Iorwerth for the question, Llywydd. The UK border operating model is a reserved matter. Where that model has an impact on the functions of Welsh Ministers, and communities in Wales, we are looking to manage and mitigate its effect.

Brexit transition ends a month today, and the sheer shambles of the lack of preparedness has been laid bare, I think, by the apparent decision by UK Government to take over the Roadking truck stop in Holyhead to be used as a freight checkpoint from July next year. I'm told that 28 staff have been told they'll lose their jobs, and we need assurances that they'll be re-employed at the new border post. Whilst this might have helped resolve one piece of the Brexit jigsaw, it's created new problems, because the truck stop is a vital part of the port's infrastructure, stopping trucks from having to park all around town. What we needed was a new border development in the Holyhead area, but at this eleventh hour, we're just seeing blind panic, I think, from a UK Government that's paid scant attention to the needs of Holyhead. Part of Holyhead's border infrastructure is still earmarked for Warrington, as far as we know.

Can I ask what the Welsh Government knew about the Roadking plans? Take us back to why it was decided that HMRC would take the lead on providing all necessary border posts and port infrastructure for Holyhead. Because as I understand, Welsh Government could have had a role to play here. What assurances were you given by UK Government? Couple all this with the nervousness around the as-yet-untested new electronic checks on exported goods being introduced on 1 January, and we can see the risk Holyhead faces now. It's the best Irish sea crossing, and I get very nervous with all the talk about increasing direct freight between Ireland and continental Europe to avoid land bridge problems. So, what steps can Welsh Government take now to help overcome these problems that remain, and to stop Holyhead port and port jobs from being undermined?

Llywydd, can I thank Rhun ap Iorwerth for that question? It's three and a half years since the Brexit referendum, and with weeks to go now, the state of preparations at Holyhead does indeed demonstrate just how shambolic the UK Government has been in delivering the outcome for which the Prime Minister campaigned. I sat in a meeting, Llywydd, in this building in July—the July after the June referendum—with the then Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, David Davis. The previous First Minister asked him specifically then about the issue of Welsh ports and traffic that comes from the island of Ireland through Wales. They've known about this problem from the very start, and here we are—the Member has identified the site on the island that is apparently to be the UK Government's preference, but I've not seen them formally announce that as the location even today. And of course, Rhun ap Iorwerth is right: the electronic customs systems are even yet to be tested.

Now, we first knew of the difficulties the UK Government was in when they shared this with us at the end of August, and that was because they'd failed to secure the agreement of the local authority to the plans that they then had in place for dealing with the impact of leaving the European Union on the port of Holyhead. Ever since then, we have worked with the port authorities, the local council and the Irish Government. The Irish Consul General to Wales is visiting Holyhead today, as I know the Member will know, and with HMRC and the UK Government to try to resolve some of those just intensely practical matters that they've had three and a half years to grapple with, and still, at this very last minute, are in a scramble to resolve. It's just a sign of what is to come, and those who argued for it are responsible.