4. What discussions has the Minister had regarding the future of Trostre steelworks in Llanelli? OQ56005

Can I thank Helen Mary Jones for her question? We continue to work very closely with Tata Steel, with the UK Government and the unions on the future of the UK business. The First Minister and I spoke with Henrik Adam, the chief executive officer of Tata Steel, on 13 November. I've also had several meetings with UK Government Ministers since then, and, of course, with trade union representatives.

I'm grateful to the Minister for his answer. When we discuss the steel industry in Wales, we tend to focus on Port Talbot, and, obviously, that's vitally important. But can I ask the Minister to give the citizens of Llanelli and the workers at Trostre his personal assurance that when he is having these discussions—and I'm so glad to hear that he is—he will remember that it isn't just Port Talbot, and that decisions that are made about the future of Port Talbot may affect the possible future of what is very important work, though in much smaller numbers? To the Llanelli travel-to-work area and, of course, its supply chains, they're really important good-quality jobs.

Absolutely, I can give that assurance. Indeed, it is something that is regularly sought from my colleague and the local Member for Llanelli, Lee Waters. In recognition that the scale of the challenge that Tata faces is something that only the UK Government can assist with, he and Welsh Government, separately, are regularly putting pressure on UK Government to act in a responsible way. I understand that there are something in the region of 630 incredibly well-skilled people who are employed at the Trostre plant, and we are determined to ensure that they have a bright future, alongside those loyal employees at Tata's other sites across Wales.

We've discussed the intrinsic relationship between Trostre and Port Talbot many times in this Chamber, and it wasn't just Llanelli representatives who feared the loss of Trostre when the Thyssenkrupp merger was on the cards. We've also rehearsed those actions that could be taken by both Governments to make Welsh steel production more competitive. Whatever happens in these next few days, Minister, it seems unlikely that the UK Government will tie us in permanently to EU state-aid rules, so as well as looking for new markets for Welsh steel products, how much scope do you have, working with the UK Government, to tie in future direct Government aid supporting profitability for steel manufacturers with specific decarbonisation targets?

Can I thank Suzy Davies for her question? It's an incredibly interesting question; there is huge potential in this area. Of course, it's primarily something that the UK Government is leading on, but we are keen to ensure that we look at every opportunity to give the steel sector in Wales and, indeed, across the UK the best possible future. With regard to Trostre, of course, it produces steel products mainly for food packaging purposes, and we're investing very heavily in research and development facilities, particularly for the steel sector, in the area around Swansea and elsewhere concerning food packaging. I think it does have a very, very positive future. But the suggestions that the Member makes are very valid ones, and they are suggestions that we are working on with UK Government officials.

Minister, Helen Mary Jones rightly pointed out that Trostre and the Port Talbot works are linked very closely; they're both members of the Tata group. Trostre is a downstream client of Tata Port Talbot, and therefore the future of Port Talbot is clearly linked to the future of Trostre in that sense. You've indicated that you have had discussions with Ministers, but when we raised this at the announcement Tata made of the separation of the UK steel element from Tata Europe, the First Minister indicated he had asked for a meeting with the Prime Minister, or a telephone discussion. Are you aware whether that discussion has taken place with the Prime Minister, and have you had discussions with the business Secretary of State, Alok Sharma, to look at a future for steel? Decarbonisation is one agenda, but arc furnaces will result in Port Talbot losing large amounts of employees and jobs—not just direct employees, but also contractors.

Dai Rees makes the important point that any transition to alternative technologies must be undertaken over a period of time that allows as many skilled workers to be retained as possible. In direct response to the questions that he's raised, I have, of course, requested a meeting with the Secretary of State for BEIS; sadly that has not taken place yet. However, I have engaged very regularly with Nadhim Zahawi, who has been incredibly responsive to our calls. I would need to check, but as far as I'm aware, unfortunately, the Prime Minister has not responded to the First Minister's request for a discussion. But I will check on that and will ensure that Members are made aware of the outcome of the letter that the First Minister sent.FootnoteLink

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