2. Business Statement and Announcement

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:36 pm on 2 March 2021.

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Photo of Rebecca Evans Rebecca Evans Labour 2:36, 2 March 2021

Thank you for raising this. The Welsh Government has been calling on the UK Government consistently, right throughout the crisis, to introduce some targeted support for the aerospace sector. And I know my colleague, the Minister for Economy, Transport and North Wales, has consistently raised this sector support, and actually the issue of extending furlough, in his regular meetings with UK Ministers. Despite the kind of lobbying that we've been making, industry-specific support hasn't been forthcoming. But, as Mick Antoniw says, other countries have shown that it is possible to provide that sector-specific support; the Governments of France, Germany and the USA have all managed to find a way to do this. So we'll continue to press the UK Government to take action here. And, as we know, the budget tomorrow will be an ideal opportunity for the UK Government to show that kind of commitment. Ahead of the UK Government's budget tomorrow, I wrote, as I always do, to the Chancellor, ahead of the budget, setting out Wales's priorities. And within that, I included the need for further certainty for business, and a commitment that the UK Government will continue with the furlough scheme for as long as it is necessary. And I think that the case study that Mick Antoniw has just described provides a really strong case for the UK Government to do just that. And we would call on them to make some significant moves in this area tomorrow.