1. Will the First Minister make a statement on the role of the Welsh Government in the potential development of a Swansea bay tidal lagoon? OQ56472

Thank you for the question, Llywydd. Ever since the UK Government turned down the project, it's the support of Welsh Government, financially and politically, which has helped the local taskforce to keep alive the potential development of a Swansea bay tidal lagoon, and we continue to work with others to advance the case of Welsh marine energy.

Diolch yn fawr. First Minister, the lack of decision making on this issue is becoming a source of huge frustration locally. As you said, we know that the UK Government will not invest in this project, but what is disappointingly becoming apparent is that the Welsh Government has no plans to take ownership of this project either. There has been no detailed public response to the Swansea bay city region report of May 2019, and despite the Labour leader of Swansea Council claiming back in June 2020 that he hoped to see the Welsh Government back plans for the revised lagoon 'within the next few weeks', I quote, we have heard nothing. Are people in Swansea therefore right to conclude that the Welsh Government has given up on the tidal lagoon, and, if not, what evidence can you provide to show that you are working towards delivering the scheme?

Well, many tens of thousands of pounds of evidence demonstrate that if it were not for the support of this Welsh Labour Government, there would be no scheme at all in Swansea to take forward in any way. When the UK Government stepped away from the investment that they had promised in the Swansea bay tidal lagoon, the Welsh Government intervened to support both the local authority and other local players with the funding they needed to be able to develop the Dragon Energy Island concept. Now, I know that the Secretary of State for Wales and the Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy have been having discussions with the leadership of Swansea council about how this concept can be taken forward. Unfortunately, despite lots of warm words, there was no funding at all identified in last week's budget to be able to back up what the UK Government had been suggesting was their positive interest in the new set of proposals.

Now, I wrote to the Secretary of State for Wales on 20 October last, proposing a partnership approach, where the Welsh Government would be at the table alongside the UK Government and local interests. The Secretary of State replied to me very quickly—it was a positive reply—on 2 November, saying he was more than happy to meet. Unfortunately, no time has been available in the Secretary of State's diary since then for such a meeting. It was due to take place with my colleague Lee Waters, the Government's lead on the Swansea bay city deal. It was meant to happen last week on 10 March. Unfortunately, the Secretary of State was unable to keep that commitment. It's back in the diary for 23 March and, this time, let's hope that the meeting that the Secretary of State was more than happy to agree to months ago will take place, because we need the UK Government to be at that table if we are to match the support that the Welsh Government has provided and the local authority has provided, with the help that only the UK Government can bring to that table. 

Back in April 2019, First Minister, the Minister for Finance and Trefnydd at that point confirmed that Welsh Government continued to be an enthusiastic supporter of the proposal at that time and that funding was still on the table should 'a viable proposal come forward'—I'm just quoting her there. Do you think that the Dragon Island proposal is a viable one, and, if so, how much money has been ring-fenced in this year's budget as a contribution towards it moving forward, or are you in a position as a Welsh Government to say, 'Well, actually, it may not be for Swansea, this money; it could be for other tidal projects', as hinted by the Trefnydd in later contributions on this type of question? Is it for the lagoon or not?

Llywydd, I think the Welsh Government has been clear throughout—we are committed to tidal energy and to marine energy in Wales. The Swansea bay tidal lagoon was obviously the front-runner in all of that, because it had developed its proposals, and it believed it had the support of the UK Government in doing so. The Charles Hendry review, set up by the UK Government to advise it on the possibility, described it, as the Member will remember, as a no-regrets investment. The UK Government then took 18 months to reply to the Hendry review, before turning it down in June 2018. We need the UK Government to come to the table, to do it in a way that would make the Dragon Energy Island project a viable proposition, because it will only be a viable proposition if it is done on a partnership basis. If that happens, the Welsh Government will be there to play our part, as we have demonstrated. As I said, if it were not for the money that we put into the development of that alternative proposition, there wouldn't be anything to discuss. But it's there because of the work that we and, of course, Swansea Council and local players have put into it. If the UK Government will back up its warm words with some actual action and some hard cash, the Welsh Government will be there too.

Our major asset in terms of renewables is the tidal movement in the Severn estuary. It is the equivalent of hydropower and geothermal power in Iceland, and hydropower in China and Brazil. Welsh Government support has never been in doubt. Will the First Minister continue to press the Westminster Government on the production of electricity via tidal lagoon, obviously starting with Swansea?

Well, Llywydd, I think Mike Hedges has just set out just why the failure of the UK Government to act on this is so frustrating, and so frustrating for Wales. We have unique opportunities in Wales in marine energy, whether that is in the Menai straits, whether that is around Pembrokeshire, or whether it is with tidal lagoon technology, to capitalise on the groundbreaking work that has already been done in preparing for a demonstration project in Swansea. And of course the Welsh Government goes on explaining to the UK Government the unique opportunities that the tidal reach of the Severn estuary provides. Wales and the United Kingdom need to be at the cutting edge of the global energy revolution that will be needed in years to come. We have all the natural assets to allow us to be in that position, and I very much share Mike Hedges's frustration at the failure of the UK Government to recognise that potential and to act on it.