Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:05 pm on 2 November 2021.
On coal tips, we're not satisfied with the current position with the UK Government, who have thus far refused to meet their obligation in terms of the share of responsibility that is plainly not devolved for coal tips and the reality of the challenge they present, as well as refusing to recognise there is actually an economic opportunity here. The Welsh Government now has to go through its own budget. You and other Members will, of course, be scrutinising us on that over the coming months, but those will be very difficult choices for us. There is always a challenge, is there not, when responsibilities that are plainly not devolved are not undertaken, around whether we make a choice to try to make up for those, as we have done in the past, for example, on broadband, where it is not devolved but the Welsh Government has taken on responsibility for filling in some of the gaps. The reality is this comes with a real cost, and money that we spend in those areas cannot be spent in others. I can honestly tell you that from the start of austerity through now, there have been a great many difficult choices that Ministers have had to make in balancing our responsibilities with the finite budget we have, and coal tips would appear to be one such consideration for the future.
On your point about areas of advanced manufacturing where some can be used in terms of defence industries, I think that your putting of the question was rather pejorative. I think the people who work in the aerospace industry and others would not welcome the way that it was phrased and put. I think there is a fair point within that about how in this sector we do see decarbonisation take place. Actually, on my visit to the advanced manufacturing centre in north Wales and Airbus, and in my conversations there, they are already thinking now and acting and investing in decarbonising the way that that sector works. I think that shows that there are businesses that recognise they have a stake in decarbonising and in making sure the industry survives, and we have a stake in supporting them in that transition. I hope that perhaps in the future we might have a different conversation and perhaps a less pejorative way of describing what is a real challenge.