5. Will the Minister provide an update on efforts to safeguard and create jobs on the former Anglesey Aluminium site? OQ58028

Thank you for the question. My officials, along with counterparts from the local authority and the Department for Work and Pensions, are working with the nominated administrators to ensure that, as far as possible, we are able to protect the interest of all concerned, including of course the future employment prospects for the site.

It really is hard to over-emphasise the importance of the site. Anglesey Aluminium provided very good jobs for thousands of people over four decades. We have to ensure that sustainable economic activity—a new era of good jobs, if you like—is brought to the site. Quite rightly, the priority of all of us after the collapse of Orthios was to support those who'd lost their jobs, and that support has to be ongoing, but we have to look to the long term. The potential is enormous, perhaps in developing plastics-to-oil further. It's good to see genuine interest in that, but also alongside that a range of other sectors—hydrogen, for example, which I think perhaps could be the most important of all industrial sectors in Anglesey in years to come. My appeal to the Minister is this: will he make it clear that an overarching priority of Welsh Government would be to ensure the integrity of this site? I would ask Welsh Government to do all it can, show willingness to take an equity stake in the site, even, with potential developers, for example, perhaps bringing in other local agencies too. This site has to succeed and we need control over its future in order to assure that. 

I thank the Member for the question and I know he has a genuine interest in the future of the site. It really is a significant employment site, not just for Ynys Môn but for the wider region as well. The position is we don't have control of the site, but we want to try to influence as far as we can to ensure that that economic potential with employment in decent numbers and on good rates is provided. The administrator has had a wide range of inquiries, which is good news, and they're looking at a process to sort through those that are speculative and those that are more serious. I can confirm that they expect to have people who are genuinely interested and have a first round of proper bids to be indicated and provided to them in the middle of June. So, we expect to know more about this, but my officials do remain in regular contact not just with the taskforce around getting people into work who have lost jobs, and many of those are now positively in work, but also in continued conversation with the administrator on the future of the site, and I'd be more than happy to provide updates to the Member as that work progresses.

I'd like to put on record also, and agree with lots of what the Member for Ynys Môn has said, in terms of the importance of the former Anglesey Aluminium site not only to Anglesey, but also to the north Wales region as a whole. It can make a huge amount of difference if that site is properly developed, and I've mentioned that a few times in this Chamber before, and it is regretful that we haven't seen it realised yet, for all sorts of different reasons, I understand. In addition to the comments made by the Member for Ynys Môn, some of the resources we do have in north Wales and the opportunities that we do have around energy, in particular on wind, solar, marine, nuclear, energy projects, and possible manufacturing projects that would support a greener economy and create those well-paid jobs, are there ready to be taken as opportunities, and this site, I believe, could play a key part in that future development. So, in light of this, and in light of the comments you made a moment ago, Minister, in terms of future development of the site, I wonder what action you're taking to highlight and advertise the opportunities of this site to investors and developers, to encourage them to come over to Anglesey and to see them develop the former Anglesey Aluminium site.

Actually, as I indicated in response to Rhun ap Iorwerth, there's already significant interest in the site, with the dozens of enquiries about the site that have been made. And, as I say, the real point is when we get to those people who are not speculative but are serious and are prepared to put in proper bids for what the site could be in the future, we'll maintain an interest, because, as I say, this is a significant employment site for the region, not just Ynys Môn, and we have high ambition for our economic future and in actually making sure that there are jobs that have a long-term future on this site.