Questions Without Notice from Party Spokespeople

Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Economy – in the Senedd at 2:39 pm on 19 October 2022.

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Photo of Vaughan Gething Vaughan Gething Labour 2:39, 19 October 2022

Interestingly, this is an area where I've already been considering what we might be able to do for some weeks, so it's not led by the question, but it is something that we're actively looking at—about how we can help people both to potentially decarbonise, as well as the potential to generate energy that isn't subject to the fluctuations and the upward rise in energy prices that we've seen.

It was actually part of the conversation I had at the recent cross-party group meeting on beer and the pub—and I see the Chair is with us; good to see you, Mr Sargeant. And in discussions with brewers who were there, it is one of their real concerns. Brewers, bakers, glass makers—there is a whole range of energy-intensive industries outside the big headline areas of the steel sector, for example, and we're really concerned that their needs are recognised in the UK Government scheme, not just the six months of some support that is available, but in the design of a future scheme that recognises their needs. Because you're right, for many of those people, they're concerned about making it through the Christmas period and then getting to the end of the six-month support and not having to make potentially business-ending choices before then. So, I recognise the real risk that exists in both the brewing sector and beyond.

The shame is that, actually, it's been a sector of real success for Wales with a growth in smaller brewers and indeed a broader growth in the food and drink industry. You may or may not know it, but Alun Davies is not just a supporter of the sector in his own personal conduct. When he was the Minister with responsibility for food and drink, he set stretching targets at the time for growth in the sector. At the time, there were people who derided him for setting those targets, saying that it would never be done. We've actually over-achieved on those targets.