Part of 3. Topical Questions – in the Senedd at 3:17 pm on 16 November 2022.
Yes, thank you for the questions. I recognise completely your point about the timing of the company going into administration and what it means for workers at this point in the year. And we know that the great majority of fuel bill costs are in this chunk of the year, through autumn, winter and into early spring, and the run-up to the turn of the year and Christmas. But we will and are already providing a range of support, and in the past we've provided opportunities to try to help the business to grow and expand. We've looked to help them with trading opportunities within the UK and, of course, they had agreements with Asda, Co-op and others for the supply of their products. We've also helped them with engagement with the NHS, and the company has made choices about how to run and what to try to do. I don't want to speculate about the reasons they've gone into administration, but our key concern is what will happen to the business and the employees, and the support for them. That's what Working Wales and ReAct+ can and will do.
It's not a workplace that has had a recognised trade union, but I know there is some trade union membership there. So, we'll work with all of the relevant stakeholders to try to provide the support that we can do to help people to get back into the workforce. At the moment, the broadly positive news is that there are still opportunities to work. We're still at a point where the labour market is fairly tight and other employers are looking for workers. So, I think there should be a deal of optimism about people finding alternative work. But I'll certainly make sure, following this question, that at the event that you're organising in the constituency that my officials are as supportive as possible, including in the conversations that they are already having with the Department for Work and Pensions to make sure that there is a coherent offer for that broader range of support available to the affected employees.