Newport Wafer Fab

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:32 pm on 22 November 2022.

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Photo of Natasha Asghar Natasha Asghar Conservative 1:32, 22 November 2022

I'd like to thank my colleague Jayne Bryant for raising this question. Minister, the decision of the UK Government to block the acquisition of the Newport Wafer Fab by Nexperia for reasons of national security has obviously caused great concern amongst the workforce about the safety of their jobs and the future of the company, which my colleague just mentioned. Judgment on issues of national security still remain with Ministers at Westminster, and rightly so. However, last Thursday, I, alongside the Minister for Economy, as you mentioned, wrote to the Secretary of State for business, Grant Shapps, asking for clarification of the Government's position and seeking to guarantee that he will do all that he can, in conjunction with the Welsh Government, to protect the jobs of the workforce. Will you, Minister, commit to cohesively work with the UK Government to support the workforce at Newport Wafer Fab to safeguard the future of the company, because Newport cannot afford to lose highly skilled, well-paid jobs in companies like this, going forward?