Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:30 pm on 17 January 2023.
Minister, I think the war in Ukraine has clearly illustrated just how unstable and unpredictable the world is that we live within, and many countries now are working very hard to shore up and support their key industries, their strategic industries. I was very pleased that you referred to the steel industry and indeed the semiconductor industry in your statement, because I believe they are strategic industries that very much need support. Locally to me, Minister, as you know, there are examples of the consequences of the lack of a UK Government strategy that’s everything it needs to be to support and foster development. So, with Liberty Steel, we see the recent announcement as an illustration of the difficulties in the steel industry, and with Nexperia, we see the result of UK Government taking a decision and then walking away from that decision, rather than setting out a viable alternative that would deliver the same sort of development and support for jobs that the acquisition by Nexperia would have delivered. So, with regard to both of those examples, Minister, I wonder if you could say something about what Welsh Government is doing in terms of those current situations.