It's good to see that already today colleagues have been raising the issue of the effect on businesses of the cliff edge at the end of March of the drop in support for energy prices. Both Vikki and Jayne Bryant have raised this. I think they're right in raising the fact of the impact of this upon things such as retail outlets, local pubs and clubs, and so on—that's absolutely right. But I would welcome a statement, Trefnydd, on this issue that also focuses on some of those small-to-medium-scale local foundational economy businesses that are employed in food manufacturing. Within the Bridgend area, we still have a number of these businesses, and I've spoken to them. They have, when I say, significant fears, they genuinely worry that they will close in April or May, and the reason is they've managed to get this far with support, on good order books, by the way, and, in fact, many of them could take on more. These are good, family-owned businesses, some of which go back three, four or five generations. But the energy costs now are tipping them over the edge, and they're looking to pay 70p or 80p per unit price for electricity, whereas, a year ago, they were paying 30p. They could pay a little bit more, but they cannot pay 70p or 80p. It means their cash flow will take them under. Their banks can't help them any more, and no development bank of Wales or anybody else can help them. The energy cliff edge will push them over.

Now, these are jobs where people walk to work. They may not be highly paid jobs, but they employ hundreds upon hundreds of people in every community in my valleys, and also in Bridgend and the RCT area as well. Perhaps I could, in asking for a statement, reflect the views of one of these businesses—a family-run business who's been there for many generations—who said, 'I would welcome the Minister not just calling on the UK Government to extend the support, but to bring the energy companies into a room and lock the door until they renegotiate, some of which has been done through brokers, the unit price energy costs.' There's a role for UK Government, but there's a role for the energy companies as we see wholesale costs falling, to sit in that room and give back to some of these companies, because it's no good to those energy companies if these companies go bust, and I'm seriously worried we could be looking at a tsunami of job losses and businesses closing.