2. Business Statement and Announcement

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:48 pm on 14 March 2023.

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Photo of Rhun ap Iorwerth Rhun ap Iorwerth Plaid Cymru 2:48, 14 March 2023

I would like to ask for a statement from the economy Minister, giving clarification about the process that will be followed—imminently, hopefully—for announcing the granting of free-port status to a port or ports in Wales, a decision made jointly, of course, by UK and Welsh Governments. And I'd like to place on record, again, my gratitude to Anglesey council and Stena for putting together a very, very strong bid that has the interests of the people of Anglesey at its heart. And it hasn't been an easy process getting to this point—the fighting for equal funding status with England; £26 million for an English free port and £8 million for Wales didn't seem fair—but I'm grateful to Welsh Government for making that case to UK Government, and for asking for those assurances around workers' rights and environmental regulations. And there'll still need to be an awful lot of monitoring, but, with those assurances in place, we had the firm foundations on which a solid bid could be built. We can, hopefully, with the status, move forward to building on our status as a trading island. This is a community-made bid to help a community that has suffered blow after blow from the closure of Anglesey Aluminum and Rehau and the Brexit effect of recent years and, of course, the devastating recent announcement around the Two Sisters plant in Llangefni. So, clarity would be most welcome.