, Plenary
Statement by the Deputy Minister for Transport: Strategic Priorities for the Menai Strait Crossings and M4 around Newport
Come on, this is a serious statement. All the people are watching this. Please, come on.
, Plenary
Welsh Conservatives Debate: The defence sector
Thanks. Well, I answered all of those questions in the oral statement I made last week. We said that we would publish the framework in the autumn—[Interruption.] I did. It's being developed, as I said just last week, by the Welsh Government in engagement with…
, Plenary
Welsh Conservatives Debate: The defence sector
Yes.
, Plenary
Welsh Conservatives Debate: The defence sector
Thank you very much, Llywydd. I welcome the opportunity to respond to this motion, because it gives me an opportunity once again, following the oral statement I made last week, to place on the record what's at the heart of this Government's view, namely that…
, Plenary
Welsh Conservatives Debate: The defence sector
Formally, Llywydd.
, Plenary
Topical Questions
I met with Valero recently in Pembroke to have a wide-ranging discussion with them. They are an important employer in that region, and, indeed, through the supply chain, to Wales as a whole. They are one of only four remaining refineries across the UK, and…
, Plenary
Topical Questions
I'm grateful to the Member for his question. We are certainly very aware of the pressures in relation to the haulage sector and, as I said, we are engaging with the sector to make sure that we can support in the way that we can, but also that we can, in our…
, Plenary
Topical Questions
I'm grateful to the Member for raising this very important issue, which, as I said earlier, has been an issue, sadly, since the beginning of the year, has at various times worsened, and we are going through a period of great concern, particularly in relation…
, Plenary
Topical Questions
The escalation of the middle east conflict in early 2026 continues to impact on households and businesses in Wales. While the issue of fuel pricing is non-devolved, we are working closely with the UK Government and our various delivery bodies to provide…
, Plenary
Topical Questions
Yes, I think the Member makes a very, very important point, that these companies are such significant employers, of course, that they employ constituents right across the wider south Wales region. Certainly, once we are able to understand more of what the…
, Plenary
Topical Questions
Thank you to the Member for his question. Yes, Admiral have said, in their reported comments in this case, that these changes, these workforce reductions, are not AI related. They relate to other factors. I'm not aware that Legal and General either have made…
, Plenary
Topical Questions
Yes, certainly. We hold right at the forefront of our minds the very difficult position that many employees and families will be in at the moment, and we will be doing everything that we can to support them in every way possible. And once we have a clearer…
, Plenary
Topical Questions
Thank you to the Member. I'm meeting with Admiral UK Insurance's chief executive officer tomorrow and I'll be meeting with senior representatives of Legal & General, and we've also reached out to arrange meetings with the unions and workforce representatives…
, Plenary
Topical Questions
It's disappointing to hear that Admiral and Legal & General are making redundancies that could impact the Welsh workforce, and today's announcement in relation to Greggs and its plans to shut factories and the proposals that may also impact manufacturing…
, Economy, Energy and Connectivity Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Enterprise, Connectivity and Energy
Yes, separation of powers, and all that. [Laughter.]
, Economy, Energy and Connectivity Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Enterprise, Connectivity and Energy
And may I come with you to the Basque Country?
, Economy, Energy and Connectivity Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Enterprise, Connectivity and Energy
This is something that directly falls to my colleague the Deputy Minister, but, obviously, everything is connected—or it should be, which is the point of the question. It is something that we have discussed, and I will leave it to him to address the specifics…
, Economy, Energy and Connectivity Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Enterprise, Connectivity and Energy
As I said in the debate that Shav Taj was able to secure earlier this year, it's certainly the case that current policies—and I don't say this in a party political manner at all—under the previous administration here, under the UK Government level, clearly…
, Economy, Energy and Connectivity Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Enterprise, Connectivity and Energy
I'd be very interested in sitting down with the Member and understanding more of his experience in what the third sector could contribute to what is, certainly, a very important area. We are obviously waiting for the outcome of the Milburn review at the UK…
, Economy, Energy and Connectivity Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Enterprise, Connectivity and Energy
I'm glad you raised the issue more generally of business rates, because I think this is part of our approach in terms of making Wales an attractive business environment. We made our announcement in relation to the 30 per cent cut in business rates, which has…
, Economy, Energy and Connectivity Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Enterprise, Connectivity and Energy
One of the lessons they said—. I asked the former First Minister, the Lehendakari at the time, I asked, 'What was the absolute reason for your success?' And he said, 'It's quite simple, Adam, all together or not at all.' 'We worked across party,' he said, 'we…
, Economy, Energy and Connectivity Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Enterprise, Connectivity and Energy
We've no predetermined, definitive and detailed answer to those questions yet. I'll ask my officials to answer more substantively, but I would just say that it's important to stress that we were very, very keen to have your successor representing the trade…
, Economy, Energy and Connectivity Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Enterprise, Connectivity and Energy
Yes, certainly, the remit letter is one mechanism, of course, whereby we can ensure that, in this case, the development bank is delivering in alignment with Government policies across a whole range of areas. Through regular engagement and co-designing…
, Economy, Energy and Connectivity Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Enterprise, Connectivity and Energy
Yes, certainly. That is, my starting point would be an expectation that the development bank and the new agency would operate in tandem, but with complementary contributions, and collaborate on working towards the same aim ultimately. But we have commissioned…
, Economy, Energy and Connectivity Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Enterprise, Connectivity and Energy
Yes, I think it's a really, really important question and, again, it's about getting the balance right, isn't it? No Government should outsource its economic policy in total, but the delivery of it. And you should encourage even delivery bodies to think…
