7. What is the Government doing to safeguard jobs and create employment in South Wales East? OQ59739

The Welsh Government works with a variety of partners, including local authorities, to try and offer a comprehensive range of support for new and existing businesses to help them to futureproof and continue to grow where possible. This support is actively promoted through Business Wales, with dedicated business relationship managers and, of course, regional offices.

Thank you for that reply.

Over the last month or so, we’ve seen a series of devastating job losses in my region, as referenced by Alun Davies earlier on: the closure of Tillery Valley Foods in Cwmtillery, Avara in Abergavenny; nearly 700 jobs have been lost from an area that cannot afford to lose jobs on that scale. With the rise in raw materials and energy prices, which will not return to the levels that they were at two years ago anytime soon, there is a clear pressure on the food sector as well as the hospitality sector in Wales. How has this Government adapted to the rapidly changing circumstances for the food sector in Wales, and what are they doing to ensure it is protected from further devastating job losses?

There’s a challenge about which areas of the food sector we’re describing and discussing, because actually, over the last 10 years, we have seen the food sector grow significantly—it’s a real success story in that span—and it’s worth recognising that the Member for Blaenau Gwent isn’t just the current Member there: when he was Minister, he set the ambition to grow the sector, and at the time, there was some scepticism about whether that would happen. Actually, it overachieved the targets for growth that he set. The challenge now is making sure that we retain real value in there, so not just the challenges about Tillery and Avara foods, and both local authorities have been genuinely constructive, as indeed have both Constituency Members—I should recognise the political polarity with Peter Fox and Alun Davies being engaged around that—but to understand the challenge those businesses face, and post-Brexit trading terms are part of the challenge they face. The reality of energy prices and of inflation across the food sector are also challenging some parts of the sector.

So, we are actually proactively doing work with the food sector to understand where the challenges are still and where the opportunities are, and how the different resource that my department and Lesley Griffiths’s department can bring to this, and indeed, we’re looking at a round-table with actors in the sector to understand current prospects and what we can do alongside them and with them to make sure there's still a healthy opportunity for the food and drink sector in Wales to be a real part of the future economy, and not just simply make a contribution to having the healthy food we want to see on plates across the country.

Finally, question 8, Rhianon Passmore.