7. Statement by the First Minister: Tata Steel

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 6:32 pm on 14 May 2024.

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Photo of Vaughan Gething Vaughan Gething Labour 6:32, 14 May 2024

This is one of the key drivers in this Government's action in understanding this isn't just an economic picture. It's not just a short-term relocation. If the jobs are lost at the scale and the speed that is being proposed, we know, sadly, from other parts of Wales, other steel towns, other communities, that there will be a long-lasting impact to that. That's exactly what we've been seeking to avoid, that social impact that I hear from everyone and anyone, when I've been to the town, when I've met with local councillors. And, of course, David Rees never loses an opportunity to talk about this, as indeed do other representatives of the area, and I would not expect people not to do that.

My concern is not just the economic and social impact, but about the fact that you've got a plan, and if people believe that the transition board with £100 million is going to resolve all of this, I don't think that actually meets the scale of the challenge. I don't think that's an honest engagement with the public. So, we've got to be clear this will require Government support and Intervention to provide the training, the skills and the opportunities for the workforce to transition, and the speed of the transition. It was one of the points I had a regular conversation with the former First Minister about—not just if there's to be a loss, but the time over which it takes place makes a huge difference, because lots of people will leave the area. People can go to other parts of the world, as David Rees said, and if they've gone you can't guarantee they're going to come back. It also means the support you can otherwise have in place in the shorter term is actually much more difficult to marshal to give people the sort of hope they will need, as well as the practical, real experience.

I want to pick up on one of the points the Member made, and that is the broader point about well-being, about how people feel, that they feel able to talk about it. It's so important we find ways for people to talk. Often, collective environments where people are used to talking with each other about everything and anything are a useful way for that to happen. I've always been concerned about the potential mental health impact. There's a long run of evidence that large unemployment events lead to very real challenges in mental health and well-being, with very difficult consequences. So, that's why, during our time—and I know Jeremy Miles continues to make this case—there's a need for health board engagement around it. But to do that, we'll need to understand with more clarity the plans, the proposals and the impact on contractors, because those people would otherwise be lost, and we'll only see them if they engage in our services, rather than proactively engaging with them.

So, this isn't just a matter of job loss; it is much more than that. I want to see a future for Port Talbot that is a proud one, that builds on the legacy they have, rather than simply saying, 'We've done our bit', and at the end of the year, we're no longer there. That, I'm afraid, is what could happen if we only have the transition board process to work through, with a finite sum of money and the time frame that Tata are currently describing to deliver all of those significant redundancies.

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intervention

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