National Assembly for Wales

To propose that the Senedd:

1. Notes that:
a) Tata has confirmed that it will close both of its blast furnaces in Port Talbot by the end of this year;
b) the closure of the blast furnaces at Port Talbot will result directly in the loss of 2,800 jobs in the short term and, according to a report prepared for the transition board, could mean that as many as 9,500 jobs will be lost overall;
c) these job losses will cause severe economic and social damage to the communities of the wider region;
d) closing Port Talbot’s blast furnaces will leave Wales and the UK with a gap in primary steel production that can only be filled through foreign imports.

2. Regrets that Tata has rejected an alternative multi-union plan, which would have protected jobs and kept open one of the blast furnaces at Port Talbot steelworks, while pursuing a longer term approach to decarbonisation.

3. Believes that retaining the capacity to produce primary steel in Wales is central to Wales’s economic interests and national security, and the pathway to net-zero.

4. Calls on the UK Government to take the necessary steps to bring the Port Talbot steelworks into public ownership.

5. Calls on the Welsh Government, in the absence of any plan from the UK Government to nationalise Tata steelworks, to explore legislative options for the compulsory purchase of Tata’s blast furnaces and associated assets in Port Talbot, as well as the potential of creating a Welsh steel co-operative.