This week’s headlines in Wales have been dominated by the steel industry crisis, as Tata Steel announced on Monday that over a thousand jobs are to be lost from steel plants in Wales, with Port Talbot’s plant bearing the brunt with 750 job losses. The announcement comes after thousands of job losses were announced last year, with companies blaming high-energy costs and cheap Chinese imports for the UK decline.
First Minister Carwyn Jones called it a devastating blow on community and wider economy. He has called on the UK Government to take urgent action to increase the competitiveness of the UK steel sector by lowering business rates and supporting energy efficiency and anti-dumping cases in order to compete fairly. He has also ruled out a proposal from Plaid Cymru that the Welsh Government take a stake in Tata.
Economy Minister Edwina Hart this week chaired a meeting with officials from Tata, the unions and others as part of a taskforce set up in response to the announcement. She has also written to Chancellor George Osborne, setting out the Welsh Government’s proposal to create an Enterprise Zone, which includes the steel site.
Health on edge
In health news, a leading A&E doctor has warned that all emergency departments in Wales are "on the edge" with staff shortages and waiting times too long. Dr Robin Roop, Head of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine in Wales commented as the latest statistics showed around 81% of patients spent less than four hours in A&E - the same as last year. He also said there was also a shortage of senior doctors and emergency unit nurses.
With the National Assembly for Wales election taking place on the 5th May, the parties are stepping up their political campaigns. Plaid Cymru announced this week that they would create 50,000 apprenticeships if they won power in May's election, using Wales' share of proceeds from UK ministers' apprenticeship levy, around £150m a year, to fund the plan. Welsh Labour ministers also outlined plans to spend an additional £5m on apprenticeships in 2016-2017.
In other political news, Education Minister Huw Lewis announced that he will stand down from the Assembly at May’s election. He has been the Assembly Member for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney since the Assembly was established in 1999 and has been passionately committed to the poverty agenda in Wales, making tackling deprivation and its effects on young people a key priority. The announcement came as a shock to many, and the focus will now be on his successor for this safe Labour seat, which is likely going to be filled by an all-woman shortlist.