THOUSANDS of people affected by the transition to greener steelmaking at Tata Steel Port Talbot are set to benefit from support set up by the UK Government, Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens has told a Senedd committee.

Appearing before the Senedd Economy, Trade and Rural Affairs Committee as part of its report on the Future of Welsh Steel today (Wednesday 20 November) Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens explained that since taking up her post in July, the Tata Steel Port Talbot Transition Board she chairs had already released £26.5 million to support businesses and workers in Port Talbot and across steel communities.

The Welsh Secretary told the committee that the £80m Transition Board was not fully funded when she came into office. However, she fought for an initial £13.5m in August to support supply chain businesses and workers.

The full £80m was confirmed by the Chancellor in October’s Autumn Budget. Following this, the Welsh Secretary announced last week (16 November) a further £13m to fund grant schemes to help people start new businesses and grow or protect previous businesses.

Dozens of firms in the supply chain are already moving forward with applications and money will be granted in the coming few weeks. The Welsh Secretary added that she expected support in the coming months and years from the Transition Board eventually to help thousands of steelworkers, family members and businesses in the supply chain.

Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens told the Senedd: “Our focus is to make sure that we are protecting Port Talbot as a site of steelmaking in the future and that we will be helping thousands of people through this transition – not just direct employees but people in the supply chain and people in the wider community.

“We as a government see a bright future ahead for steel in the UK. We have a long-term vision that will deliver for the UK and I am determined that Port Talbot will be at the forefront of our steel industry in the future.”

The Welsh Secretary also reiterated to the committee that within weeks of taking office in July the UK Government delivered a better deal that secures the future of Port Talbot Steelworks, laid the groundwork for future investment and improved terms for the workforce without additional costs to the taxpayer. 

She added that on arrival in office it was found that the £80m commitment to the Tata Port Talbot Transition Board was unfunded. It was later fully funded at October’s Budget.

Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens told the committee: “The fund of £80m was initially announced last October. Between October 2023 and the General Election in July 2024 not a single penny of that £80m went out of the door to help steelworkers, the supply chain or the wider community.

“After we took office, I was horrified to discover that the £80m was an unfunded spending commitment.

“I have worked very hard to make sure that the £80m has now been confirmed through the Budget.”

Wednesday’s evidence session was the first time that the Welsh Secretary has appeared before a Senedd committee following her appointment in July.

Further funds from the Transition Board will be released over the coming months to provide a wide range of support for steelworkers and the wider community.

The committee was also told that the UK Government is committed to providing up to £2.5bn for steel which will be available through the National Wealth Fund and other routes. This is in addition to the £500m for Tata at Port Talbot steelworks and will harness public and private investment to ensure a sustainable future for UK steelmaking.  

The UK Government is also developing a steel strategy that will set out a long-term vision for the steel sector in the UK.

The Welsh Secretary added: “We will have a steel strategy published in the spring to set out that vision for how Welsh steel and UK steel will play such an important part in the future.”

SENEDD Members quizzed Wales’ health secretary about long NHS waits amid concerns about health boards getting the “green light” to commission private sector services.

Jeremy Miles, who was appointed health secretary in September, told the Senedd an extra £22m, on top of £28m announced last month, will go to tackling the longest NHS waits.

In a statement on November 19, Mr Miles said the £50m will be made available to health boards immediately and “where necessary” will be spent on private hospital capacity.

Mabon ap Gwynfor, his Plaid Cymru opposite number, raised concerns about privatisation.

He said: “We have yet another example of the government having to absorb added costs from their mismanagement of existing NHS capacity, something we’ve seen before with respect to the spiralling bills associated with agency staffing.

“From a broader perspective, this also speaks to the false economy on which the government’s funding of the health service has been based for some time, which is to throw money at the front line without dealing with the issues upstream.”

Mr ap Gwynfor pointed to a backdrop of two-year waiting time targets being dropped by the Welsh Government, with one in five people now on a waiting list.

He said: “Back in September, the solution … was to offer treatments in England. By October, the solution was to pay £28m to tackle waiting lists. Now we’re in November, the solution is to increase that £28m to £50m. I wonder what the next statement will be next month.”

Mr ap Gwynfor said the £50m will not be used to address a recruitment and retention crisis, nor boost student placements on medical training courses following an “alarming” slump.

The Dwyfor Meirionnydd Senedd member, who published a report on NHS governance earlier the same day, asked how much will go to private providers.

But Sam Rowlands, the Tories’ shadow health secretary, welcomed ministers “encouraging” health boards to commission services from the private sector.

He said: “I’m not sure if some of your colleagues will approve of that but it’s something we’ve long called for: cross-sector collaboration to tackle waiting lists here in Wales.”

The North Wales representative raised concerns about a “staggering” 619,200 patients awaiting treatment, with 24,000 people waiting two years compared with 124 in England.

Warning of systemic failure, Mr Rowlands said: “The 95% target for patients spending less than four hours in A&E in Wales has never been met. The 95% target of patients waiting fewer than 26 weeks in Wales hasn’t been met in more than 10 years.

“The 75% target for cancer patients to start treatment within 62 days of cancer being suspected has never been met in Wales.”

Mr Miles cautioned against cross-border comparisons, saying waiting time measures in England are “very much narrower” than in Wales.

He said the £50m will see 16,000 more people treated, an extra 14,000 tests carried out and up to 20,000 more outpatient appointments by March 2025.

Mr Miles told the Senedd that £3m will go towards reducing the longest waits for autism and ADHD assessments amid exponential growth in demand.

He said: “In six months alone, waiting lists for neurodevelopmental assessments have increased by more than 2,000. Assessments can be complex and reductions to the waiting lists have been quickly subsumed by new referrals.”

The health secretary recognised that short-term measures will be insufficient on their own, stressing: “I have been clear with the NHS: we need to transform the way we deliver services while we focus on clearing the backlog. Our funding is intended to support this.”

WALES will become the first part of the UK to bring in automatic voter registration when pilots get underway next month.

Jayne Bryant, Wales’ local government secretary, said Carmarthenshire, Gwynedd, Newport and Powys will pilot automatic registration between December 2024 and September 2025.

She told the Senedd that the Electoral Commission will evaluate the pilots before a wider roll out, with an estimated 400,000 people set to be added to the register in Wales.

Ms Bryant suggested UK Government colleagues will be watching closely, with Labour committed to following Wales’ lead to add millions more people to the electoral roll.

Responding to the statement about elections on November 19, the Conservatives’ Darren Millar questioned whether automatic registration will lead to an increase in engagement.

He said: “I don’t actually think it’s going to deliver a significant change in the turnout figures.”

But Plaid Cymru’s Peredur Owen Griffiths supported the “simple” measure, arguing it will make participating in Senedd and council elections more accessible for everyone.

He said: “It will ensure that people in Wales, particularly young voters and qualifying foreign citizens, remain on the electoral roll without the risk of unknowingly dropping off. It will also help enfranchise groups that are often under-represented and under-engaged in politics.”

Mr Millar also raised alarm about the “shocking” state of town and community councils after a report warned challenges threaten the very foundation of local democracy.

The Tory, who started as a town councillor, said: “It is, frankly, pretty shocking that three quarters of people don’t face elections and that 16% of the seats on our town and community councils are not even contested.

“They are things that we do need to address, that we need to get to grips with, otherwise, frankly, we need to ask ourselves the question as to whether that tier of local government is actually something that should continue, frankly.”

Ms Bryant said the Welsh Government would consider any necessary reforms of town and community councils following an ongoing Senedd local government committee inquiry.

Turning to principal councils, she said ministers gave local authorities the option to choose between first past the post and the single transferable vote (STV) electoral systems in 2021.

Calling for feedback to ensure the choice is viable, she noted that no council has taken up the option – with Ceredigion, Gwynedd and Powys rejecting STV following consultations.

Mr Millar said: “I find it fascinating that Plaid Cymru in Ceredigion and in Gwynedd don’t like the single transferable vote when their own members in this chamber, of course, keep barking on about the importance of STV at all levels.”

Mr Owen Griffiths sought to set the record straight, saying: “The majority voted ‘for’ in Gwynedd, but you need a supermajority to be able to get over the line, so it meant that the Plaid group were in favour but didn’t quite get there.”

He urged the Welsh Government to introduce a proportional system for council elections by 2032 to bring Wales in line with Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Mr Owen Griffiths also raised concerns about voter ID requirements introduced by the previous UK Government, saying: “These requirements, rather than protecting democracy, risked undermining it by creating unnecessary barriers for citizens to engage in politics.”

Ms Bryant assured Senedd members that the Welsh Government remains committed to not introducing voter ID for devolved elections.

Responding to last week’s Electoral Commission report on harassment and abuse in July’s general election, Ms Bryant said too many candidates experience unacceptable behaviour.

She said legislation will be updated to exempt safety costs from spending limits for Welsh elections in line with a recommendation following the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox in 2016.