A WELSH Government Minister has been seeing what Wrexham and Flintshire have to offer as he visited the area earlier this week.

Economy Minister Vaughan Gething was on a tour of North Wales and was particularly interested in visiting sites that had received support from Welsh Government

The Minister was invited to Tata Steel in Shotton ahead of its 125th anniversary.

The minister was invited after Jack Sargeant MS raised his ambitions for Shotton Steel to become the first carbon-neutral plant in the UK, putting decarbonisation at the heart of securing the industry’s future.

The local MS, who is the vice-chair of the cross-party group on steel in the Senedd, has also called for the creation of a logistics hub at the Shotton site to build the next generation of low-carbon modular homes.

It is hoped Shotton Steel can play a key role in tackling the climate emergency whilst keeping highly skilled, well-paid jobs in the area.

Vaughan Gething MS said: “I wholeheartedly agree with Jack Sargeant that homemade steel is central to our economy here in Wales and that decarbonisation is a positive way forward to protect the future of the industry whilst tackling the climate crisis.

“The Welsh Government will continue to work to benefit industries in Wales like Tata Steel and invest in green technology going forward.”

Jack Sargeant MS said: “I was pleased to welcome Vaughan to Tata Steel in Shotton alongside colleagues from Unite Wales and Community Union. I’d like to Union representatives for working on behalf of their members and looking to the future to protect local industry.

“I look forward to working with trade unions, the Welsh Government and Tata Steel to secure a prosperous and green future for the industry and will continue to call on the UK Government to play its part in doing so too.”

Peter Hughes from Unite Wales added: “A big thanks to Jack Sargeant for arranging this visit, like me he is passionate about Shotton Steel. It always brings back great memories to visit the site where my career started.

“The future is bright for Shotton Steel, and we are determined that steel production will increasingly be decarbonised with Shotton leading the way.”

The Minister also visited Xplore! Science Discovery Centre in Wrexham which in 2019 received funding from the Inspiring Science Fund, a partnership between UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and Wellcome, Welsh Government and Wrexham Council.

It enabled the Wrexham-based science centre to relocate to the town centre and to create a dedicated outreach team.

With the funding continuing throughout the pandemic the team were able to support communities by co-creating fun and educational science-based activities for children during such a tough year.

The Minister took a tour of the centre interacting with several exhibits to the backdrop of the sights and sounds of children enjoying a family day trip.

He was particularly interested to hear about their living wall and of how children are being exposed to more modern methods of food production.

He was keen to hear that school children would have an opportunity to build their own hydroponics system as a workshop delivered to schools in the coming term.

Recognising the impact of the science centre to the wider economy, he commented on the local STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) skills gap before referencing the national shortage of drivers in the logistics sector and of the importance that centres such as Xplore! play in creating a pipeline of skilled individuals.

The visit was a boost to the team at Xplore! and to parent company Wrexham Glyndwr University who both play their part in upskilling the next generation.

Katie Williams, Business Development Officer at Xplore! Said: “The on-going support from Ministers including Vaughan Gething is helping us to secure the future of science engagement in Wrexham. It was fantastic to welcome the Minister to the centre as an opportunity to witness first-hand the hard work of all the staff here and to see families enjoying Xplore!.”