SENEDD members at First Minister Questions today demanded answers on the support given to communities hit by the job cuts at Tata Steel’s Port Talbot plant.

Eluned Morgan told the chamber that her government continued to work with the transition board, local authorities and stakeholders to support local communities.

She said: “We’re also using £100 million of funding to invest in skills and regeneration activities for the local area.”

Plaid Cymru’s Sioned Williams said there was a black hole in local authority funding of £540m and wanted the Welsh government to provide extra support.

She said: “I met with Neath Port Talbot Council recently and it has made £45m of cuts and is planning further swingeing cuts while its costs have increased by over £2m since last year.

“They’re also going to have to deal with the seismic economic shock as a result of the loss of thousands of jobs at Tata Steel and the related supply chain.”

The First Minister said a special fund of £85m had been set aside to help workers and businesses affected by the closure of blast furnace IV at Tata Steel.

“That fund will be distributed by Neath Port Talbot Council and is ring-fenced,” Ms Morgan said.

Conservative Tom Giffard claimed the Welsh government with its last three FMs had not provided any funding and wanted to know why Welsh Labour had not put any money into the transition board.

Visibly angered, Ms Morgan said: “I’ve never heard such nonsense in my life. 

“Let me just say that your government said they’d put money on the table and didn’t spend it. It sat there for months on end — and you know this because you’re a member of the transition board.”

The First Minister said it was wrong to accuse her administration of not doing anything to support people as 716 people have benefited from personal learning accounts paid for by the Welsh government.

Swansea Labour MS Mike Hedges was angry that Tata Steel was building a new blast furnace in India but urged the Welsh government to seek the relocation of Westminster Civil Service jobs to the area to deal with the loss of employment.