Steel Industry

Debate between Baroness Jones of Whitchurch and Earl of Kinnoull

2nd reading
Saturday 12th April 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Lab)]

My Lords, I have been here on a number of occasions answering questions on the situation with steel. In the future, we will continue to engage as widely as we have done to make sure that Parliament is updated on these matters. As I have said, we will update the House every four sitting weeks on the use of these powers. I honestly think that, in these circumstances, that is sufficient.

[The Earl of Kinnoull (CB)]

The Business and Trade Select Committee, which the Minister just spoke of, is a House of Commons committee. Within our own House, we have the Industry and Regulators Committee. Are the Government proposing that they would offer the same service, as it were, to our committee as well?

[Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Lab)]

I thank the noble Earl for raising that question. I am sure that we would be happy to consult with the relevant committees within your Lordships’ House as well.

A number of noble Lords, including the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, asked about the cost of providing these safeguards. We are directing British Steel to act in a way that safeguards its assets, and this funding should be provided by the company. If the Government need to spend money, we will look to recover that from the company if we can and where reasonable. We have committed up to £2.5 billion for steel, via the National Wealth Fund and other routes, and no further government borrowing is envisaged to support any intervention. The alternative would be importing steel at considerable extra cost to our economy. As noble Lords have pointed out, we would then be the only country in the G20 without domestic steel production. There is a cost either way, and we must balance those costs when we make decisions going forward.

The noble Lord, Lord Sikka, asked what was happening in Port Talbot and whether we are nationalising British Steel in response to this situation. As I made clear in my opening comments, we are not nationalising anything. We have put forward a Bill to ensure the continued safe operation of the blast furnaces. Without swift intervention, there was a risk of accelerated closure, jeopardising the safety and production outcomes of British Steel.

Tata Steel decided to close the blast furnaces at Port Talbot in January 2024 under the previous Government, and the decision to provide a grant agreement towards Port Talbot’s transition project was made by the previous Government. This transition was already well under way by the time we came into office. This is the point that the noble Lord, Lord Davies, made. However, I say to the House that we negotiated an improved deal with Tata, after just 10 weeks in office, with better terms for workers, future investment opportunities for the area and the highest voluntary redundancy package Tata has ever offered. Since then, we have provided more than £50 million directly to the local community, from the £80 million available from the UK Government to help people learn new skills, to support the supply chain and to protect people’s mental health.

The noble Lord, Lord Kerr, the noble Baroness, Lady Jones, and others asked about the endgame for British Steel. Our long-term aspiration for British Steel remains a co-investment agreement with a private sector partner to secure a long-term transformation. We are determined to see a bright and profitable future for steel-making in this country.

A number of noble Lords asked about energy prices and the cost of energy. The Government are committed to tackling high industrial prices in the UK. The British industry supercharger package of measures for energy-intensive industries came into force in April 2024 and brings energy costs for strategically important UK industries, including steel, closer in line with other major economies around the world, so that they remain competitive on the world stage. Once fully implemented in April 2025, the measures will save eligible businesses on average £24 to £31 per megawatt hour on their electricity costs. The total value of reduced electricity prices is estimated to be between £320 million and £410 million in 2025 and around £5.1 billion over 10 years. This will help keep business energy costs down.

To reiterate the point about future scrutiny of the implementation of the Bill, as the Secretary of State said in the other place, we are happy to engage with relevant committees, and I am happy to keep the House updated on these matters. We will continue to update the House every four sitting weeks on the use of these powers.

Ivory Bill

Debate between Baroness Jones of Whitchurch and Earl of Kinnoull

Committee: 1st sitting (Hansard - continued): House of Lords
Monday 10th September 2018 Lords Chamber

[The Earl of Kinnoull (CB)]

My Lords, I shall be brief. I will speak to Amendment 31, which is purely a probing amendment. Following Second Reading, it struck me that the success of this Bill would very much depend on the take-up rate of the use of the register, so my amendment is aimed at trying to probe a bit of that. I noted that in the Bill, while plenty of powers are given to the Secretary of State to charge fees for registration, there is no duty alongside that, telling the authorities what they should be trying to do. My amendment is aimed at trying to put a bit of duty alongside the powers.

I notice that the success of curbing drink-driving in the UK has been very much driven by the fact that people in the country now expect people not to drink-drive. We need to ensure that nothing stands in the way of people developing a feeling that ivory has a special and difficult thing associated with it. Therefore, they should comply with this law enthusiastically, because it will help the problem that we have all been talking about. I do not think I can add any more.

[Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Lab)]

My Lords, I shall speak briefly on these two amendments. I think we all accept that the cost of registration should not be prohibitive. Equally, I have to say that I think a blanket fee of £5 is unrealistic. It should not, however, be used as a money-raising opportunity, as some government fee systems have been found to do. In his letter to us after Second Reading, the Minister made it clear that the fees would be based on a cost-recovery calculation. Fine, but he went on to say that the calculation would be based on the cost of building a new IT system. At that point, alarm bells started to ring. I am sure that the Government would accept that they have a rather shaky reputation for delivering IT systems on budget.

I therefore hope that the Minister will take this opportunity to reassure us that the cost will not be prohibitive and that it will take into account the ability to pay of a wide range of potential traders who might want to use the system, taking on board the points that have been made that they will not always be the professionals and those who are able to pay large fees.

We have referred to the registration scheme several times and I know that the Minister says that we will have further details of it, but it would be helpful if he could clarify the timescale for it. Will we definitely have more details before Report?

Flood Reinsurance (Scheme and Scheme Administrator Designation) Regulations 2015

Debate between Baroness Jones of Whitchurch and Earl of Kinnoull

Tuesday 27th October 2015 Grand Committee

[The Earl of Kinnoull]

Can I make a point about something that the noble Baroness has just said? This was that modern British insurers might in some way not be using up-to-date flood maps. That is certainly not the case. We have some strict regulators in a pile of quite aggressive rating agencies to make sure that the systems that we use are robust. Our peers are pretty interested, because in the way that the mutualisation of the insurance sector works, if the next-door man goes bust, as, say, the independent insurance company does, others will end up picking up the bill. The noble Baroness’s other points are very interesting, but that point is a weak one.

[Baroness Jones of Whitchurch]

I am very pleased to hear that, but I noted that some of the evidence I looked through, which was received during the consultation period, raised that as a concern. If we can clarify that there is a standard flood map system I am more than happy to hear that. I am sure it will be of some relief. I am sure that the Minister will also clarify that.

I was talking about who was included and excluded and the designation of domestic properties. The Minister will know that there was some concern, during the course of the Water Bill, about those who were excluded from this provision, in particular the poorest and most vulnerable—those in tenanted and rented properties, which are currently excluded from the scheme. It does not seem right that the same property or adjoining properties could have access to different standards of flood insurance purely on the basis of the status of those who live in the property. Will the Minister clarify whether that is his understanding? Will he also clarify whether farmhouses are to be excluded from the scheme? As he will know, this is of some concern to the National Farmers’ Union. They are, after all, primarily residential properties, even if the farmhouse acts as a business address for the farm. I would be grateful to hear his comments on that.

Finally, we all have sympathy with the householders caught up in the major floods of recent years, but it is important that this scheme does not reinforce complacency in the sector. There is a real risk of increased flooding from the effects of climate change. This scheme needs to be combined with drivers of behaviour change among consumers, businesses and government. The Minister referred to that. It is crucial that future flood management policies take a stronger line against building homes in high-risk areas, while developing sustainable land use plans and restoring flood plains. I hope that the Minister can reassure me that Flood Re will take these responsibilities seriously as part of its brief, and that the Environment Agency will receive sufficient funding to oversee those objectives effectively. I look forward to his response.