Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill

Debate between Lord Sharpe of Epsom and Lord Wigley

Committee stage
Wednesday 1st July 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Wigley (PC)]

My Lords, I am delighted to support the amendment moved by the noble Lord, Lord Fox, and to be following the noble Lord, Lord Redwood. I am sorry the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, is not in his place at the moment, but both he and the noble Lord, Lord Redwood, will be very familiar with a project that took place in north-west Wales 40 to 50 years ago now—the construction of the pumped-storage scheme at Llanberis by the CEGB. The reason that is relevant is that, in the very early days of that project, the CEGB was wise enough to pull together trade union leadership and the local authorities in a regular meeting to review issues that were arising. Over the 10-year period of the construction of that exciting project, only about a week was lost due to industrial difficulties. The company, the CEGB, was working with the workforce and the local community, and problems were sorted before they boiled up to triggering strikes and all the rest. It is motivated self-interest to have such an approach to bring in these forces: with good leadership coming from the company involved and, yes, from central government but also from local government and from the trade unions within the company involved, so many problems can be overcome before they cause difficulties and boil up to something that they do not need to be. I believe such an approach should appeal to the Government, and I am very glad to support the amendment.

[Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con)]

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Fox, for this amendment. He is quite right to point out that decisions about the future of a steel undertaking affect a wide range of sectors that rely on secure domestic supply, including defence, construction, advanced manufacturing and critical national infrastructure.

National security has, rightly, featured prominently throughout our debates. If the Government are relying on that argument to justify the exercise of these exceptional powers, it is surely right that those with responsibility for defence and critical infrastructure should have a voice in the wider policy discussion. The number of workers potentially affected in the broader and wider supply chain, as cited by both the noble Lord, Lord Fox, and my noble friend Lord Redwood, is staggering.

It is difficult to argue that the steel-using community is really being consulted, as the noble Lord, Lord Fox, pointed out; that is certainly true of the representations we are getting from members of that community. I urge the Government on this occasion to have a careful think about what this amendment is trying to achieve. It recognises, as the noble Lord, Lord Wigley, has pointed out, the importance of the workforce and of local communities. Workers, their representatives and local authorities will understand better than most the consequences of a transfer for jobs, skills, supply chains and of course the local economy. It is difficult to see how the Government can judge properly what is in the public interest without hearing from the workers, communities, industries and strategic sectors most affected by the decision. I look forward to hearing the Minister’s response.

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[Lord Wigley (PC)]

My Lords, I want to speak briefly to Amendment 28, which deals with pension liabilities of the undertaking that has gone into state ownership. Some noble Lords will remember in our pensions Bill debates that we had the example of Allied Steel and Wire, where employees, who had been given all sorts of promises that they would be safeguarded, feel that they have been very badly let down. If the shadow of Allied Steel and Wire is to find its way to Scunthorpe, or any of the other locations where these questions may arise, the failure to safeguard the interests of those pensioners will militate against employees wanting to accept the course being taken by the Government unless provisions are written into the Bill of the sort provided by Amendment 28. There may be other ways of doing it, but certainly these assurances need to be given.

[Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con)]

My Lords, I am very grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Fox, for tabling these amendments, which raise an important point of principle. Where the Government are taking a steel undertaking into public ownership, the environmental, pension and other contingent liabilities which may fall on the taxpayer should be clear to Parliament and, of course, to the public. The Minister in the other place suggested that further disclosure was unnecessary because the Government already had a reasonably good understanding of the potential liabilities and that the independent valuer would take them into account, but that is not the same as ensuring that Parliament can see the likely costs before compensation is paid and further public money is committed.

I was very taken with my noble friend Lord Redwood’s comments about the environmental impact. From memory—and I might have this date wrong—I think the oldest of the blast furnaces dates back to 1939, so it is inconceivable that that site is not contaminated in some way, which we probably do not have any accurate historical records for.

I have also recalled the reason why I was a bit lukewarm on my own Amendment 20. I hate to say this, and I hope I never have to admit it again, but it is rather because I preferred Amendment 27 from the noble Lord, Lord Fox—a shocking admission to have to make.

Environmental remediation, pension obligations and historic liabilities can amount to very substantial sums. The Government are using taxpayers’ money, and Parliament should be able to scrutinise the liabilities assumed alongside the compensation and support provided. For those reasons, the amendments make a valuable contribution to transparency and accountability, and I look forward to the Minister’s response.