Speciality Steel UK: Insolvency
Andrew Snowden Excerpts(2 weeks, 1 day ago)
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Sarah Jones
My hon. Friend and I have spoken many times about this—she is such a champion for the industry, as are many colleagues. She is right to point to the importance to the country of the work at Stocksbridge. Of course, we will do what we need to do through the process of the official receiver to ensure that people get the salaries that they need. For the past couple of years, so many of those people have been on furlough—we want to turn that around. We believe that this viable industry is languishing unnecessarily. The Government will provide the right support through interventions such as our energy reduction measures, and work with the official receiver. I can tell her that multiple companies are interested and coming forward, and we need to establish how viable those offers are and what the best situation is. Of course, the official receiver must think of the best outcome for the creditors, but we take a close interest in that. My hon. Friend is right to point out the pensions issue. I know that there is uncertainty. The official receiver and Teneo are considering these issues now to see exactly what has and has not been paid so that we can unpick the pensions issue.
Mr Andrew Snowden (Fylde) (Con)
This is the second crisis in the steel industry in the past year. It impacts other commercially operated industries that are critical to our national security. In Lancashire, the failure to place an order for 25 Typhoon jets is risking thousands of jobs in the critical defence industry of BAE Systems. There is also a lack of join-up between Departments, which do not realise that the whole life-cycle of nuclear fuel manufacturing is equally critical for our national infrastructure and impacts on hundreds of highly skilled jobs in Lancashire at the Westinghouse Springfields site. Will the Minister update me on her work with the Ministry of Defence to ensure that commercially operated industries that are critical to our national defence capability and security are strategically supported to be sustainable in the future?
Sarah Jones
The hon. Gentleman is right to point out the importance of our defence industry and the need for us to support it. Of course, the industrial strategy outlined eight growth-driving sectors that we believe can be turbocharged with Government support—defence was one of them. We have published those sector plans, apart from the defence one, which will come shortly—he should look out for it. We have significantly increased funding for defence, which will lead to thousands of jobs across the UK. I will work closely with my colleagues in defence, particularly the Minister for Defence Procurement and Industry, to ensure that we procure UK jobs where we can and support our industry to grow.
Scunthorpe Steelworks
Andrew Snowden Excerpts(5 months, 1 week ago)
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Sarah Jones
No, absolutely not, and I am disappointed that the hon. Member would speak in that way. As he knows, we are having a conversation about a potential deal that we believe is there to be done with British Steel.
On the wider issue, it is a fact that China produces 53% of the world’s steel, and we have huge issues with that, as the hon. Member knows. The tariffs have over-complicated the situation, which is why the Secretary of State is meeting the Trade Remedies Authority today, why we are looking at our trade strategy, and why we are talking to the Americans to make sure we can do a deal with them. We will continue to ensure that we have all the protection we need, in terms of stopping the onshoring of steel as much as we can. Those conversations will continue. The TRA is now looking at steel, and we expect those results quite soon.
Mr Andrew Snowden (Fylde) (Con)
The Minister used the interesting stat that 53% of the world’s steel is produced by China. If we look back at the lead-up to Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, and the way that Russia started to dominate the nuclear fuel market in particular by pushing out western providers, we see that there is a reason why China and Russia are behaving this way: they want to control the raw materials that are critical for national security around the world. This House is debating the prospect of a Chinese-owned company turning off our blast furnaces in this country in a month’s time. That cannot be an acceptable position to be in. This has been asked several times, but it has not been answered: will the Minister commit to ordering the raw materials to keep those furnaces on, if necessary? She said in response to a question on primary steel that a consultation was under way on a strategy, and that we would look at what we needed to do. It is clear what we need to do: produce primary steel.
UK-US Trade and Tariffs
Andrew Snowden Excerpts(5 months, 2 weeks ago)
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Jonathan Reynolds
Absolutely, country first. I would hope that all Members of the House could get behind the approach we are taking, which is genuinely in the national interest. That is the way forward and the way to deliver what all our constituents want in these troubling times, which is a much better path towards the future.
Mr Andrew Snowden (Fylde) (Con)
I appreciate the tone of concern with which the Secretary of State has come here today. I am particularly concerned about what these measures mean for the UK defence industry, particularly companies such as BAE Systems in Fylde and across Lancashire that manufacture component parts for US-UK defence programmes such as the F-35. What conversations has he had with those in the Ministry of Defence about working with their US counterparts to address this issue from a national security perspective, for both the US and the UK? Can he give an assurance that the order of 25 fighter jets that the RAF needs to place will not be used as a bargaining chip in any trade deal, and that British-built Typhoon jets will be used for the RAF?
Jonathan Reynolds
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. I have constituency interests that are similar to his, and the close alignment between ourselves and the US on defence and security matters is an enduring and huge asset to both countries, so I share the sentiments he has raised. He asks whether we can engage US counter- parts in this conversation about a more constructive way forward. Yes, that was always part of our thinking, and our trading bodies in the UK have excellent US links in the main, and they engage in similar activity around that. On his specific point, I have no detail to give him— I have no knowledge of anything like that being used as a bargaining chip, but if I need to give him additional information, I am happy to write to him to provide that.
Budget Resolutions
Andrew Snowden Excerpts(10 months, 1 week ago)
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Andrew Griffith
The—[Interruption.] I am trying to find something relevant to say to the hon. Lady. There is a—[Interruption.]
Andrew Griffith
I will happily give way in a minute. At least the Budget that the hon. Lady talks about was an attempt to do two things. First, it sought to shield households in this country from going into a cold winter with an increase in energy bills—her Labour colleagues may wish to contemplate what they have done to 8 million pensioners through the reduction of the winter fuel allowance. Secondly, it was a Budget for growth. This Budget, as we have observed—[Interruption.] Well, some people are making interesting comments, but the direction in this Budget is to lower, rather than increase, growth.
Mr Snowden
Does my hon. Friend agree that, in the reaction to the Budget, the gilt market is in a far worse position than it was following the mini-Budget? Labour Members might want to do some research into the impact of their own Budget.