Speciality Steel UK: Insolvency

Gill Furniss Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd September 2025 Commons Chamber

[Sarah Jones]

The right hon. Gentleman should perhaps go for a tour and see what the speciality is, but it is defence, aerospace and industrial engineering on the Stocksbridge site. The Rotherham site has two electric arc furnaces, which feed the Stocksbridge site, and there is huge expertise there. There are a number of other sites that feed various sectors, such as the automotive industry, hydraulics and a whole range of others. There are a range of specialisms.

On the investigation, the official receiver will look at what is true and what is not, because there have not been any accounts published for many years. They will establish what has happened. The Secretary of State has written to the Insolvency Service today to ask it to take special account of the Serious Fraud Office investigation, and to pass over any information it uncovers to the Serious Fraud Office, so that it can do its work.

[Gill Furniss (Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough) (Lab)]

I congratulate the Minister on the decisions she has made in the last few weeks. We in Sheffield are very proud of our steel industry, and we want to resurrect it. We want people to be proud of the city, and to get into the same work that their grandparents did many years ago. Constituents who have been in contact with me on the issue will be very relieved, following the reassurance that the Minister has given, but if she could clarify the pension issue, that would offer even more reassurance.

I am so proud to hear our Minister speaking about steel, and I am quite disgusted at the way the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Grantham and Bourne (Gareth Davies), and other Conservative Members have tried to pretend that they did not run down the steel industry. They never even had a steel strategy in all their years in office. They really ought to apologise for the absolute rubbish they were talking.

[Sarah Jones]

I thank my hon. Friend for pointing out the failings of the Opposition, which we all understand very well. On the pension issue, I recognise the concern that people will have. We have to let the official receiver get under the hood and work out what has been paid and what has not, because that is not clear. Once we know, we will look into that and do what needs to be done, but I do not want to say something on the subject until we know the reality.