Iain Wright
Main Page: Iain Wright (Labour - Hartlepool)Department Debates - View all Iain Wright's debates with the Department for Education
(10 years ago)
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Vince Cable
The hon. Gentleman describes a powerful trend. I am delighted that it is operating in his constituency and I congratulate the firms concerned. He refers to the process of onshoring production that had gone overseas, and I believe that around one in 10 British manufacturers are now considering that process. I have recently come back from India where I met a company called Amtek that is bringing car supply chain and production back to the UK—it may even be in the hon. Gentleman’s county.
Mr Iain Wright (Hartlepool) (Lab)
My hon. Friend the Member for Motherwell and Wishaw (Mr Roy) has already mentioned the importance of the UK steel industry, which underpins much of our manufacturing industry. Is the Secretary of State also aware of cheap imported steel being dumped into domestic markets, failing British standards and raising question marks about quality, traceability and reliability? Reinforcing steel used in the UK is certified under the CARES scheme. Is he confident that that scheme is working as well as it could be? What steps is he taking to ensure that such steel is tested, compliant with British standards, traceable and safe?
Vince Cable
That issue has been brought to my attention by British producers and it is a legitimate question. I am in the middle of an inquiry into whether the testing process operates effectively and takes proper account of different standards as between UK producers and those overseas. We have no ideological view on anti-dumping. It is a matter of proof and fact and operates through the European process, as the hon. Gentleman knows.