Sheffield Forgemasters

Lindsay Hoyle Excerpts

Wednesday 21st July 2010 Commons Chamber

[Albert Owen (Ynys Môn) (Lab)]

On a point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker. The Minister said that people from Wales and other parts of the United Kingdom have no interest in this. That simply is not the case. There is a national interest here. Investment from Sheffield Forgemasters will impact on hundreds of millions of pounds of investment in my constituency. This is not just a local issue; this is a national issue, and the Minister should acknowledge that.

[Mr Deputy Speaker]

That is not a point of order for the Chair, and the Minister is responsible for the interventions that he takes. As I said, a number of questions have been asked by the constituency Member who has called the debate, and he deserves to have his answers.

[Mr Prisk]

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I entirely agree with that.

I turn now to some of the other questions that were raised by the hon. Member for Sheffield South East in his opening remarks. First, he questioned the issue of affordability, and other Members have also raised that. One of the key points to bear in mind is that, in the light of the huge deficit that we inherited, this Government had to take the decision on the grounds that this project was not affordable. One of the key changes is that the structural deficit emerged after the election as being £12 billion worse than Ministers announced.