Update on the UK Steel Industry

Lord Howarth of Newport Excerpts

Monday 11th April 2016 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Neville-Rolfe]

As my noble friend knows well, the legislation was passed largely under a Labour Government. As I have already set out in reply to my noble friend Lord Lawson, we see things differently. It has had quite a serious impact and there are a number of things that we are doing, most importantly the change announced in the Autumn Statement that we will exempt energy-intensive industries from renewables policy costs. These are difficult issues and arguably the balance has not been quite right, but we are moving to change it.

[Lord Howarth of Newport (Lab)]

My Lords, the Secretary of State said in his Statement that he stands ready to help and to support steel-making communities. I appreciate that on behalf of my former constituents in Newport East making steel at the Llanwern steelworks, working in many businesses associated with the steel industry and working in the economy of south-east and south Wales, which is so crucially dependent on the fortunes of the steel industry. As the Government analyse the costs and benefits of alternative possible policies, including co-investment and perhaps temporary nationalisation, will they fully factor in the costs to society and to the communities in question of allowing any steelworks to demise? The social trauma as well as the economic trauma will not just be for the near term or for a year or two; it will be for generations. It is hard to quantify what the costs would be to the public purse, but they will be very high indeed and they need to be weighed up and taken fully into account as against any short-term budgetary pressures about which the Government may be nervous.

[Baroness Neville-Rolfe]

The noble Lord is right. We always need to look at the wider costs, especially in such difficult areas of public policy. That is one of the reasons we have said that we will look at things like co-investment and further support. Of course, if people are out of work the benefits costs and the broader social costs to families in not having a working member and the consequent effect on their children and so on can be devastating. That is why a succession of Governments—I do not think that this is a party point—have sought to do really good work where there are closures. That has happened right across the UK, most recently in places like Redcar where the task forces have been working really well in very difficult circumstances.