UK Steel Production: Greensill Capital

Lucy Powell Excerpts

Thursday 25th March 2021 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell (Manchester Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make a statement on the future of UK steel production following Greensill Capital’s recent insolvency.

[The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Kwasi Kwarteng)]

As many right hon. and hon. Members will be aware, it would not necessarily be appropriate for me to comment on commercially sensitive matters at this stage. However, I do appreciate that many Members of this House have expressed concerns to me, individually and in groups, about their constituents working in the steel industry and the families and workers that the industry supports.

Following Greensill Capital entering into administration on 8 March, I and the Department continue to follow developments very closely. As many hon. Members know, I have directly spoken to local management on a number of occasions, and I have also spoken to representatives of the trade unions—as recently, in fact, as yesterday evening. On all those occasions, I have seen a strong and united commitment across management, across the unions and certainly among officials in my Department. I have seen a united commitment to the workforce and our steel industry.

[Lucy Powell]

The Secretary of State has been dragged here to finally say something, because earlier in the week he had nothing to say. I do not expect him to disclose commercial information, but it is in the commercial interests of UK plc and the customers, suppliers and workers in Rotherham, Stocksbridge, Hartlepool, Scunthorpe, Newport and elsewhere to know whether the Government will step in if Liberty fails to refinance.

We have called for a plan B. It is in our national interests for all options to be on the table. Those options should not be blinkered by ideology, because domestic steelmaking is a cornerstone of our national security and economic prosperity. What is more, Liberty Steel businesses are viable and have made the switch to electric arc furnaces, at great cost. Can the Business Secretary confirm that he is considering all options, from immediate support—if due diligence is met—to public ownership, should the business fall into administration? Does he agree that nationalisation could be the best value-for-money option, especially when we look at British Steel, which the Government spent £500 million on and then sold off on the cheap to the Chinese?

Let us be honest: UK steel and steel communities have been betrayed by this Government, because they have no vision nor any plan. There was not a single mention of steel in the Secretary of State’s plan for growth. There has been very little sector support during covid. The clean steel fund keeps being kicked up the road. There has been no action, despite promises, on the crippling issues of high energy prices and business rates. There is no buy-British guarantee in Government contracts. He just scrapped the industrial strategy. It is no wonder that the investment climate in UK steel is so uncertain. Will he finally take this opportunity to set out his vision and plan the future of UK steel?