UK Steel Industry

Debate between Marion Fellows and Kevin Foster

Monday 29th February 2016 Commons Chamber

[Marion Fellows]

I absolutely agree. The former Ravenscraig site is in the centre of my constituency, and I go through it almost weekly. It is still scarred, and it is still a monument to what happens when steel businesses close down.

Each time there have been job losses in the steel industry, the Government have moved in to help. The help has been to find people other employment; there have been few timely direct measures to help keep steel plants open. The UK Government have been challenged numerous times to come up with a UK manufacturing strategy and to employ joined-up thinking to help foundation industries, including steel. That is what other European countries do.

The comparison between what the Scottish Government and the UK Government have done is stark. Within days of the announcement of the mothballing of the Scottish plants, the Scottish Government set up a Scottish steel taskforce, with a remit to find a buyer for the plants and to do everything possible to retrain and upskill the workforce to make sure they would be ready when a buyer was found. Skills Development Scotland has created the steel industry advanced manufacturing upskilling programme to provide an incentive to retain key and essential staff. That will enable a knowledgeable and skilled team to be assembled quickly when an alternative operator is found.

[Kevin Foster (Torbay) (Con)]

The hon. Lady is going through the work that the devolved Administrations can do. Does she share my disappointment, however, that from the decks of the 94% British steel-built Queen Elizabeth aircraft carriers can be seen a bridge that the Scottish Government are building with foreign steel?

[Marion Fellows]

May I ask the hon. Gentleman to excuse me if I move on? That old canard has been dealt with in previous debates on steel. The Scottish Government are now moving on. [Interruption.] I will move on with my speech, if the Minister for Small Business, Industry and Enterprise will stop chuntering from a sedentary position—I think I have that wording correct.

The Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Economy laid the snappily titled statutory instrument 2016 No. 120, Rating and Valuation, the Non-Domestic Rates (Steel Sites) (Scotland) Regulations 2016, on 24 February, and they will come into force on 1 April and grant rates relief to a new operator taking over Scottish plants.

There have also been discussions with the chief assessor in relation to the 2017 revaluation of rates in Scotland, to look at special measures for steel plants. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has been in touch with the present owners regarding any work that needs to be done in relation to the sites, and Tata has been working closely with Scottish Enterprise to find schemes and other ways to reduce running costs, which will also help any new owner. At each meeting of the taskforce, there is a positive energy and a commitment to retaining the plants for Scotland’s economic future.

On 15 February, the Scottish Government launched their paper, “A Manufacturing Future for Scotland”, which lays out their vision for the Scottish manufacturing sector. I recommend it; it is a great read. It is a positive, forward-looking document that shows the Scottish Government’s commitment to manufacturing. It states:

“The Action Plan is based on a commitment to raising productivity through increased investment and innovation”.

It is a road map to success for Scottish industry. As part of the action plan, the Scottish Government have established a joint centre of excellence for manufacturing and skills academy.

The Scottish Government have shown what is severely lacking here at Westminster: a strong political will to help the steel sector and other manufacturing industries boost inclusive growth and exports. The UK Government are so busy with their hands-off approach to vital foundation industries that their mantra of the UK being a world player is at serious risk. This is a country that wants to strut the world stage, but if it is not careful, it will lag so far behind in manufacturing that it will not be able to manufacture the necessities its citizens need.

I ask the Government to look seriously at the mixed messages they are sending out, to get behind the scrapping of the lesser duty rule, to steer away from giving China market economy status and to start investing in foundation industries in the UK. We need to spend more on industry and less on bailing out bankers. In closing, may I just say that another Radio 4 comedy programme comes to mind when I think of the Government’s policies on steel and manufacturing? It is my favourite programme.