Oral Answers to Questions

Martin Vickers Excerpts

Thursday 12th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Jonathan Reynolds]

I am extremely grateful to my hon. Friend for updating the House on that matter. He will know that one of the brilliant things about the UK-India deal is that it is not just for the higher-value, iconic products we are all familiar with; for bulk, there is no minimum price in the deal. The deal is incredibly strong for every bit of the whisky—and gin—industry in the United Kingdom.

I am alert to the news my hon. Friend has just shared, and colleagues will update the House.

[Martin Vickers (Brigg and Immingham) (Con)]

Greenergy, a company based in Immingham, has been forced to shut down and review some of its operations in the UK. In part, that is due to an influx of heavily subsidised hydro-treated vegetable oil from the US. Will the Secretary of State bear this in mind when he has trade negotiations with the US with a view to easing the situation?

[Jonathan Reynolds]

I shall of course take that up with the hon. Member. I have spent a fair bit of time in his constituency, as he knows, on one matter or another. On fair trade and level playing fields, colleagues can direct their industries to the Trade Remedies Authority if they have specific concerns, but, of course, we monitor those matters at a departmental level as well.

British Steel

Martin Vickers Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Sarah Jones]

My hon. Friend is right to raise the issue of Tata investing in those assets and the future of the Port Talbot site, which is incredibly important. Of course, we meet regularly to talk about that. We have the transition board, which the Secretary of State for Wales convenes, along with the Welsh Government. We are working at pace to understand what those future investments could be. She is right to demand that the steel plan is for everywhere rather than just for one part or other of the UK. We want to and will ensure that the nations and regions all benefit from the funding and mechanisms that we put in place to improve procurement, scrap and all those things. Of course, it is not just Tata in Wales; Celsa too is incredibly important and a very impressive company. She can be reassured on that front. I am always happy to have more conversations with colleagues from Wales about how that can work going forward.

[Martin Vickers (Brigg and Immingham) (Con)]

It is clearly extremely welcome that the redundancy notices have been withdrawn—the steel community will breathe a sigh of relief. The Minister quite rightly speaks about what happens next. As well as a national streel strategy, the north Lincolnshire area needs a strategy of its own to maintain the local economy. Will she commit to an early meeting with MPs from the affected area, as well as with Councillor Rob Waltham, who leads North Lincolnshire council and has produced a document highlighting the way forward? That would be extremely helpful.

[Sarah Jones]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his continued support for his community. Yes, I am very happy to meet the leader of North Lincolnshire council, as I have done previously; he is an incredibly important part of the jigsaw of what happens in the area. I am always happy to meet MPs—I meet my hon. Friend the Member for Scunthorpe (Sir Nicholas Dakin) and the hon. Gentleman regularly—and will continue to do so to ensure that we work in the interests of the whole area.

Steel Industry (Special Measures) Bill

Martin Vickers Excerpts

2nd reading
Saturday 12th April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Martin Vickers (Brigg and Immingham) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes (Melanie Onn), my Member of Parliament; on this matter we are in complete harmony. Before I talk about the local situation, which is what I want to focus on, may I thank the Secretary of State for giving me a call yesterday evening and outlining the proposals he would be bringing forward this morning? I did say to him that I would not be entirely uncritical, so I am sure he will not mind a few jabs here and there.

The local situation is extremely critical, as has been pointed out. The impact, not only on the workforce but on the wider economy of northern Lincolnshire, would be extensive. I have been a resident in the Grimsby-Cleethorpes area all my life, and I have seen the impact when a town loses its core industry. In the case of Grimsby, of course, that was the deep-sea fishing industry. When that decline happens—it has happened to so many towns up and down the country as a result of the decline in mining, shipbuilding and other heavy industries—it takes a generation or perhaps more for the town to fully recover.

That is the last thing I want to see happen in my neighbouring constituency of Scunthorpe, or to the hundreds of my constituents who work there. Those Members who were here for the Easter Adjournment debate—there were a handful—might have heard me say this only four days ago, but the site extends way beyond the bounds of Scunthorpe, into my Brigg and Immingham constituency. The site is the equivalent of 1,133 Wembley football pitches, which gives an idea of its size and of the amount of work that would be needed were the steelworks to close. There would be demands for vast Government investment over decades, in order to remediate the site and to provide new employment.

I said that I would not be entirely uncritical of the Secretary of State, so I refer him to my first urgent question on this matter, on 5 September last year. I said on that occasion:

“There have been widespread media reports suggesting that coke will stop being imported from October, which would mean production would stop in Scunthorpe by Christmas. There are rumours concerning the fact that employees will be given notice very soon. That is obviously creating great anxiety among those directly employed by British Steel and those in the supply chain, which in northern Lincolnshire extends to many thousands of people and many businesses.”—[Official Report, 5 September 2024; Vol. 753, c. 424.]

Thankfully, we have had a six-month reprieve from those threats in October, but I have to say, the Government have been a little dilatory on this. I appreciate that negotiations have been taking place and Ministers cannot give away their negotiating position, but I made this point as long ago as September, as well as when you granted me an urgent question on 27 March, Mr Speaker—only a couple of weeks ago—and surely the Government were beginning to realise at that point that the negotiations with Jingye were going nowhere.

[Jonathan Reynolds]

I am extremely grateful to the hon. Gentleman for putting that point on the record. It is precisely because of those concerns that we were able to have ready a legal route to intervene to directly offer support to purchase raw materials. What we could not have anticipated or expected was for a company to act in an irrational economic manner when such a clear, distinctive and generous offer was made.

[Martin Vickers]

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his intervention. I would say merely that he has been party to the negotiations, and he must surely have realised that the company was not negotiating in good faith and expected his officials to prepare legislation, if required, to deal with the situation that we are now in. As others have said, this is crucial not just for thousands of my constituents who work at the site, but for the defence of the nation. I assume and hope that Defence Ministers have been lobbying the Secretary of State to make their concerns clear.

Locally, there is continuing concern. Like the Father of the House, my right hon. Friend the Member for Gainsborough (Sir Edward Leigh), I will support the proposals. I floated the nationalisation issue on 27 March, and I see this as a stepping-stone to that situation. To those who will perhaps demand nationalisation today, I would say that this is a very complex issue, and what matters more than anything else is the future of the workforce and the ability to produce virgin steel. Nationalisation legislation would not, I sincerely hope, be passed in three hours; it would involve a great deal of work.

Having got themselves into this situation, the Government are now taking the right action. There has been disappointment locally—to put it mildly—that the Prime Minister did not, following my question to him only 10 days ago, take up the option to meet a cross-party delegation of MPs to discuss the situation, but now that we are where we are, I fully support the Government, and I hope that they accept the sunset clause amendment, which would be prudent. I can assure them of my full support today, which they will continue to have when they act in the best interests of my constituents.

[Several hon. Members rose—]

Scunthorpe Steelworks

Martin Vickers Excerpts

Monday 7th April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Martin Vickers (Brigg and Immingham) (Con)]

(Urgent Question:) To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade what actions the Government are taking to prevent the closure of Scunthorpe’s steelworks.

[The Minister for Industry (Sarah Jones)]

I appeared before this House on 27 March, just moments after British Steel’s devastating announcement of early asset closures at Scunthorpe and its commercial decision to consult on large-scale redundancies. The course of action chosen by British Steel’s owner is deeply disappointing, and our thoughts remain with British Steel workers and their families at this very concerning time. Government’s contingency plans have kicked in, and teams from the Departments for Work and Pensions and for Education are there to provide support and advice to affected workers. We will ensure that support is in place for as long as possible.

Looking ahead, I can assure this House that early blast furnace closures at Scunthorpe are far from a done deal. We have been clear that the best way forward is for British Steel to continue as a commercially run business with private investment and Government acting in support, which is why we made the company a generous offer of public funding on 24 March. As Members are aware, British Steel’s owner did not accept our offer or the necessary conditions attached, which were designed to protect workers, safeguard taxpayers’ money and deliver a sustainable company at the core of the future of British steelmaking.

However, that is not the end of the matter. The Business and Trade Secretary and I met Jingye, the owner of British Steel, on Friday, and there are plans to meet again this week. The Government remain resolute in our desire to secure a long-term future for the Scunthorpe steelworks, retaining steel production and putting an end to the years of uncertainty, and I can assure the House that no options are off the table to achieve that. We will continue to work tirelessly across Government and with British Steel’s owner to find a better outcome.

I cannot go into further detail at this stage. It would be damaging to British Steel’s workers and their families, the company and its supply chain for me to speculate on how events might unfold in the coming days and weeks while a live negotiation is under way and policy is being developed at pace. However, Members should be in no doubt that there is a bright future for steelmaking in the UK under this Government, and we believe that British Steel and its superb workforce at Scunthorpe have an integral role to play in it.

[Martin Vickers]

I thank the Minister for her comments. While it is welcome that work is being done through DWP and so on to support potential redundant workers, the reality is that Jingye is not involved in meaningful negotiations. The Government have been critical of it in previous responses to my questions. It is very obvious that Jingye has cancelled the raw material orders that are essential to keep the furnaces going; those orders were due in mid-May. When I was at the steelworks on Friday, I was told that unless another order for iron ore pellets could be placed this week, it would be too late.

The Minister was somewhat reluctant to go down the nationalisation route when I raised the matter a couple of weeks ago. However, the majority opinion in the area and among leading politicians is that nationalisation on a temporary basis is the only solution to keep the furnaces burning come the middle of next month. Can the Minister therefore confirm that it is something the Government are actively considering? It would provide an opportunity to rebuild the industry, hopefully secure new private sector involvement and convince the customers—most notably Network Rail, which gets 95% of its rail track from the Scunthorpe works—that supply will continue.

I have come round to the view that nationalisation on a temporary basis is, in this instance, the only way. It will secure the jobs and secure a future for steel production in Scunthorpe. I urge the Minister not to rule it out, and indeed to commit to it.

[Sarah Jones]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for securing this urgent question and for his comments. I know we will continue to talk and have honest conversations.

Jingye is very much talking to us. As I said, I met Jingye with the Secretary of State and others on Friday, and we hope to do so again this week.

Our priority is respecting the workers, safeguarding jobs and retaining steelmaking. We have been clear in our belief that the best way forward is for Scunthorpe and British Steel to continue as a commercially-run business with private investment and with the Government acting in support, but I can tell the hon. Gentleman that no options are off the table.

UK-US Trade and Tariffs

Martin Vickers Excerpts

Thursday 3rd April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Martin Vickers (Brigg and Immingham) (Con)]

Dealing with the erratic Trump Administration must be something of a nightmare for negotiations. The unexpected can always emerge from the White House, but one certainty is that tariffs were going to form part of the Trump agenda. It is somewhat surprising that the Minister is only today launching a consultation about the implications of retaliatory measures. Building on the previous questions about steel, will the Secretary of State at least acknowledge that the current uncertainty in the whole of the world market increases the pressure on the Government to acknowledge that further support will be needed for that industry?

[Jonathan Reynolds]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his comments. He knows that I always have time for him to discuss the particularly challenging constituency issues that he faces through the position at British Steel. Just to be clear, today’s announcement is the formal step necessary to engage with British business about last night’s announcements. That is an important stage and the right way forward, and we have been prepared for it.

In relation to the other challenges around the steel industry, this is a particularly challenging situation—he and my hon. Friend the Member for Scunthorpe (Sir Nicholas Dakin) know that better than anyone. Our commitment, even in difficult circumstances, is absolute. We will continue with that, and I will continue to keep him and his constituents updated at all times.

Scunthorpe Steelworks

Martin Vickers Excerpts

Thursday 27th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Martin Vickers (Brigg and Immingham) (Con)]

(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade to make a statement on the future of Scunthorpe steelworks.

[The Minister for Industry (Sarah Jones)]

First, my thoughts are, and the thoughts of all hon. Members will be, with British Steel workers and their families, following the company’s announcement of plans to close the blast furnaces and other steelmaking assets at Scunthorpe, and its commercial decision to consult on redundancies. This is not what we wanted, and I know how worrying it will be for all those involved. I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Scunthorpe (Sir Nicholas Dakin), who is in his constituency today engaging directly with his local community.

In the immediate term, we must support the people who work at British Steel. Our contingency plans have kicked in to ensure that all possible support is made available to British Steel’s workforce. Both the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Education will have teams on the ground shortly to engage with employees for as long as necessary. We have asked British Steel that officials be given direct access to British Steel sites to bring their support as close as possible to affected workers.

This Government inherited a steel sector in crisis, and resolving the long-standing uncertainty around the future of Scunthorpe has been a priority from our first days in office. That is why, when we committed up to £2.5 billion of investment to support our steel industry, we earmarked substantial funding to support British Steel, in addition to the funding allocated to our new and improved deal with Tata Steel.

I confirm today that we have taken another significant step forward. On Monday, my right hon. Friend the Business and Trade Secretary made a generous conditional offer of financial support to British Steel designed to deliver a sustainable future for the workforce, industry and local communities. In the light of the challenging fiscal context, this speaks volumes about our commitment to the steel industry. The offer follows months of intensive engagement with British Steel to reach a deal that meets our public accountability and legal requirements, works for local people and UK taxpayers, safeguards as many jobs as possible and ensures the company’s long-term commercial viability. The offer that we have made is conditional on British Steel meeting those key tests, which is consistent with our approach to similar investment deals.

The company must provide the commitments that we need, and which taxpayers would quite rightly expect, in exchange for substantial public funding. It is regrettable that it has not yet done so or accepted our offer. I therefore call on the company to reconsider its plans to announce early closures, accept our conditions and accept our generous offer, which remains on the table.

I assure the House that we are working tirelessly to find a solution. We believe that there is a bright future for steelmaking in the UK, and we call on British Steel to work in partnership with a Government who care deeply about the steel sector to put the business on a sustainable footing for the future and to put an end to the years of uncertainty at Scunthorpe.

--- Later in debate ---

[Martin Vickers]

I thank the Minister for her statement and for the updates that she has provided to me in recent weeks. As she said, there will be increased anxiety among the workforce today, and we look to the Government to provide maximum support.

For the sake of clarity, will the Minister confirm that the Government do wish to maintain blast furnace production until an alternative arc furnace installation is up and running? Will she also confirm that they want to maintain production to meet the demands of the defence sector, particularly in view of the recently announced increased spending?

The Minister will be aware of the projects that North Lincolnshire council have proposed, such as the green growth zone and those in the artificial intelligence sector. Will she confirm that she will support them? She will also be aware of other projects in the region that are looking for Government support. Will she confirm that she will look sympathetically on them? Also, although I would not want to advocate this, will the Government consider nationalisation of the industry as a last resort?

[Sarah Jones]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for the manner in which he has represented his constituents today and engaged with us previously. On the point of clarity, I confirm that we would rather the blast furnaces remained open. He knows that if they closed before a supply of steel were secured, that would be significant in terms of customer confidence and what will happen to the customer base.

On the hon. Gentleman’s point about defence, as was said at the Business and Trade Committee yesterday, there was a reason why the Russians bombed the blast furnaces in Ukraine first: steelmaking capacity is needed not just for defence, but for building the structures required for construction. He was therefore absolutely right on that front.

This morning, I met the council and talked about both the plans for us to work together on British Steel and the wider question of what else we can do in the region and how the Government can support that. A small ministerial team has been coming together to think about those things.

On the hon. Gentleman’s final point, as he knows, the amount of money that we are talking about to develop new infrastructure is significant. Our preferred approach by far is that British Steel comes back to the table, talks with us about the offer on the table and we have that private sector investment in the future, but of course we are looking at all options.

North Sea Energy

Martin Vickers Excerpts

Thursday 6th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Sarah Jones]

My hon. Friend is completely right to expose Reform�s arguments for the nonsense they are. The CBI brought out a report a week or so ago showing that the net zero economy grew by 10%, which is much faster than the wider economy. This is delivering jobs already, as well as investment from around the world, in part because we are the second most attractive country in the world in which to invest, as PwC has told us. The reality is that we can bring down bills, secure good jobs and make ourselves more energy secure, and Reform is living in the past.

[Martin Vickers (Brigg and Immingham) (Con)]

As the Minister knows, the North sea renewables sector has been very beneficial to my Brigg and Immingham constituency, and I support proposals that will enhance and speed up the development of that sector. However, many businesses in the constituency are struggling because of energy costs, as my hon. Friends have mentioned. Can the Minister give an assurance that, particularly where energy-intensive industries are involved, the Government will bear in mind the consumer, be they business or domestic?

Oral Answers to Questions

Martin Vickers Excerpts

Thursday 12th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Sarah Jones]

I thank my hon. Friend for her question, and for championing her constituency and its industries. She makes a very good point, and I recently met her to talk about this. This week, I met Community trade union representatives from the steel sector in her area as well. I am always happy to meet again to see what we can do.

[Martin Vickers (Brigg and Immingham) (Con)]

As the Minister knows, it is not just South Yorkshire that is facing difficult decisions about the steel industry. I thank her for our recent meeting about the future of Scunthorpe. Is she able to add anything on when we might expect an announcement? As she will appreciate, particularly at this time of year, there is growing anxiety among the workforce.

[Sarah Jones]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question, and for his interest in his constituents and their jobs in the steel industry. As he says, we have met to talk about this, and I have nothing new to add today, other than that we continue with our conversations with British Steel. We are working as fast as we can. Obviously, it is ultimately up to British Steel to decide what it wants to do and take forward, but we stand ready to support and work with it.

Future of the Post Office

Martin Vickers Excerpts

Wednesday 13th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Gareth Thomas]

I welcome my hon. Friend’s question. We need to take a number of steps in order to see mutualisation as a realistic way forward. In the first instance, there has to be a sustained change in Post Office culture about how sub-postmasters are treated. On that, the establishment of the postmaster panel and a consultative council, announced by the chair of the Post Office, Nigel Railton, are significant steps forward. I hope the sub-postmasters in my hon. Friend’s constituency will genuinely engage with those bodies. I do not think we can impose mutualisation; it must come up from the grassroots, with the Government being willing to look at that option. The changes that Post Office senior management is looking to make are a good first step in their own right, and have the potential for future positive governance change in the long run. I genuinely encourage my hon. Friend and his sub-postmasters to engage in the Green Paper process.

[Martin Vickers (Brigg and Immingham) (Con)]

One of the post offices on today’s list of potential closures is in Grimsby, where many of my constituents work and run businesses. The Minister rightly says that Crown post offices are more costly. I can assure him that the one in Grimsby, for example, could easily operate in much smaller premises or in premises shared with other businesses in the commercial centre of the town. Will the Minister give an assurance that he will ensure the Post Office looks at operating out of alternative premises, and cuts its costs before considering closures?

[Gareth Thomas]

We have made it clear to the Post Office that it has to talk to sub-postmasters, stakeholders and the trade unions about the costs associated with directly managed branches. We are committed to the requirement to ensure there is easy access to a post office branch for every community, up and down the country. We want the Post Office to continue to talk to people who want to run post offices in their communities, and we continue to encourage it to do so.

Oral Answers to Questions

Martin Vickers Excerpts

Thursday 31st October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Gareth Thomas]

Given that almost 9,500 bank branches closed over the past 14 years, on the Conservative party’s watch, it has increasingly been left to the Post Office to provide vital banking services on the high street. I am sure the banking industry recognises its responsibility to work with us to ensure that sub-postmasters, whose pay has not increased for a decade, and the Post Office have what they need to help meet the critical cash and banking needs of all our constituents.

[Martin Vickers (Brigg and Immingham) (Con)]

Although yesterday’s announcements may dampen businesses’ expansion plans, many businesses in my constituency and elsewhere find it difficult to expand because of national grid connections. What are Ministers doing to engage with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and National Grid to ensure that connections are available?

[Sarah Jones]

I am glad that the hon. Gentleman asks what we are doing to engage with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, because I sit across that Department and the Department for Business and Trade. The entire point of my role is to make sure that we join up the two Departments, so that we can crack some of these problems. The grid is No. 1 on our list.