Steel Industry
Debate between Neil Gray and Sajid Javid
Neil Gray (Airdrie and Shotts) (SNP)
I thank the Secretary of State for advance sight of his statement. This is an incredibly sensitive issue, which must be handled with extreme care. That is why I am disappointed that there was not more detail in the statement today. It raises more questions than it answers. We wish to see the Government act where they can, and as quickly as they can, to support and save the UK steel industry. As I have said on so many occasions in this House, we on the SNP Benches are keen to support steel communities represented across this House.
As the shadow Secretary of State said, we are concerned that the proposal could set a dangerous precedent that undermines workplace pensions and incentives to save in order to secure dignity in retirement. Roy Rickhuss, general secretary of Community, said this morning that the union was not “taking anything off the table”, but that it was important “that any change in the law to save steelworkers’ pensions would not have an adverse impact on other pension schemes.” Mark Turner of Unite made similar comments this morning. That is why the SNP believes that it would be highly inappropriate for the UK Government to push the proposal through without further careful consideration.
In that vein, what discussions has the Minister had with the unions and others in the industry? How will the scheme work? How will pensioners currently in the scheme be affected? Will there be a disadvantage for future scheme members? Will he commit to set aside more time in this House so that all the issues can be teased out and discussed in a timeous fashion to support the industry and to ensure there are no wider unintended consequences?
Sajid Javid
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his comments. He quoted Roy Rickhuss, the leader of the Community union. Roy is right—we need to tread carefully. This is a very important issue and it is right, as the hon. Gentleman said, that we do not set any precedents that the House may later come to regret. At the same time, it is also right that we listen to the trustees, and indeed the unions and Tata itself, on this proposal and consider it very carefully. I am sure the House will have more time to look at it in more detail, and there is a lot more information in the consultation that has just been published. I understand that the hon. Gentleman may not have had enough time to look at that just yet, but the consultation period will give us the time we need to look at the issue very carefully.
UK Steel Industry
Debate between Neil Gray and Sajid Javid
Sajid Javid
I agree wholeheartedly with my right hon. and learned Friend, who speaks with a great deal of experience. Tata—beyond steel, but, of course, including it—has shown itself to be a responsible investor in this country. When I have talked to the workforce, the unions and others at Port Talbot and elsewhere in the Tata group, they have had nothing but good things to say about Tata, its responsibility and its values.
I agree with what my right hon. and learned Friend said about tariffs and being careful to strike the right balance. I also agree with what he said about nationalisation. The way forward must involve a commercial operator: that is how the best companies in the world are run, and that is how we want to see British steel companies being run.
Neil Gray (Airdrie and Shotts) (SNP)
I thank the Business Secretary for giving me advance sight of his statement.
I welcome the news that Tata appears to have found a buyer for its operations in Scunthorpe. I hope that that will prove to be good news, and I hope that the same can be done for Port Talbot and other sites, although there is concern about possible erosions of workers’ terms and conditions as a result of the deal. Let us be clear, however, that this has happened in spite of the Government’s shameful approach to the crisis. They have done as little as possible—as little as they thought they could get away with. The fact that the Business Secretary was literally on the other side of the world at the height of the crisis provides a perfect metaphor, and a perfect personification of the Tory approach to the steel industry.
That contrasts starkly with the proactive, professional and diligent way in which the Scottish Government approached the crisis facing the Scottish plants at Clydebridge and Dalzell. Nicola Sturgeon said that her Government would leave no stone unturned to save a crucial industry, and that is exactly what happened. Liberty House has now bought the sites to maintain a crucial industry in Scotland, and I welcome the Business Secretary’s commendation of those efforts.
SNP Members stand in solidarity with the steelworkers of England and Wales. We hope that the UK Government will now work more proactively and co-operatively with EU colleagues on anti-dumping measures, energy costs and other issues that face the industry, so that there can be a long-term future for a crucial part of the manufacturing sector. Imagine what could have been achieved had the Prime Minister spent the last year touring European capitals and pressing for action on steel, rather than testing the patience of European counterparts and colleagues with his EU referendum gamble.
Will the Business Secretary now publish details of all meetings, phone calls, visits and correspondence involving the steel industry in which he, the Prime Minister, the Chancellor and other members of the Cabinet have engaged with EU and international trade counterparts in the last year? If he has done the work that he claims to have done, he has nothing to hide, and publishing those details may well repair his tarnished reputation.
Sajid Javid
As I said in my statement, I commend the Scottish Government for what has been done in respect of the two mills in Scotland, but I hope the hon. Gentleman recognises that the scale of the problem in the rest of the UK is a great deal larger, and I hope he can find it within himself to appreciate the challenge that the industry faces throughout the UK in particular.
I think that the hon. Gentleman is wholly wrong to suggest that the Government have not taken action already in providing help for the industry. I gave a number of examples in my statement, but the action on energy prices is making a big difference, and the action on procurement is also making a difference. I urge the hon. Gentleman to work with his colleagues in Edinburgh to see whether they can change their procurement rules to help not only Scotland, but the UK.
Steel Industry
Debate between Neil Gray and Sajid JavidUrgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.
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Sajid Javid
The Government have already identified in their national infrastructure pipeline over 500 major infrastructure projects, some of them very large, such as HS2. We are the first country in the EU to change the rules on procurement to allow us to take social and environmental issues into account, which I think ultimately gives us more flexibility. We can start to take immediate advantage of that, and my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General will help to take that forward.
Neil Gray (Airdrie and Shotts) (SNP)
My heart goes out to the steelworkers and their families both north and south of the border impacted by this announcement. I welcome the establishment of the Scottish steel taskforce this morning to address these issues, but it is a disgrace that the Business Secretary did not once mention Scotland in his reply to the urgent question.
May I ask the Business Secretary why the Prime Minister did not raise the steel issue at the European Council last week? The Business Secretary did not answer the question from my hon. Friend the Member for Motherwell and Wishaw (Marion Fellows). Would the Prime Minister not be better served working with our partners in Europe to save jobs, rather than falling out with them to save his own?
Sajid Javid
I am sure the hon. Gentleman has heard me talk about the challenges facing the industry; these are UK-wide challenges and of course that includes Scotland. When it comes to us—whether the Prime Minister, me or other Ministers—talking to our EU partners, we have had a number of conversations and taken action, for example by voting in the EU and the relevant EU Councils for action on unfair trade. We will, of course, continue working with the EU, because that is what is required, and when the EU does take action, it will be a lot more meaningful than if individual countries try to take action.