UK Steel Production: Greensill Capital
Debate between Sarah Champion and Kwasi Kwarteng(3 years, 8 months ago)
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Kwasi Kwarteng
I reassure my hon. Friend, whom I have met on several occasions on precisely this issue, that we remain committed to decarbonised steel and a decarbonised industrial strategy, which I have referred to. That is the basis on which we can have a strong future for the industry.
Sarah Champion (Rotherham) (Lab) [V]
The Secretary of State is well aware that Liberty in Rotherham employs 900 people, along with five times that number in the local supply chain. Our steel goes into defence, energy, aviation—all key strategic industries. In this post-Brexit world, will the Secretary of State please make a commitment that all Government procurement projects using steel will commit to buying British steel for them, because a full order book is the best way to see a future for steel in this country?
Kwasi Kwarteng
On procurement, I want to relay to the hon. Lady that we have constructed in government a UK Steel and BEIS Procurement Taskforce, which met for the first time only a couple of weeks ago, on 12 March, chaired by my noble Friend Lord Grimstone. We are absolutely committed to seeing what we can do to make sure that we have a strong steel industry in this country that will support the huge infrastructure needs that our country has in the next decade.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Sarah Champion and Kwasi Kwarteng(3 years, 8 months ago)
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Sarah Champion (Rotherham) (Lab)
The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Kwasi Kwarteng)
I thank the hon. Lady for meeting me on 10 March to discuss this vital issue. It is of course a commercially sensitive matter that the Government are monitoring extremely closely.
Sarah Champion [V]
I thank the Secretary of State for that response, but more than 5,000 workers at Liberty Steel, including 900 in Rotherham, are facing an uncertain future following the collapse of Greensill Capital. Will the Secretary of State now commit, as other Governments in Europe have done, to step in, if necessary, to safeguard this vital strategic industry?
Kwasi Kwarteng
The hon. Lady will know that in my meetings with management and relevant union leaders, I have always stressed that the management plans need to be worked through. We are monitoring the situation extremely closely. The hon. Lady will know that I have a direct interest in the future of Liberty Steel.