Scunthorpe Steelworks

Debate between Sarah Jones and Sureena Brackenridge

Monday 7th April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Sarah Jones]

As I said about 10 days ago, economics and jobs, not ideology, will drive the decisions that we make. The hon. Member is right to point to lots of speculation about the need to buy raw materials. I assure him that we are having those conversations with British Steel, and we will continue to do so. As I said, our preference is for a commercial solution, with Government providing support, but all options remain on the table, and I can assure him that we are working at pace.

[Mrs Sureena Brackenridge (Wolverhampton North East) (Lab)]

Wolverhampton North East has the UK’s largest steel processing and distribution centre. Will the Minister outline how the Government intend to protect jobs across this vital industry by backing a robust industrial strategy and the £2.5 billion plan for steel?

[Sarah Jones]

I would be happy to come to my hon. Friend’s constituency to have a look at and to talk to some of the people who work in the steel business. Huge numbers of organisations and businesses across the country rely on, use, and produce things from steel, and we need to ensure that we factor them into the conversations we are having. We are looking at the supply chains and how we boost industry more widely through our industrial strategy. We are looking at all the things—whether it is skills, R&D or access to finance—that businesses of all sectors have told us they need. Whether it is through the industrial strategy or the plan for steel, we are trying to ensure that we have a robust industry in this country so that jobs are not offshored and we have the security of knowing that we are producing the things that we need here in the UK.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Sarah Jones and Sureena Brackenridge

Thursday 30th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Sureena Brackenridge (Wolverhampton North East) (Lab)]

5. What progress his Department has made on developing a steel strategy.

[The Minister for Industry (Sarah Jones)]

I delighted to tell my hon. Friend that we are working hard on our steel strategy. Immediately after we have finished these questions, I will be going to Sheffield to talk to the industry about future demand. Steel is an important industry for our future, to which we have made a £2.5 billion commitment. We will ensure that we turn around the decline we saw under the previous Government and deliver a steel industry fit for the future.

[Mrs Sureena Brackenridge (Wolverhampton North East) (Lab)]

The steel industry is an important part of Wolverhampton North East’s heritage and must remain a part of our future. Will my hon. Friend outline how the £2.5 billion UK steel strategy and the new steel council will boost competitiveness and secure jobs at Tata’s Steelpark in Wednesfield, which is the UK’s largest processing and distribution centre?

[Sarah Jones]

I thank my hon. Friend for standing up for her community and protecting her industry. I would be happy to have a conversation with her about the changes she thinks we need to make.

Steel output in the UK fell by 49% in 2021, by 30% in 2022 and by 11% in 2023—what an awful thing to have happened to our industry. We need to turn that around. We do not underestimate how hard that will be, but we are putting in place the money, the policies and the Government dedication to ensure that we support a thriving steel industry.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Sarah Jones and Sureena Brackenridge

Tuesday 8th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Sureena Brackenridge (Wolverhampton North East) (Lab)]

22. What assessment he has made of the potential impact of Great British Energy on job creation in industrial communities.

[The Minister for Industry (Sarah Jones)]

The Government have two key missions: to become an energy superpower, and to grow the economy. Great British Energy will help us deliver on both those missions. The Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, my hon. Friend the Member for Rutherglen (Michael Shanks), will be taking the Great British Energy Bill through Committee today, and I am excited for the job creation potential in our industrial communities. From engineers to welders, and from electricians to project managers, Great British Energy will be powered by people across all the nations and regions of this great country.

[Sarah Jones]

I agree with my hon. Friend, and I thank him for his support. I doubt anybody would disagree with him on the benefits of our announcements on carbon capture and storage, which will create 4,000 jobs in the short term, with carbon capture more broadly creating up to 50,000 jobs over the next decade or so. [Interruption.] The Opposition Front Benchers chuckle, but I wonder whether, instead of dismissing that number of jobs, they might welcome them alongside Government Members. Alongside carbon capture, Great British Energy, our national wealth fund and our British jobs bonus, we are putting in place the levers to encourage growth across our country, and the Climate Change Committee estimates that up to 725,000 net new jobs could be created in low-carbon sectors by 2030.

[Mrs Brackenridge]

Does the Minister agree that GB Energy is a fantastic opportunity for Wolverhampton North East to capitalise on the opportunities for research and start-ups on our forthcoming green innovation corridor and to put Wolverhampton North East back where we belong: at the heart of industrial growth and British industry?

[Sarah Jones]

I agree with my hon. Friend: it is a fantastic opportunity. Publicly owned Great British Energy will partner with industry to help us to deliver our mission of clean power by 2030. I have been reading about the green innovation corridor, and I am interested to see what it will deliver. Working in partnership with the private sector, we can rebuild jobs across the west midlands and far beyond.