John Bercow
Main Page: John Bercow (Speaker - Buckingham)
The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and President of the Board of Trade (Sajid Javid)
With permission, Mr Speaker, I will make a statement on Britain’s steel industry.
We are all familiar with the perfect storm of factors that led to the global price of steel collapsing during 2015, but for all the economic challenges that we face, the real tragedy is a human one. Over the past 11 months I have visited steelmaking communities across the UK. They are very different plants in very different places, but one thing that unites them is the pride and dedication of the highly skilled people that I met. All they want is to carry on doing what they do so well, and I am doing everything I can to help them do that.
I will speak first about Port Talbot. Since becoming Business Secretary I have been in frequent contact with the senior management of Tata, which included several meetings with the group’s chairman last year and this. Several weeks ago, Tata told me in confidence that it was seriously considering an immediate closure of Port Talbot—not a sale, a closure. That could have meant thousands of hard-working men and women already out of a job, and thousands more facing a very bleak future. I was not prepared to let that happen, and in the days that followed, I worked relentlessly to convince Tata—[Interruption.]
Mr Speaker
Order. The statement must be heard. The record shows that the Chair always facilitates a full and thorough interrogation, and although the Secretary of State would expect nothing less, he is entitled to the courtesy of being heard.
Sajid Javid
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
In the days that followed, I worked relentlessly to convince Tata that it was in everyone’s interest to keep the plant open and find a new buyer. I also made it clear that the Government are totally committed to supporting and facilitating that process. That work has paid off. Last month Tata announced its intention to sell the plant and its wider UK assets, rather than to close it. Since then, I have continued to meet its executives here and in Mumbai, and I was joined in that by my right hon. Friends the Secretary of State for Wales and the Minister for Small Business, Industry and Enterprise. We have secured assurances that Tata will be a responsible seller and allow appropriate time to find a buyer.
The formal sales process begins today. I have been in contact with potential buyers, making it clear that the Government stand ready to help. That includes looking at the possibility of co-investing with a buyer on commercial terms, and we have appointed EY as financial advisers on behalf of the Government. Commercial confidentiality means that I cannot go into detail about ongoing discussions. However, I will update the House as soon as it is appropriate to do so. Let me also take this opportunity to thank the First Minister of Wales for all his hard work so far. His support in these talks has been invaluable.
I shall turn now to Tata’s long products division. I am sure that all Members will join me in welcoming today’s news of a conditional agreement between Tata and Greybull. That agreement will protect jobs and minimise the cost to taxpayers. We have been closely involved in the sales process from day one, including making a commercial offer on financing if required, and we will continue to work with those involved to make sure that this deal gets done.
Moving on to Scotland, on Friday we saw Liberty House receiving the keys to two Tata mills, in Motherwell and Cambuslang. That is a great result for the people of Scotland, and the Scottish Government deserve thanks for helping to secure it.
Since January, the global price of steel has started to recover but it is still a long way from its pre-crisis peak. So there has been some positive news for Britain’s steelmakers, but our support for the industry and the supply chain continues. The Steel Council, which met for the first time early last month, is bringing together Government and industry to find solutions. We have also been working closely with the unions, and let me take this opportunity to thank Community in particular for its positive and constructive approach.
We have also taken action on power, and £76 million has already been paid to steelmakers to compensate for high energy bills. We expect to pay more than £100 million this year alone. We have also taken action on procurement. New rules will make it easier for the public sector to buy British, and we are leading calls for EU action against unfair trading practices. We voted in favour of anti-dumping measures on wire rod and on steel pipes in July and October last year, and we voted in favour of measures on rebar and cold rolled products in February this year. These measures are already having a real effect, with rebar imports down 99%. However, we are still looking at ways of improving the EU tariff mechanism so that we can help the steel industry without harming other sectors, and I am happy to hear any suggestions from hon. Members on that front. Let me be very clear on this: we have repeatedly demanded and voted for tariffs on unfairly traded Chinese steel and we will continue to do so.
I would love to stand here today and declare that this crisis is over, and to say that not one more job will be lost in Britain’s steel industry. That is not a promise that I or anyone else in this Chamber can make, but this Government have consistently done all we can to support Britain’s steel industry and I can promise that we will continue to do so. We know that there are no easy answers and that the challenges facing the industry are vast.
Too many jobs have already been lost, but where that has happened, we have worked to ensure that nobody is left behind. For example, we committed up to £80 million to help those affected by the closure of Redcar and we stand ready to support steel communities facing redundancies, wherever they might be. However, that is something that I will do everything in my power to prevent, because Britain’s steel industry is a vital part of our economy. I want to secure its long-term future and to see “Made in Britain” stamped on steel that is used around the world. I want to protect the jobs of the skilled men and women who work in the industry because the people of Port Talbot, of Scunthorpe and of the steelmaking communities across the UK deserve nothing less. I commend this statement to the House.
Stephen Kinnock (Aberavon) (Lab)
Before I start, I want to pay tribute to the 13 steelworkers who are in the Public Gallery today along with the outstanding general secretary of the Community union, Roy Rickhuss. I also want to join the Secretary of State in paying tribute to Carwyn Jones, who has been doing a fantastic job. What a contrast to the British Government. Within days, Carwyn Jones had put £60 million on the table, so he is someone who is actually closing the gap—[Interruption.]
Mr Speaker
Order. I said when the Secretary of State was speaking that he should be heard with courtesy and the same goes for the hon. Member for Aberavon (Stephen Kinnock). It is not appropriate for people to yell “shame” at an hon. Member who is asking a legitimate question. Learn it.
Stephen Kinnock
I hope that the UK Government will take note of the fact that the Welsh Assembly Government so rapidly put £60 million on the table.
The Secretary of State asked for some focused suggestions and questions, so here are three for him. First, what are the Government doing to secure the customer base—key clients such as Honda, Nissan, Jaguar Land Rover? I hope he and his colleagues are picking up the phone to those customers and ensuring that we retain the integrity of the order book. Secondly, on the blast furnaces, I would like to follow up on what was asked by my hon. Friend the shadow Secretary of State. Does the Secretary of State believe that the blast furnaces in Port Talbot should continue as an integral part of the UK steelmaking industry? Thirdly, can he explain why the British Government continue to block the scrapping of the lesser duty rule? The entire industry and the European Commission repeatedly tell us that by scrapping that rule we would give the anti-dumping measures real teeth to deal with the dumping of Chinese steel. Perhaps the reason is that the UK Government would rather cosy up to Beijing than stand up for British steelworkers.
Mr Speaker
Well, that is a matter—[Interruption.] Order. That is a matter of interpretation, and the right hon. Gentleman is perfectly entitled so to interpret.
David Rutley (Macclesfield) (Con)
I welcome the steps that my right hon. Friend is taking in the face of very challenging global trends in the steel sector. I am also very grateful for the work that he has been doing to help pharmaceutical science across the UK to be repurposed and revitalised in the face of very challenging global trends. Does he agree that there are lessons there that could be passed on to the steel sector?