Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in Northern Ireland on encouraging international steel investment in Northern Ireland.

We believe that our Plan for Steel will be a once-in-a-generation opportunity to make a real difference for this industry. It will address the problems the sector faces and create a competitive business landscape across the entirety of the United Kingdom.

Supporting the strategy is the Steel Council to which the Minister for the Economy is a member and met in January. In addition, I met with Minister Archibald prior to the launch of the consultation on the strategy in February.