Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much funding from the public purse has been allocated to the SSI Task Force since the closure of SSI by programme; and what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the SSI Task Force in supporting (a) former employees and (b) the economy in the Tees Valley area following the collapse of SSI.

The SSI Task Force was set up in 2015 to support impacted workers after the liquidation of the company. We are working with the Task Force and Tees Valley Combined Authority on an evaluation of the economic impact on both affected workers and the local economy. This will be published shortly. Progress reports for the Task Force are available at www.redcar-cleveland.gov.uk/SSITaskForce.