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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he has had with representatives of the UK steel industry on the implications of the outcome of the EU referendum for that industry; and what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies on support for the steel industry of the outcome of the EU referendum.

We are committed to working closely with the UK steel sector through the Steel Council, which is co-chaired by my Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Chair of UK Steel, to maximize all opportunities to improve the sector’s competitiveness. This is also the forum for the Government and the Steel sector to work together to assess the implications of the outcome of the EU referendum. On 28 June, Ministers from the former Department of Business, Innovation and Skills held a special round table of business leaders, including the Chair of the Steel Council, to start to explore post-referendum issues.

On 20 July, my Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and I visited Port Talbot when we met with local Tata Steel management, employees and trade unions.

The Government’s top priority for steel has not changed in the light of the EU referendum. The process for selling Tata Steel’s remaining UK assets remains ongoing and we continue to work closely with Tata and potential bidders to seek to secure a sustainable future for UK steel production.