Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Steel Industry and Green Manufacturing Jobs

Tuesday 27 April 2021 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The Government have provided over 500 million to support the steel sector recently.
  • The summer economic update included a 3.05 billion package for housing decarbonisation.
  • The minister declined to comment on specific details of Liberty Steel Group due to commercial sensitivities.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Zarah Sultana Your Party Coventry South
Employment Climate Energy
Context

The steel industry faces challenges, including the risk of company collapses and job losses. The question addresses maintaining jobs in the sector and creating new green manufacturing opportunities.

Question

What steps he is taking to (a) maintain jobs in the steel industry and (b) create new green manufacturing jobs.

Answer from Kemi Badenoch

The Government have supported the steel sector extensively, including providing over £500 million in recent years to help with the costs of energy. At the summer economic update, the Government announced an ambitious £3.05 billion package for housing decarbonisation designed to cut carbon, save people money and create jobs. Alongside that, our covid support package is still available to the sector to protect jobs and ensure that producers have the right support during this challenging time.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific actions or commitments related to maintaining jobs in the steel industry were not detailed beyond general statements about existing measures.

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Q2 Zarah Sultana Your Party Coventry South
Employment Climate Business & Trade
Context

Liberty Pressing Solutions in Coventry faces the risk of collapse, threatening skilled union jobs. The question asks for immediate government intervention to guarantee the company's future.

Question

My constituency is home to Liberty Pressing Solutions, part of the Liberty Steel Group. The threat of the company's collapse risks losing good, skilled, unionised jobs in Coventry and across the country. This would be a disaster for the city and for British manufacturing, so rather than waiting for the company to go bust before taking action, risking workers' jobs, terms and conditions, will the Government step in now, with all options on the table, including bringing the business into public ownership, guaranteeing its future and retaining the skills we need to rebuild and to tackle the climate emergency?

Answer from Kemi Badenoch

It would not be appropriate for me to comment on the details of individual companies, due to commercial sensitivities. We are monitoring developments around Liberty and continue to engage closely with the company, the broader UK steel industry and trade unions. I recognise that reports around Liberty cause worry and uncertainty to the affected workers and their families. What I would say to the hon. Lady is that there is a lot of stuff that the Government are doing that will help her constituency. For instance, we are helping to create new green manufacturing jobs by providing support to drive the electrification of the UK automotive sector, supporting thousands of high-quality jobs in the west midlands.

Not addressed: Specific intervention or action regarding Liberty Steel Group was not addressed. Instead, general support for other sectors was mentioned.

How: Commercial Sensitivities, General Support

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