My Lords, with the leave of the House, I shall now repeat in the form of a Statement the Answer given by my honourable friend the Minister for Industry and Economic Security to an Urgent Question in another place on British Steel. The Statement is as follows:
“Steel is vital to the UK economy. I fully recognise the importance of British Steel to local communities, particularly in my honourable friend’s constituency of Scunthorpe, where the company is a major contributor to local economic growth, and where she campaigns incredibly hard for the steel sector.
Global conditions have been tough for steel companies around the world. That is why we have changed the competitive landscape for British Steel and other energy-intensive industries by announcing the British industry supercharger—a decisive package of measures to reduce the long-term electricity price gap that exists between UK energy-intensive industries and competitor countries. This support will mean that strategically significant UK industries, such as steel, are safeguarded against the high industrial electricity prices that they have faced in too many recent years. We have also provided over £730 million in energy costs relief to the steel sector since 2013, in addition to the energy bill relief scheme. Steel producers will continue to receive support until 31 March 2024 through the energy bills discount scheme.
As my honourable friend is aware, the Government made an extremely generous offer of support to British Steel earlier this year to help it invest in a decarbonised and sustainable future. We have continued to work intensively with British Steel since then and will continue to do so. However, she will also understand that the detail of those conversations remains highly commercially confidential and that any public discussion risks undermining talks.
I know that this must be a deeply concerning time for British Steel employees and others in Scunthorpe following the company’s announcement on Monday regarding its plans for future operations. I can very much assure my honourable friend that we will help affected workers, their families and others impacted in the local area, and that we are committed to finding solutions to enable the ongoing sustainable and decarbonised production of steel. Just last month, for example, we announced a £1.25 billion joint investment package with Tata Steel to secure a decarbonised future for steelmaking in Wales. That has the potential to safeguard some 5,000 jobs across the UK. In 2020, the Government provided an emergency loan to Celsa Steel to help it continue trading during the Covid pandemic, saving over 1,500 jobs, with a further 300 jobs created since the loan was made.”