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Steel Industry

The hon. Lady makes a good point, but there are other ways to protect skills. The Government have announced £5 million to be spent on enabling skills to be retained. In the context of the thousands of jobs that we are talking about, it is something of a drop in the ocean, and I shall be grateful if the Minister will discuss how that sum will be utilised. How thinly will it need to be spread for workers throughout the UK to benefit? A number of hon. Members spoke of the Welsh ProAct programme. The jury may still be out on its effectiveness, but I would not close the door on any sort of wage subsidy. It is worth considering, particularly if vital skills can be protected. What can the Government do? I have already mentioned the £5 million that they have offered. Several hon. Members mentioned trade credit insurance. Having called for help to be given to companies experiencing difficulty in obtaining trade credit insurance, I was delighted recently to hear that the Government have introduced a scheme to share some of the risk with insurers. If the steel industry and its suppliers are still experiencing problems in obtaining such insurance, I would ask the Minister to consider what can be done. Right hon. and hon. Members have mentioned energy prices. I shall be interested to hear from the Minister whether anything can be done to smooth the trends in energy prices. Their unpredictability is causing so much difficulty for steel manufacturers and others. Another factor that the Government could consider is procurement. The Olympics is a prime example; the Government could ensure that British steel is procured for construction, as it would help our aspirations. The right hon. Member for Scunthorpe spoke of renewable energy. Wind turbines, transport infrastructure, home building, building schools for the future and many other creative ways of using steel have been suggested to the Government. To their credit, the Government have made a large number of announcements. The House would like to see those announcements materialise and become a reality. Warms words are great, but they will not create jobs unless the Government put their money where their mouth is. The United Kingdom is a great place to do business. We have the best in innovation, we have a brilliant infrastructure, we have a flexible work force, and we have lower labour on-costs than many other countries. Steel is at the forefront. If we do not have steel, we will not be able to go forward with any of the areas of manufacturing that I have mentioned. The Government must support the steel industry, or the threats to steel in Sheffield and elsewhere may cause the unkindest cut of all.