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Steel Industry

As always, Sir Nicholas, it is a great pleasure to serve under your chairmanship. I congratulate my right hon. Friend the Member for Rotherham (Mr. MacShane) on securing what is, as has been recognised, a very important debate. He demonstrated his considerable expertise in the matter as well as concern for all constituents affected. I also thank him for his kind opening remarks about my work, particularly as Minister for Yorkshire and the Humber. The many contributions today, especially by colleagues from the Yorkshire and the Humber region, demonstrate the keen effect on the region of the recent announcements by Corus, although I am obviously aware that other regions have been affected too. We all feel strongly about the knock-on effect that the recently announced reductions in output and employment have had on individuals and their families, on our communities and, as right hon. and hon. Members have said, on suppliers. My right hon. Friends the Members for Rotherham and for Wentworth (John Healey) and my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Hillsborough (Ms Smith) met recently with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, and have a follow-up meeting in the not-too-distant future. I hope that I can illustrate that there has been a focus within Government on this issue to establish what can be done to reflect the many concerns raised today by all hon. Members, many of whom referred to the fact that this is a global issue and that steel companies across the world have made huge cuts in output in an attempt to weather the storm of collapsing demand for, and prices of, steel, during a period of de-stocking. Obviously, the UK sector is not immune and has had to cut employment in an attempt to reduce costs and balance supply with demand. Short-term working and pay freezes have also been introduced across the industry. The hon. Member for Hertford and Stortford (Mr. Prisk) asked about previous falls in steel production during the period of growth. The explanation relates to some of the points made by my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Hillsborough. During that period of growth, the UK steel industry exploited some of its strengths by concentrating on high-value-added steels. Some of the basic bulk steels were being produced more cheaply in emerging economies, such as China, India and those in central and eastern Europe. That was the reason for the change during that time.