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Steel Industry

I am going to come to that point, which was also raised by my right hon. Friend the Member for Rotherham. Right hon. and hon. Members set out the number of recently announced redundancies, which, as I have said, are tragic for individuals and their families and for communities. Corus currently employs about 24,500 people in the UK, but after the reductions, that could fall to about 20,000 or less. However, a substantial UK steel business will remain, which we must not lose sight of, if we are to do many of the things that right hon. and hon. Members have mentioned today. Some steel businesses have mothballed plant and equipment and some complete closures have been avoided. It is the job of the Government and others to look at what we can do to assist in such times. Let me reiterate how important the steel industry is to our economy. My right hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Central referred to some of the work that the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills has been doing. He will also recall that the Prime Minister and I recently visited Sheffield Forgemasters, which again shows how much importance we attach to the industry. Let me return to the wider issue of Government support. Obviously, to start with, we considered how to protect the wider UK economy. That is why we intervened in the banking industry. In January, the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills set out a number of ways to help businesses. Along with regional development agencies and local government, we decided to bring forward billions of pounds worth of infrastructure, to which both right hon. and hon. Members have referred. We are increasing capacity in the motorway and rail network, improving and building new social housing and primary and secondary schools, to which my right hon. Friend the Member for Scunthorpe (Mr. Morley) referred, focusing on hospitals, energy efficiency, carbon capture and many other green technologies. Such development is vital for stimulating the demand for steel. In the meetings that Corus had with Ministers, a number of key requests were made. First, there was the fiscal stimulus, and the need to promote the demand for steel by intervening and bringing forward investment. Secondly, Corus mentioned trade credit insurance, which could be used by not just itself but customers and suppliers. We introduced the trade credit insurance top-up scheme as a direct response to the industry's requests. A third request from Corus related to trade credit insurance and energy. My right hon. Friend the Member for Rotherham raised the issue of energy supplies. Although wholesale electricity prices are falling, the effect will take time to feed through, particularly for those who are locked into long-term agreements. In one case, Corus is looking to negotiate a long-term agreement with Electricité de France. Officials from my Department have met separately with both companies to encourage them to reach agreement. There was a meeting on 3 July, and I will write to Members when I know the outcome. Although commercial decisions are involved, we are considering what we can do to encourage companies to make a mutually successful agreement in that respect. I want to address the issue of what we are doing with regard to the £5 million offer that has been made to Corus. Moreover, let me mention the support that has been made available to those who, unfortunately, will be made unemployed as a result of the recent announcement. Many hon. Members talked about the train-to-gain initiatives, including one worth £2 million at the Corus Scunthorpe site to support apprenticeship programmes. There has been support for apprenticeships at the Rotherham and Teesside plants and support for Corus employees at the Redcar site. All those plants are being supported by train to gain. It is vital that regional development agencies, the Learning and Skills Council and Jobcentre Plus work together to continue to provide that support, which has already been effective. However, following discussions involving the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Prime Minister, we are considering ways in which we can effectively use the £5 million of training support. As my hon. Friend the Member for Newport, East (Jessica Morden) said, how do we ensure that when the upturn comes, the people who are working in our steel industry, particularly in Corus, are fully equipped, trained and skilled to take advantage of the available markets? I have met with the trade unions, Yorkshire Forward and Corus in the Yorkshire and Humber area. However, wider discussions are going on, and we are saying that £5 million is on the table. We want to consider the points raised by right hon. and hon. Members today. We want to know what Corus can offer in the areas of proper training, skills and job guarantees in exchange for the Government and RDAs working to provide that assistance. That is not a meaningless offer; it is a very real offer and one that has not been made in the past. During previous recessions, Governments stood by and let people sink or swim. They did not say, "This is what we can do in terms of a fiscal stimulus." They did not have regional development agencies, which the Conservative party intends to scrap. The RDAs provide vital help for people, communities and businesses during such times.