To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps
his Department is taking to help deliver a (a) modern and (b) green steel sector by
2050.
<p>Decarbonisation pathways are a commercial decision for companies. The Government
is working closely with steel producers as they decide on the optimum route for their
sites.</p><p> </p><p>Support for the sector includes over £780 million in electricity
costs relief. The sector can also apply for over £1 billion available in competitive
funding to support industry with energy efficiency and decarbonisation, including:</p><ul><li>Access
to up to £66 million through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund and the £289 million
Industrial Energy Transformation Fund.</li><li>Long-term work at the Materials Processing
Institute.</li><li>The opportunity to bid into industrial fuel switching innovation
programmes.</li><li>The Carbon Capture Usage and Storage Fund and the Net Zero Hydrogen
Fund.</li></ul>
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether
he has had recent discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential
merits of establishing a fund to help develop the UK steel industry, following the
return of money from the EU Research Fund for Coal and Steel.
<p>I refer the Hon. Member to the answer my Hon. Friend. the then Minister of State
for Industry gave on 31st March 2022 to Question <a href="https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2022-03-17/141980"
target="_blank">141980</a>.</p><p> </p><p>Since taking up his role as Secretary of
State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, my Rt. Hon. Friend has prioritised
engaging with my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, steel companies,
local MPs and other interested parties from the steel sector. As a priority, we are
now carefully considering the best way we can work together over the coming period
to secure the best outcomes for our steel industry.</p>
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference
to the research by the Chartered Institute of Building entitled Understanding Mental
Health in the Built Environment, published on 11 May 2020, and the research by Mates
in Mind and The Institute for Employment Studies entitled Supporting the mental health
of self-employed construction workers, published in June 2022, what recent assessment
he has made of the potential impact of procurement demands on the mental health of
workers in (a) construction industry supply chains and (b) other parts of the construction
industry.
<p>The Government is committed to working to improve health and safety, as well as
mental and occupational health in the construction sector, to enable the sector to
recruit and retain the workforce that it needs in future. This work is being taken
forward through the Construction Leadership Council’s Health, Safety and Wellbeing
Group, which brings together the Health and Safety Executive, industry representatives
and trade unions to develop and circulate best practice and practical guidance for
the industry.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is also aware that procurement and contractual
practices in the sector can have an impact on mental health. The Government has set
out its commitment to improving procurement processes, and ensure there are fair and
transparent payment and contractual provisions in relation to government construction
projects and programmes in the Construction Playbook.</p>