| answer text |
<p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p>It is an established convention that Ministers
of one Administration cannot see the documents of a previous Administration. I am
therefore unable to provide the information requested by the hon Member for the entire
period given in his Question.</p><p> </p><p>I first met with Gareth Stace on 01 June
2015 and discussions with steel industry stakeholders continued thereafter to identify
the policy priorities for dealing with the considerable challenges facing the sector.
We convened a Steel Summit on 16 October 2015 which brought together all the major
stakeholders, including key Government and industry participants as well as constituency
MPs, recognising the significant part steel companies play in local communities. This
led to the formation of three Ministerial Working Groups which took the lead on our
efforts to deliver on the five key ‘Asks’ put to us by our partners in the steel industry.</p><p>
</p><p>To ensure a sustainable future we set up the Steel Council, co-chaired by my
Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, to build
on the achievements of the three previous Ministerial working groups, by looking at
the longer term future of the sector and how we can strengthen the capability and
competiveness of the UK steel industry both at home and globally. The Council met
for the first time on 2 March.</p><p> </p><p>Since this Government took office, BIS
Ministers have undertaken a number of visits to steel-producing sites across the UK,
including: SSI Redcar; Tata Steel facilities at Port Talbot, Scunthorpe and Rotherham;
Celsa in Cardiff and the former-Tata Steel site at Motherwell recently re-opened by
Liberty Steel.</p><p> </p><p>To date we have made significant progress in addressing
the challenges faced by the industry, including:</p><p> </p><ul><li>Paying compensation
towards their energy costs: the Steel industry has received £80m in compensation since
2013;</li></ul><ul><li>Exempting the steel industry from renewable energy policy costs
passed through in energy bills: this will save the steel industry hundreds of £millions
over the course of this parliament.</li><li>Securing flexibility over EU emissions
regulations.</li><li>Making sure that social and economic factors can be taken into
account when Government procures steel;</li><li>Continuing to tackle unfair trading
practices at an EU and an International level.</li></ul><p> </p>
|
|
