Tata Steel

Part of 4. Topical Questions – in the Senedd at 3:19 pm on 8 January 2020.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Russell George Russell George Conservative 3:19, 8 January 2020

Can I agree with some of what David Rees has said in terms of the disappointing comments from the chairman? That is obviously going to be worrying for the 4,000-strong workforce at Tata Steel.

Clearly, there are roles here for both the Welsh Government and the UK Government; both Governments have levers at their disposal. I wonder if the Minister would welcome the measures that the UK Government has taken to compensate energy-intensive manufacturers for the costs of renewables and climate change policy costs.

Would the Minister also agree with me that the issue with the steel industry is not limited to one thing, it's not limited to just electricity, there are a number of issues, the main one being the low international steel price caused by the global overcapacity? There is the issue of business rates as well, and I wondered if the Minister could update us on whether there's any further action that he can take in terms of alleviating business rates for the industry.

Last year, I think it was either in a statement or in a question like this, you talked about how Tata's announcement may affect the skilled workers at Port Talbot and other Welsh sites. You mentioned that it would be a couple of months before an analysis could take place on a function-by-function basis—I think those were their words. A couple of months later, I do wonder if you have received any update from them, or if not, when you might expect that might be.

Turning to what else the Welsh Government can do, since November, when I asked the question—it mentioned something about business rates again. But, what else do you think, besides business rates, that the Welsh Government can do to help the industry be structurally competitive here in Wales?

We are on the other side of the general election, and now that Brexit is going to happen, I wonder what discussions you've had with the new UK Government—I appreciate that time has been limited since that Government's been in place—on revisiting the competition concerns that were expressed by the European Commission regarding the proposed merger.

Also, in a post-Brexit world, some would argue that there's some flexibility over the current EU emissions regulations, and I wonder what the Welsh Government's view is on providing additional flexibility over emissions regulations for the steel industry, also taking into account, of course, the Welsh Government's declaration of a climate change emergency. I wonder if you've got a gauge, really, on your thinking on that.

And finally, what has the Welsh Government done to update public procurement guidance in the Welsh Government's departments so that any environmental factors can be taken into account when the Welsh Government procures steel?