, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Future of Welsh Steel
It was Nick Thomas-Symonds who chaired that particular meeting of the inter-ministerial group. He, as you can understand, is very aware of the situation particularly in Wales, and he is particularly, I think, sensitive to how important steel is to Wales as a…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Future of Welsh Steel
I'll take the EU first. Obviously, we'll all be really concerned at the EU's announcement on the new tariff measures and what they will mean for the steel industry here in Wales. The UK Government is currently in negotiations on their steel measures, and I…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Future of Welsh Steel
I can't, but the national energy system operator does intend to. We understand that NESO has been doing the work that looks across what the needs are for the future, and that's work that we jointly commissioned. But I understand it will probably be in a…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Future of Welsh Steel
So, Wales is often a net exporter of energy, but, sometimes, we are a net importer of energy. So, I think that having that UK-wide grid and actually the international interconnectors is important, because sometimes we do rely on, for energy security, energy…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Future of Welsh Steel
So, we had discussions through the Steel Council itself, which I think was really positive, and, as I say, the UK Government has taken some actions recently. I've had a number of discussions with Ed Miliband more broadly on the 'Clean Power 2030 Action Plan'…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Future of Welsh Steel
So, energy prices were one of the key areas of concern that we raised at the Steel Council in November. The UK Government has recently committed to reducing the cost of energy to many UK manufacturers, including steel. They've got the British industrial…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Future of Welsh Steel
I take the broad point, absolutely, which is being made, which is why moves that we've made, through the recent Procurement Act—. So, colleagues will recall that we worked with the UK Government on that particular Act, because we felt it was something, and…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Future of Welsh Steel
Well, I can't speak to those particular figures, but, obviously, I will explore those.
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Future of Welsh Steel
I know that officials met, at the end of December, with British Steel to look at ways that we could support the use of domestically produced steel whilst also adhering to our carbon reduction principles. I'll ask Aine to just provide a quick readout on that…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Future of Welsh Steel
So, we've got a Welsh procurement policy note 008, and that aligns well with the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 and the Procurement Act 2023, and also Welsh regulations and our Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Act 2023. And…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Future of Welsh Steel
So, we would need to talk to developers, obviously. The problem that we have with floating offshore wind and offshore wind generally is that these are already pre-existing global supply chains, in a sense. If only it was a case that we could start from…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Future of Welsh Steel
So, we've had a specific meeting of the steel strategy council looking at scrap, and the UK Steel Council has also set up a working group, which is looking at a particular strategy for scrap metal. So, we're keen to be a member of that group because, for the…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Future of Welsh Steel
I can talk about the kind of things that we would want to see addressed in the steel strategy, and the things that we've been saying to the UK Government, in terms of the steel strategy, have been very much about what businesses have been telling us…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Future of Welsh Steel
No. We don't have a date.
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Future of Welsh Steel
We don't have a date yet, unfortunately.
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Future of Welsh Steel
So, I think that the steel strategy is delayed at the moment, so I don't think that we're expecting it to be published this week.
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Future of Welsh Steel
So, I might ask Aine and, potentially, Neil to come in on this particular point, because I know that they were involved in this long before I came into portfolio.
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Future of Welsh Steel
So, I think that speaks to the answer that I gave to Alun Davies, in the sense of trying to ensure that the courses available are meaningful ones that will lead into future employment. I've mentioned construction, for example—that's going to be hugely in…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Future of Welsh Steel
So, we really recognise that point that support has to be there for workers who are affected, including those who live in my own area of Swansea, but there'll be others in Bridgend, and further beyond as well. We do know that Business Wales, of course…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Future of Welsh Steel
We're trying to ensure that the skills opportunities provided do lead people into meaningful employment, and examples would be through the work we've been doing alongside the Wales union learning fund. So, through the steel unions, we've supported over 700…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Future of Welsh Steel
I do think the support has been effective. What we don't yet have is the data that we need to provide a proper evaluation. That will become available at the end of the financial year. Neath Port Talbot are the holders of that data in terms of the impact that…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Future of Welsh Steel
I think, inevitably, there's going to be that anger and that upset. And part of that, I think, is around the way in which the workers didn't have that just transition to the electric arc furnace. So, the previous UK Government wasn't able to come to an…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Future of Welsh Steel
I absolutely recognise how difficult this period has been for people who were employed at Tata and the huge change that there's been. So, that comment, 'Our way of life has gone', I think really does resonate, and we will do absolutely everything we can to…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Future of Welsh Steel
Yes. So, officials and I are in regular discussion with Tata, and we always take opportunities to explore what future investments might look like, but, understandably, the company's own focus at the moment is very much on delivery of the £1.25 billion project…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Future of Welsh Steel
Yes. Tata's appointed a number of contractors. So, Tenova are installing the electric arc furnace and the related steel-making equipment. Sir Robert McAlpine has been tasked to manage the main civil, structural and building works for the EAF construction, and…
