Engineering news
MPs have condemned the Government's handling of the crisis in the Steel industry, saying its slow and poorly planned response has irrecoverably damaged the sector.
A report published this morning by the cross-party Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) Committee found that while the Government identified the steel industry as vitally important, it failed to detect and address issues such as Chinese dumping and push for action at the EU level.
Iain Wright MP, chair of the BIS Committee said: "The steel industry is now on the verge of terminal decline.
“For too long the Government failed to be alert to the alarms raised by the industry and act at home to maintain a steel industry in the UK, when other European countries were acting to safeguard their own strategic steel industries.
“Industry isn’t looking for a hand-out, it’s looking for a level-playing field. For too long there was little action from the Government, with some asks from the industry taking years, if at all, to deliver."
The UK steel industry has suffered an unprecedented series of site closures and thousands of job losses at sites including in Redcar, Scunthorpe and Lanarkshire recently. The downturn in the sector has been blamed on a combination of Chinese steel dumping and high energy prices.
The report found that “the irrevocable loss of capacity and skills” from recent closures and job losses in the sector will stymie future growth and that more action should have been taken to protect skills and jobs.
The report also said that the Government’s initial response to the closure of the SSI plant at Redcar focussed on compensating those affected rather than seeing what could be done to save the plant.
Wright added: "The Government have relied on crisis management rather than ongoing engagement with the steel industry. The inaction with steel doesn't bode well for other strategic industries if they were to face a crisis. Lessons need to be learned. The Government needs to take a far more active approach in the future in assisting British industries and manufacturing".