Labour calls on government to intervene before Liberty Steel becomes insolvent to protect more than 3,300 jobs in the supply chain
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Labour’s Shadow Business Minister, Lucy Powell MP, is today calling
on the Government to step in before Liberty Steel becomes insolvent
to save more than 3300 jobs in the steel supply chain in businesses
across the North, Midlands, Wales and Scotland. The Party argues
that the Government should learn the lessons of British Steel going
bust. If Ministers wait for insolvency to happen before stepping
in, as it did in the case of British Steel, while it may protect
what is left...Request free trial
Labour’s Shadow Business Minister, Lucy Powell MP, is today calling on the Government to step in before Liberty Steel becomes insolvent to save more than 3300 jobs in the steel supply chain in businesses across the North, Midlands, Wales and Scotland. The Party argues that the Government should learn the lessons of British Steel going bust. If Ministers wait for insolvency to happen before stepping in, as it did in the case of British Steel, while it may protect what is left of Liberty Steel at that point, it is the supply chain that will pay the price in unpaid invoices and contracts. When the Conservatives left British Steel to collapse into administration this cost the company’s supply chain businesses an estimated £500 million with many going bust. It also meant that workers lost their employment rights, which had to be renegotiated, when the business was sold off. Labour is calling on Ministers to intervene early before liquidation to save workers jobs, terms and conditions, and give customers and suppliers confidence that orders will be fulfilled, bills paid, and domestic steelmaking capacity will be safeguarded. Labour’s call for the Government to step in comes on top of their demand for a comprehensive plan for domestic steel production and for the government to keep all options on table for Liberty steel. A plan for steel should include stronger ‘Buy British’ guarantees on UK infrastructure procurement practices, and detailed strategy to transition to green steel, and action to tackle business competitiveness that Ministers have shirked for a decade. Labour’s Shadow Minister for Business and Consumers Lucy Powell MP, said: “Liberty Steel plants support thousands of steel and supply jobs in towns across the country, and are of vital strategic importance for our economic prosperity and national security. Ministers are not spectators, they must intervene early to save these plants, or we’ll see businesses in places like Hartlepool, Scunthorpe, Rotherham, Stocksbridge and Newport go bust as invoices go unpaid. “Steel communities have helped to build Britain. The Conservatives must now back British steel to secure its future, with real action after 10 years of neglect. This means a proper plan to decarbonise the sector, boost business competitiveness, and ensure UK government infrastructure projects use British steel in their projects.” Ends Notes to Editors Steel supply chain jobs Using the ONS multipliers we can estimate the number of supply chain jobs associated with each Liberty Steel plant. This is likely to be an underestimate, with the BBC reporting that 10,000 supply chain jobs are at risk nationally.
British Steel collapse and impact on supply chain
What intervening early means Labour is calling on the government to be ready to come to a voluntary arrangement with creditors and Liberty that government will step in and own the company ahead of insolvency, instead of doing so straight after insolvency which is what Ministers are planning to do. This is because becoming insolvent could be a death knell for the supply chain, and customers. Labour’s call for a ‘Buy British” guarantee Labour is calling on government to set targets for UK steel content for major public works with a guarantee to state a preference for the use of UK produced steel through the contracting process. |
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