The Business Secretary pushes ahead with efforts to safeguard British Steel. Today [Tuesday 15 April] he will travel up to Immingham as the raw materials that have been waiting in the dock are unloaded and transported to the site, following the government settling payment for them.
The materials – which have arrived from the US – are enough to keep the blast furnaces running for the coming weeks, with officials continuing to work at pace to get a steady pipeline of materials to keep the fire burning.
A separate ship which contains yet more coking coal is on the way to the UK from Australia. This cargo was the subject of a legal dispute between British Steel and Jingye over the weekend that has now been resolved. The materials have been paid for using existing DBT budgets.
New legislation passed last weekend, in an unprecedented move, gives Government the power to direct the company’s board and workforce, ensure they get paid, and order the raw materials to keep the blast furnaces running. It also permits the Government to do these things itself if needed. The government acted to protect 37,000 jobs in supply chains and ensure we can build the infrastructure needed to deliver growth which is fundamental to the Plan for Change.
On Monday, Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds confirmed the appointment of Allan Bell as interim Chief Executive Officer, and Lisa Coulson as interim Chief Commercial Officer, both with immediate effect – ensuring the right expertise is in place to keep the site running smoothly.
After intensive work over the weekend, the government has secured coke and iron ore pellets for the blast furnaces and is confident there will be enough materials to keep the furnaces burning.
Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said:
We will always act in the interest of working people and UK industry. Thanks to the work of those at British Steel, and in my department, we have moved decisively to secure the raw materials we need to help save British Steel.
Our industries depend on UK steel and – thanks to our Plan for Change – demand is set to shoot up: helping build the 1.5 million homes, railways, schools and hospitals we need to usher in a decade of national renewal.