Tata Steel: UK government accused of 'failing to keep Welsh ministers and the workforce informed'

Vaughan Gething accused the UK Government of failing to keep Welsh ministers and the workforce informed. 

UK Government ministers have “failed to grasp” the problems which have “piled up” in a steel industry struggling to cut carbon, according to the Welsh Economy Minister.

Vaughan Gething welcomed the deal announced last week to enable Tata Steel to switch to greener forms of steel production but said “an earlier decision would have allowed for a fairer transition in a strong industry.”

Thousands of jobs are likely to be lost at the firm’s plant in Port Talbot even with the half a billion pounds funding from the UK Government. 

Mr Gething told Senedd Members that the Welsh Government has “long been urging the UK Government to provide the significant co-investment needed to support the move to greener methods of steel production. 

Thousands of jobs are likely to be lost at the firm’s plant in Port Talbot even with the half a billion pounds funding from UK Government.  Credit: PA Images

Against this context, it is welcome that the UK Government has progressed negotiations with the company to ensure a long-term future for steel in Wales.

The total loss of the operation in Wales would be unconscionable, and it is in the interests of the workforce, industry and communities that the sector has a long-term future here in Wales.”

Vaughan Gething welcomed the deal but said “an earlier decision would have allowed for a fairer transition in a strong industry.” Credit: PA Images

But he added that “the proposed agreement now reached between Tata Steel and the UK Government provides too little detail and raises too many questions” and accused the UK Government of failing to keep Welsh ministers and the workforce informed. 

“The UK Government has decades of experience in dealing with commercially sensitive information in a managed way with the Welsh Government to support sound decision making.

"The decision, the choice, to communicate via leaks and media briefings to share the announcement on the proposed deal reached is disrespectful to the workforce and harmful to a sector that needs to recruit people who will, of course, be looking for a level of security, and, as we know, they are crucial to the future of steel in the UK.”

A UK Government spokesperson said: “The UK Government is backing our steel sector, and this proposal will secure a sustainable future for Welsh steel, save thousands of jobs in the long term and ensure that the industry has a bright future to match its long and proud history in South Wales.

“We are investing in our steel industry as it makes the necessary transition to greener methods of production and we are also putting support in place for the local workers affected by the changes.”

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