UK government confirms £500m Tata Steel subsidy

The UK authorities says it has reached a "new and improved deal" with Tata Steel, confirming it volition springiness a £500m assistance to the company.

The wealth volition spell towards the outgo of gathering a greener electrical furnace successful Port Talbot, and matches the magnitude agreed by the erstwhile Conservative government.

The Conservatives accidental Labour had raised “false hopes” astir redeeming jobs but Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said workers present person much protection, with assurances from Tata connected aboriginal jobs and investment.

It comes arsenic thousands of workers are being made redundant by Tata Steel arsenic it closes some of its blast furnaces successful Port Talbot.

As portion of the woody Tata Steel has agreed to look astatine aboriginal concern opportunities, thought to see the imaginable for upwind turbines to beryllium made successful southbound Wales astatine a caller sheet mill.

The Community and GMB commercialized unions called the woody "not thing to celebrate" but 1 that was "better than the devastating program announced by Tata and the Tories backmost successful September 2023".

Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the statement gives "hope for the aboriginal of steelmaking successful southbound Wales".

"We cognize that a cleaner, greener aboriginal for UK steelmaking is captious to the industry’s semipermanent economical stability," helium said.

"The roadworthy up is not without its challenges but our alloy strategy volition acceptable distant a affirmative imaginativeness for the aboriginal of the industry, backed by our manifesto committedness to £3bn of authorities investment."

The authorities says it volition sent retired its alloy strategy successful the spring.

Under the woody Tata volition connection unit astatine hazard of compulsory redundancy a "comprehensive grooming programme" providing "recognised qualifications successful sought-after skills". Tata besides says it is offering its champion ever redundancy bundle to workers losing their job.

The steadfast expects astatine slightest 500 jobs to beryllium created to conception the electrical arc furnace.

The woody was agreed connected Tuesday successful a gathering betwixt the premier minister, Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds, Chancellor Rachel Reeves, and Tata seat Natarajan Chandrasekaran and confirmed by Reynolds successful the House of Commons connected Wednesday.

Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens said it "secures the contiguous aboriginal of Port Talbot steelworks, lays the foundations for aboriginal investment, and enhances protections for the workforce crossed southbound Wales, each without further outgo to the taxpayer".

“As good arsenic negotiating a amended woody than the erstwhile government, we person already released millions of pounds of backing from the Transition Board to enactment businesses and workers successful Port Talbot and crossed southbound Wales.

"While this is simply a precise hard clip for Tata workers, their families and the community, this authorities is determined to enactment workers and businesses successful our Welsh alloy industry, immoderate happens."

In a associated statement, Community wide caput Roy Rickhuss and Gary Smith, wide caput of the GMB, said: "Back successful November past year, Community and GMB published the Multi-Union Plan, an alternate attack that would person safeguarded Port Talbot steelmaking and secured a conscionable modulation for the workforce.

"Regretfully we couldn’t unafraid the enactment of each stakeholders for our credible alternate decarbonisation strategy, and yet the institution rejected the ground of our proposals, representing a tragic missed opportunity.

"Under the circumstances representatives of each the alloy unions resolved to negociate the champion imaginable deal, and past enactment it to a ballot of the membership. This is what we person done, and voting is underway."

The Conservatives accused Labour of raising mendacious anticipation that a amended woody was connected offer, and said the authorities had yet realised the Tories had done their champion to prevention steelmaking.