British Steel to sit on new government council after thousands of job losses
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The Government has launched a new steel council with members including Tata Steel and British Steel following thousands of job losses in the UK last year. The Steel Council will help steer plans for the industry which will be backed by up to £2.5bn of investment.
![[The Welsh and UK governments have been accused of giving up the fight for jobs at Tata Steel, following the closure of the last blast furnace in Port Talbot (Ben Birchall/PA)]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/10/01/16/01164323-779fe7ad-77a9-4165-bf85-e4a62053affc.jpg)
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds, who will chair the council’s first meeting on Tuesday, said steel communities have “had enough of lurching from crisis to crisis”. The chief executives of Tata Steel and British Steel, along with the GMB Trade Union and devolved government ministers, will be among the members set to meet regularly.
A government release stated the council “will bring together industry figures, experts, trade unions and devolved governments to secure the long-term future of steelmaking in the UK” and underlined their intent to show it “demonstrates the Government’s partnership with industry and trade unions [...] and secure economic growth, delivering on the Plan for Change”.
Last year, Tata Steel said it was replacing traditional blast furnaces with an electric arc furnace at its biggest UK site in Port Talbot, Wales. Traditional steelmaking ceased in September, with thousands of workers losing their jobs. British Steel also announced it would close blast furnaces in Scunthorpe in 2023, and unveiled plans to roll out a less polluting electric arc furnace. The plans, which are greener but require fewer workers to keep them going, raised fears over potentially thousands of job losses.
