So British Steel is returning! I think we can all agree that the deal announced this weekend between Greybull and Tata is to be welcomed. Whilst there are still some hoops to be gone through before the deal is finalised, it does look as though the site is going to be secured and the high quality steel produced at Scunthorpe will continue. This is of relief to everybody locally, especially to workers and their families who have endured months of uncertainty.
Martin Vickers MP and I met with Greybull a couple of months or so ago to offer our support for the deal and a lot of work has been taking place behind the scenes to support this sale. Government support has been offered and will continue to be there should it be needed. It was positive also to see the Government making use of the new procurement rules we secured from the EU which should make it easier to use British steel in UK Government contracts.
EU rules prevent us having what the Canadians and Americans have in their public contracts, which is guaranteed US and Canadian content in their government contracts. The EU made that illegal but we have at least won some changes to these rules that make it a little easier to secure local content. We all need to get behind British Steel and do whatever we can to ensure that we aren’t back in this position in a couple of years’ time.
Parliament is now back after the Easter recess, although I only managed a few days off over Easter, during in which I got man flu! I spent quite a bit of my Easter break in Canada working in my new unpaid role as the Prime Minister's Trade Envoy to Canada. The program was packed with 7.30am breakfast meetings through to evening receptions, all with the aim of encouraging increased trade and investment between the UK and Canada. Interestingly, Canada is planning a massive investment in rail and I already have our Trade and Investment Team in Canada looking at whether there are any opportunities for UK steel and rail in those contracts. I certainly plan to use this role to secure as much investment in our area as possible and to identify trade opportunities for Humber companies in Canada. All with the aim of supporting local jobs!
In other news, we had some positive action on one of the issues people raise with me regularly; pot holes! The Government has given North Lincs an additional £318k this year to help fill pot holes in North Lincs. Another ‘inbox issue’ I had a lot on this week was this outrageous taxpayer funded pro-EU leaflet delivered to local homes. It really is nothing more than pure propaganda and my advice is to either recycle it, use it to light your wood burner or post it back to Number 10! One resident did suggest it might make good loo-roll but I’m not recommending that just in case anyone has a reaction to the ink!
You can read more about the agreement here: http://www.andrewpercy.org/news/1157-andrew-welcomes-scunthorpe-steel-works-agreement
Photo - Andrew with Business Secretary, Sajid Javid, before his visit to Brussels last November to discuss support for the steel industry.
