Fifth Tata Steel / Port Talbot Transition Board Statement
The Tata Steel / Port Talbot Transition Board met for the fifth time on 25 April 2024.
Steel being rolled
The Tata Steel / Port Talbot Transition Board met for the fifth time on 25 April 2024.
The Board received an update from Tata Steel UK on their decarbonisation project.
A Local Economic Action Plan was presented to the Transition Board. The Board endorsed the Plan as a broad road map whilst also recognising the outstanding issues need to be addressed and discussed prioritisation of the proposed interventions. The Board agreed that supporting affected employees to find new well-paid jobs will be its first priority. The Board will also prioritise supporting businesses affected in the supply chain. The Board also recognised the importance of longer-term regeneration of the region. It was agreed that this plan, overseen by Neath Port Talbot Council, will be used as a basis for investment, subject to business cases being presented to the Board at subsequent meetings.
Rt Hon David TC Davies, Secretary of State for Wales chaired the Transition Board meeting. Deputy Chair, Jeremy Miles MS, Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Welsh Language was in attendance. Felicity Buchan MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities attended in the place of the other Deputy Chair, Rt Hon Michael Gove MP, Secretary of State for Levelling Up. Also, in attendance included Alan Mak MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State jointly in the Department for Business and Trade and the Cabinet Office; Henrik Adam, Chair of Tata Steel UK; Cllr Steve Hunt, Leader of Neath Port Talbot Council; Chief Executive Officer for Neath Port Talbot Council Karen Jones; Stephen Kinnock, MP for Aberavon; David Rees, MS for Aberavon; Tom Giffard MS for the region of South Wales; Luke Fletcher MS for South Wales West. The Board was attended by its independent members, Anne Jessopp CBE and Sarah Williams-Gardner. Representatives from the trade unions also attended: Rob Edwards, Regional Secretary for Community Union; Tom Hoyles, Politics, Press and Research for GMB Wales & South West and Jason Bartlett, Regional Officer of Unite Wales.
-ends-
NOTES TO EDITORS
Tata Steel announced proposals in September to invest £1.25 billion, including a UK Government grant worth up to £500 million, to enable greener steel production at Port Talbot. A Transition Board to support the people, businesses and communities affected by the proposed transition to low-CO₂ steelmaking, was established in October 2023.
The Transition Board will have access to up to £100 million to invest in skills and regeneration programmes for the local area. It will focus on:
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Immediate support for the people, businesses and communities directly affected by the proposed transition to low-CO₂ steelmaking at Port Talbot; and
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A plan for local regeneration and economic growth for the next decade.
The Transition Board does not oversee the proposed £1.25bn investment in low-CO₂ steelmaking at Tata Steel UK. This is for the company to oversee with the Department for Business and Trade, UK Government.