Government in advanced talks over £500m Tata Steel aid package

Published

1 year ago

September 2, 2023

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The government is in advanced talks with Britain’s biggest steel producer to hand over a £500m aid package aimed at securing the long-term future of steelmaking in south Wales.

Sky News can exclusively reveal that Whitehall officials and Tata Steel are close to agreeing a deal that would commit more than £1bn to the future of its Port Talbot steelworks, but which could ultimately result in thousands of job losses.

Sources said this weekend that the terms of an agreement were subject to change, but that there were hopes of finalising it as early as this month.

One insider suggested that Tata Steel had been trying to persuade the government to increase the proposed funding package in recent weeks.

Under the plans currently envisaged, the government would commit approximately £500m of public funding to the company, while Tata Steel’s Indian parent would sign off £700m of capital expenditure over a multi-year period.

Port Talbot employs about 4,000 people – roughly half of Tata Steel’s overall UK workforce of approximately 8,000.

Industry sources close to the discussions said the company had indicated that over the long term, as many as 3,000 of its British-based staff were likely to lose their jobs.

Electric arc furnaces, which Tata Steel would commit to building as part of the agreement with government, utilise different, less labour-intensive, processes to produce steel than traditional blast furnaces.

The government is said to have accepted during the discussions that some job losses would be inevitable as part of the transition to reducing carbon emissions, although an insider said on Saturday that a number of those could be through workers taking early retirement.

The final scope and timing of any redundancies would be negotiated between the company and trade union officials, and sources close to the process insisted that no decisions had been taken.

If a deal can be reached, it would mark the second time this year that the government has bankrolled investment in a manufacturing business owned by Tata Group.

In July, it agreed to commit several hundred million pounds to the company to construct a £4bn battery factory in the UK for its Jaguar Land Rover subsidiary.

Rishi Sunak, the prime minister, described the investment as “a massive vote of confidence” in British industry.

Ministers and Britain’s two biggest steelmakers have been in talks for months about handing over hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money to fund the companies’ transition to greener production.

Initially, both Tata Steel and British Steel, its smaller rival, were offered £300m each in government support, but formal agreements have remained elusive.

British Steel’s Chinese owner, Jingye Group, announced hundreds of job losses earlier this year – a move which angered ministers because they coincided with discussions about state funding – but has also yet to reach a deal to secure its plants’ future.

The government originally sought to tie the issue of public funding to a moratorium on redundancies, but it was unclear whether any formal guarantees aimed at limiting job losses would be part of the Tata Steel funding package.

Sources said the offer to Tata Steel had been increased from £300m to about £500m during the course of the summer.

If completed, an agreement with the government would draw a line under years of uncertainty about the medium-term future of Port Talbot, although it was unclear whether the company would make specific commitments about the long-term as part of a deal.

As recently as May this year, Tata Steel warned of a “material uncertainty” over the future of its British business, citing a lack of clarity about potential government support among the factors raising doubts over its prospects.

In an interview with the Financial Times in July last year, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, the Tata Group chairman, said: “A transition to a greener steel plant is the intention that we have . . . But this is only possible with financial help from the government.

“We have been in discussions over the last two years and we should come to an agreement within 12 months.

“Without this, we will have to look at closures of sites.”

In 2020, the Treasury hired bankers and management consultants to draw up a blueprint for the future of the steel industry and advise on talks with Tata Steel about the future of Port Talbot.

During the pandemic, the company floated a plan that would have entailed the government injecting £900m into it in return for an equity stake of up to 50%.

There is not thought to be any equity-linked element to the current aid proposal.

Nevertheless, the proposed scale of the taxpayer support for Tata Steel’s UK operations illustrates the acute political sensitivity that continues to accompany the subject of British steelmaking.

With a general election less than 18 months away, and the Conservatives facing a battle to convince voters that it has a plan to restore the economy to sustainable long-term growth, the closure of one of the country’s most important manufacturing sites would be devastating.

In a letter to Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, in December, Grant Shapps, the then business secretary, and Michael Gove, the levelling-up secretary, argued that retaining sovereignty over steel production was critical to the UK economy.

“Every other G20 nation has maintained domestic steel production and, while we do not think that this should come at any cost, we do believe it is in HMG’s interest to offer well-designed and targeted funding which unlocks private investment, achieves a good outcome for taxpayers, and enables transformed , decarbonised and viable domestic steel production to continue in the UK in the long-term,” Mr Shapps and Mr Gove wrote.

“We do not want to become reliant on steel sources elsewhere in the same way that energy security has become self-evidently important.

Figures from UK Steel, the industry body, revealed earlier this year that crude steel production in 2022 had fallen to 6m tonnes, its lowest level of output since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

A Tata Steel spokesman said in a statement issued to Sky News: “Tata Steel is continuing to discuss with the UK government a framework for continuity and decarbonisation of steelmaking in the UK amidst very challenging underlying business conditions, given that several of its heavy-end assets are approaching the end of life.”

“Given the financially constrained position of our UK business, such significant change is only possible with government investment and support, as also seen in other steelmaking countries in Europe where governments are actively supporting companies in de-carbonisation initiatives

The Treasury referred an enquiry from Sky News to the Department for Business and Trade, which has been contacted for comment.

UK

MasterChef’s Gregg Wallace steps down as Kirsty Wark among 13 who claim he made inappropriate sexual jokes

Published

3 hours ago

November 28, 2024

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MasterChef's Gregg Wallace steps down as Kirsty Wark among 13 who claim he made inappropriate sexual jokes

MasterChef host Gregg Wallace has stepped down over allegations he made a series of inappropriate sexual comments on a range of programmes over 17 years.

Broadcaster Kirsty Wark is among 13 people who have made claims, with Wallace being investigated by MasterChef’s production company Banijay UK.

In an interview with the BBC, the Newsnight presenter, who was a celebrity contestant on MasterChef in 2011, claimed Wallace used “sexualised language”.

“There were two occasions in particular where he used sexualised language in front of a number of people and it wasn’t as if it was anyone engaged with this,” Wark said.

“It was completely one-way traffic. I think people were uncomfortable and something that I really didn’t expect to happen.”

Sky News has contacted Wallace’s representative for comment.

‘Fully cooperating’

Banijay UK said the complaints were made to the BBC this week by “individuals in relation to historical allegations of misconduct while working with Gregg Wallace on one of our shows”.

The company said the 60-year-old, who has been a co-presenter and judge of the popular cooking show since 2005, was “committed to fully cooperating throughout the process”.

“Whilst these complainants have not raised the allegations directly with our show producers or parent company Banijay UK, we feel that it is appropriate to conduct an immediate, external review to fully and impartially investigate,” the company said.

“While this review is under way, Gregg Wallace will be stepping away from his role on MasterChef and is committed to fully co-operating throughout the process.

“Banijay UK’s duty of care to staff is always a priority and our expectations regarding behaviour are made clear to both cast and crew on all productions, with multiple ways of raising concerns, including anonymously, clearly promoted on set.

“Whilst these are historical allegations, incidences brought to our attention where these expectations are not met, are thoroughly investigated and addressed appropriately.”

A BBC spokesman said: “We take any issues that are raised with us seriously and we have robust processes in place to deal with them.

“We are always clear that any behaviour which falls below the standards expected by the BBC will not be tolerated.

“Where an individual is contracted directly by an external production company we share any complaints or concerns with that company and we will always support them when addressing them.”

Previous investigation

Last month, Wallace responded to reports that a previous BBC review had found he could continue working at the corporation following reports of an alleged incident in 2018 when he appeared on Impossible Celebrities.

Wallace said those claims had been investigated “promptly” at the time and said he had not said “anything sexual” while appearing on the game show more than half a decade ago.

In an Instagram post following an article in The Sun newspaper, he wrote: “The story that’s hitting the newspapers was investigated promptly when it happened six years ago by the BBC.

“And the outcome of that was that I hadn’t said anything sexual. I’ll need to repeat this again. I didn’t say anything sexual.”

Alongside MasterChef, Wallace presented Inside The Factory for BBC Two from 2015.

Wallace has featured on various BBC shows over the years, including Saturday Kitchen, Eat Well For Less, Supermarket Secrets, Celebrity MasterChef and MasterChef: The Professionals, as well as being a Strictly Come Dancing contestant in 2014.

He was made an MBE for services to food and charity last year.

Recorded episodes of MasterChef: The Professionals featuring Wallace will be transmitted as planned, the PA news agency understands.

UK

Every pensioner in Scotland to receive winter fuel payment next year

Published

3 hours ago

November 28, 2024

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Every pensioner in Scotland to receive winter fuel payment next year

The Scottish government has announced that all pensioners in Scotland will receive a winter fuel payment in 2025/26.

The devolved benefit is expected to come into force by next winter and will help the estimated 900,000 people north of the border who were cut off from accessing the winter fuel payment which used to be universal.

Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville announced the news in a statement to the Scottish parliament on Thursday.

It comes after both the UK and Scottish governments earlier this year axed the universal winter fuel payment, except for those in receipt of pension credit or other means-tested benefits.

At Westminster, Chancellor Rachel Reeves claimed the decision was made due to financial woes inherited from the previous Conservative government.

Ms Reeves said the restriction would save the Treasury around £1.4bn this financial year.

The decision led to the Scottish government – which was due to take control over a similar payment through the devolved Social Security Scotland but has since announced a delay – to follow suit.

The payment is a devolved matter in Scotland and Northern Ireland, however the SNP government said Labour’s approach would cause up to a £160m cut to Scottish funding in 2024-25.

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UK

Officers investigated over death of teenager with autism who escaped police car on M5

Published

4 hours ago

November 28, 2024

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Officers investigated over death of teenager with autism who escaped police car on M5

Two police officers have been served with misconduct notices after a teenager with autism escaped from a police car and died on the M5.

Tamzin Hall, from Wellington, was hit by a car on the M5 between junction 25 at Taunton and 24 at Bridgwater shortly after 11pm on 11 November and sustained fatal injuries.

She had been under arrest at the time and was travelling in an Avon and Somerset Police car which had stopped on the motorway, an inquest at Wells Town Hall heard on Tuesday.

Tamzin was being taken to custody when officers pulled over for “safety reasons”, the Independent Office for Police Conduct said.

She had been handcuffed with her hands in front of her and had an officer sat beside her, the IOPC added.

She fled the stationary marked police car on the northbound carriageway and died after she was hit by a car on the southbound carriageway.

In a statement the IOPC said the two officers from Avon and Somerset Police had been served misconduct notices for a “potential breach of their duties and responsibilities”.

Such notices advise officers their conduct is subject to an investigation, but does not necessarily mean any disciplinary proceedings will follow.

IOPC regional director David Ford said: “My thoughts and sympathies remain with Tamzin’s family and friends, and everyone affected by the tragic events of that evening.

“We have met with Tamzin’s family to offer our condolences and to outline how our investigation will progress. We will provide them with regular updates as our inquiries continue.

“Our investigation is in the early stages and we are working hard to establish the exact circumstances of what took place, from the time of Tamzin’s arrest, to how events unfolded a short time later on the M5.”

The IOPC began its investigation earlier this month and is looking into what contact the police had with Tamzin prior to her death, including their actions, decision-making and risk assessments of the situation, and whether these followed the relevant training and policies.

Mother pays tribute to ‘very special’ daughter

Speaking after the hearing on Tuesday, Tamzin’s mother Amy Hall paid tribute to her “very special” daughter, who she said had been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.

“Tamzin was the most kindest, caring, loving, loyal girl ever. She was the most honest person I’ve ever known; she was very special to me,” she said.

“She had a great sense of humour, and we had many laughs together.”

She added: “Tamzin was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, so she was unique and saw the world in such a different way.

“Tamzin was my absolute everything and I can’t believe she isn’t here any more. She was my world.”

She said: “She was only 17 but she has taught me a lot and I can use that memory and hold on to that.

“I will never ever get over it, she was taken far too young.”

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