We have heard speeches from members of all the parties that are represented in Parliament, and we are united in a common purpose to do everything that we can to save the steel industry in Scotland. I commend John Pentland for securing the debate and for the passion and conviction that he brought to the topic, based on his experience of working in the industry. I also commend Clare Adamson for her moving account of the recent commemoration of the sacrifice that some men have made in the industry.
The steel industry has been part of the warp and weft of Scotland and is part of our industrial history. It has contributed in large part to the manufacturing base of Scotland. It has helped to provide great ships such as the Lusitania, the Mauretania, the Queen Elizabeth II and many others. As many members have said, it is part of our heritage and culture. Members from all parties have stressed the fact that we do our best on occasions such as this to leave aside party politics. That is right and it is the approach that I have sought to take.
I will start by confirming that we will do everything in our power to ensure a sustainable future for this key sector against the significant challenges that it faces. That is the primary purpose of the task force; indeed, it was the whole topic of the conversation at the first task force meeting. As was correct, there were other matters on the agenda, but we all agreed without debate that it was not the time to discuss them. The primary purpose is the task that the First Minister has described and is the one that, as the minister with particular responsibility, I am pursuing. In that task, I seek to work with the UK Government to help the sector in every way possible.
Margaret Mitchell, James Kelly, Clare Adamson and other members referred to energy costs. For some time now, the UK Government has promised to introduce assistance for high energy-using industries. The current state of play is that it is being sought that the package be brought forward to now instead of April next year. I mentioned in my recent parliamentary statement that I had had workmanlike discussions with Anna Soubry. There appears to be confidence that those will have some success, which would play a part.
Reference has been made to business rates. As has been said, we are considering every possible permutation and option. It is only correct to put that on the record because it is a matter of fact, and facts are chiels that winna ding.
We cannot unmake rules; they exist and Governments must abide by them. Members should be sure that, where there is flexibility in the rules, we will use that to the full. Therefore, we are spending a lot of time—as is appropriate—on identifying every conceivable way in which, using the powers that we have, we can assist a potential private operator to carry on the industry. There will be a more detailed report on those matters, as is correct, at the next meeting of the task force, which will be a week tomorrow. There will be two to three hours in which we can have a good discussion.
I commend the local authorities for the efforts that they have made and for their co-operation. I have worked closely with the trade union representatives throughout the situation. At my own behest I made a visit yesterday morning for two and a half hours, during which I had the opportunity for an entirely private discussion with members of the workforce and the management in different sessions, as well as with representatives of the trade unions. Roy Rickhuss, the head of Community union, was there. We had a useful discussion. I am in touch with John Park, a former MSP, and with Steve McCool, who made a particularly effective and moving contribution in the task force meeting. It was possibly the most effective and moving of several contributions of that ilk.
We have been working closely with Tata; we have had its co-operation. That is important because, as a matter of practice, if one seeks to identify a private operator to take over—as we do—they need access to information. They cannot purchase blind; they need to carry out due diligence, make inquiries and have information about customers, costs and a range of other things. I am pleased to say that the management of Tata, many of whom I have met—including Jon Bolton, Colin Timmins and Mr Jha—have been fully co-operative. Indeed, the First Minister has met Mr Jha. We are in daily contact with the company, which is extremely important. Such situations are never easy, but they are made much more difficult if one does not have the full co-operation of the company involved.
In times past—not the distant past, either—there have been challenges. Each case is different. There was a threat to the opencast mining industry when Scottish Coal and ATH Resources went bust. People thought that the game was a bogey, but Hargreaves Services emerged, invested in the industry and preserved many of the jobs in a short space of time.
Shipbuilding at Ferguson’s yard looked, to be frank, as if it was over last summer. Thanks to many interventions, primarily that of Jim McColl, that great industry has been saved and now, I am pleased to say, the Scottish Government has awarded contracts to Ferguson Marine Engineering Ltd for two ferries. Incidentally, we are in initial discussions with Ferguson’s about the possibility of sourcing the steel that will be used in those vessels from continuing steel operation in Scotland.
I mention those comparisons not because they are of direct relevance—every case is different and there is no formulaic approach to such situations, which I know, as the minister responsible—but simply because there is hope. I assure members that we are pursuing the matter with hope and confidence, difficult though the task is.
The presentation that Jon Bolton and Colin Timmins made to the task force, as members who attended the whole task force meeting will know, painted a grim and difficult picture of the worldwide challenges that face the industry, with the price of steel having plummeted from £500 to £250 per tonne. That is a huge threat and the losses that have been made are very substantial.
However, the prospect now is not the one that we have been looking at over the past year and a bit—namely, the sale of the whole of the Tata long products division. Rather, it is the sale of the Scottish operation. That is entirely different and there are opportunities there as well as challenges. There are opportunities in respect of the skills of the workforce—about 40 of whom are welcome in the gallery this evening to listen to the debate—and in respect of the fact that the work that is done on steel plate at Dalzell, with quenching and tempering being done at Clydebridge, means that there are unique qualities to offer. I am not, and will not, become an expert, but I understand that the thickness of the steel plate produced there is unique in the UK and therefore can be used in contracts of particular types.
In response to the questions that have been asked by Michael McMahon and others, we have looked at the procurement issues and I can confirm that a detailed report will be issued to the task force next week. However, we are confident that there are opportunities that can and will be pursued—in shipbuilding, in bridges, in relation to other transport contracts and also possibly in relation to wind towers, as was mentioned earlier. We have, in Wind Towers (Scotland) Ltd at Machrihanish, a Scottish manufacturer, so there are opportunities and work is being done.
A huge amount of effort, quite rightly, is being injected by all the officials at my behest and at the First Minister’s behest. The matter is being dealt with at the most senior level possible. We are looking to find solutions to the challenges that face the sector, including business rates, procurement, energy costs and environmental liabilities. We are looking at every single way in which we can reduce the burden for any alternative private operator and we have not eliminated any possibility—nothing is off the table. State aid rules are a terrifically difficult constraint, I am afraid, but we are looking at the situation from a can-do point of view, rather than taking a pessimistic view.
For generations, steel has stood proudly at the very core of Scotland’s industrial landscape. This Government will leave no stone unturned to ensure that the sector remains viable for generations to come.
Meeting closed at 18:03.