He said: “There is no magic bullet and we can't change the price of steel, but we can forensically work through all of the challenges we know the industry is facing to see what solutions there might be.”
Commenting on the outcome of the summit, Gareth Stace, director of UK Steel, said: “We asked Government to sit down and listen to the needs of the steel industry and take decisive action to support us. They have listened and promised to take action. The Secretary of State has committed to support the compensation package for energy intensive industries such as steel, and to ensure that state aid approval is secured as soon as possible.
“While it may have been too much to expect immediate decisions, we are cautiously optimistic that the urgent recommendations we have made – from compensation to cut the cost of energy to tackling unfair dumping of steel by China – are all now at the top of the Secretary of State’s to-do list.
“But, I cannot emphasise enough that there is an urgency here and very little time before we start to see more job losses and companies facing intolerable pressure. This really is about saving Britain’s steel industry and time is of the essence.”
Meanwhile, UK Steel has urged Prime Minister David Cameron to raise the issue of the dumping of under-priced steel with the Chinese Premier during his visit to Britain this week. It said the price of Chinese steel had been consistently below market rates with an excess capacity in 2014 of 340 million tonnes, more than double the EU’s annual steel demand of 155 million tonnes.
As well as the job losses at Redcar, Tata Steel is also expected to announce 1,200 job cuts at sites in Scunthorpe and Lanarkshire.
Stace said: “If the worst is confirmed with further job losses in the steel industry, I would hope the Prime Minister would use the opportunity of this week’s visit to raise the issue of Chinese dumping of steel. As well as reinforcing the need for the EU to tackle unfair dumping of steel across Europe, Mr Cameron’s intervention would send a powerful signal to Beijing that he is prepared to stand up for British steelmakers.
“If the Prime Minister can make headway on this, and the Business Secretary can act quickly to tackle spiralling energy costs by compensating the industry for the various levies that penalise it, we may start to give the steel industry some confidence that the Government is supporting it before it’s too late.”
John Cridland, CBI director-general, said developments at steelworks in Scunthorpe and Scotland were devastating, particularly for those who have lost their jobs and the wider local community: “To secure the future of our industrial base the Government needs to work in partnership with businesses on a long-term industrial strategy. It should also act to guard against excess market supply, support industry by removing plant and machinery from business rates calculations, and secure lower costs for energy intensive industries to help make steelmakers more competitive in the global marketplace.”
Ann Watson, CEO of Semta, the employer-led not for profit organisation skilling engineering and advanced manufacturing said she was “mortified” by recent developments on Teesside, Scunthorpe and Scotland.
“Any job losses are terrible for the men, women and families that they effect., she said. “But these job losses could prove catastrophic for industry – and the nation. This country needs 800,000 additional skilled engineers by the end of the decade – so Britain can ill afford to haemorrhage thousands of skilled workers at this critical time."
She added: “Every effort must be made to ensure that these workers are re-employed in jobs in sectors starved of skills. Government and industry must form a taskforce to process this transition.”
