§ 29. Mr. MacShaneTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what support he is giving to the Iron and Steel Trades Confederation's campaign in favour of British-made steel.
§ Mr. EggarThe Government share the ISTC's concerns about continuing subsidies to the United Kingdom steel industry's competitors in Europe. We have consistently made it clear to the Commission and other member states the importance we attach to the strict application of the ECSC rules on state aid. To assist us in this task, I have recently set up a steel subsidies monitoring committee—consisting of Government and steel industry representatives—to help gather evidence of illegal state aid and to pass it on to the Commission for action. We are also working with the UK constructional steelwork industry to improve the transparency and rigour with which sub-contracts for steelwork are awarded for public sector projects.