§ Dr. FrancisTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions he has had with the First Secretary of the National Assembly for Wales on the future of the steel industry in Wales. [121938]
§ Mr. HainI have regular meetings with the First Minister of the National Assembly for Wales and discuss a wide range of issues including the steel industry in Wales.
Latest developments for the steel industry in Wales are encouraging. For example, Corus recently announced investment into its "Living Solutions plant" at Shotton, which is expected to create up to 200 jobs.
Corus also recently announced a major three year contract with Associated British Ports (ABP) to ship finished steel coils world-wide from its Swansea and Newport operations. This comes with an investment of £800,000 from ABP for a new 37 ton capacity crane.
Additionally, Celsa recently announced that they expect to increase production output beyond that of the former Allied Steel and Wire Holdings Group plc plant in Cardiff. This will be a gradual build up from Celsa restarting production operations next month, with full roll-out of its operations at the end of this year. Celsa will employ a direct workforce of 400, with a further 200 subcontracted.
I welcome these very positive developments for an industry that has had more than its share of difficult times.