16 May 2019
Welsh Economy and Transport Minister, Ken Skates, met with representatives of the steel industry today at Tata Steel’s Shotton works for the Welsh Government’s official signing of the UK Steel Charter. The Welsh Government has become the first officical signitory of this important new initiative aimed at boosting the levels of UK produced steel used in UK construction and infrastructure projects.
With just over half of all the steel used in Welsh, English and Scottish construction projects, 6 million tonnes annually, currently coming from abroad, the potential to purchase more steel from Welsh producers, and those elsewhere in the UK, is significant and would boost steel production, support steel jobs and communities, and increase GDP in Wales and across the UK.
The UK Steel Charter, building upon existing Welsh Government policy in this area, asks organisations such as Welsh Government, Whitehall departments, and major infrastructure projects to sign up and commit to a range of simple procurement steps. These steps could transform the way we purchase steel and other materials, ensuring decisions aren’t simply made on the basis of ‘lowest upfront cost’, but take into account longer term strategic aims such as social and environmental considerations, and Wales’s long-term economic growth.
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