Statement From Welsh Secretary And Chair Of The Tata Steel/port Talbot Transition Board
28th April 2024
Secretary of State for Wales-led Transition Board agrees broad support plan for those affected by Tata's move to greener steel.
On Thursday 25th April 2024 the Tata Steel / Port Talbot Transition Board met to agree the way forward to release funds to help the thousands affected by Tata's decision to move to greener steel-making at its Port Talbot plant.
The next steps will be to agree the detail behind each business case and release the UK Government's and Tata Steel's funds. Given Tata's Steel's decision to formally end its national consultation with unions, the focus now is on progressing this as quickly as possible.
Chair of the Tata Steel / Port Talbot Transition Board and Secretary of State for Wales, David TC Davies said, "Today Tata Steel have announced the end of the consultation period for workers impacted by their decision to move to greener steel-making. Of course this is an extremely concerning time for the workers and for the wider community.
The UK Government set up the Transition Board to help affected workers and met today in Port Talbot where partners agreed an overarching plan for how workers can best be supported.
Under the plans there will be funding for the retraining of steelworkers, support for businesses in the supply chain, and investment in regeneration projects in Port Talbot.
As soon as possible the Transition Board will move onto the next phase of our work and spend our £100m budget where we know it is needed.
TSUK currently employs directly more than 6500 employees in Wales and a further 1500 in the rest of the UK. The Welsh Government has worked closely with TSUK and the recognised steel trades unions for many years to safeguard these vital jobs and the long-term future of steel production in Wales.
As of 2023, Tata Steel UK Ltd. generated some 3.13 billion British pounds in revenue, almost the same as the previous year. Until 2021, the revenue figures mainly decreased, with the exception of 2018 and 2019, before soaring to 3.12 in 2022.
