Tata Steel crisis: Sajid Javid returns from Australia trip and bids to ‘achieve a long-term solution’ for the industry
Business Secretary faces calls to resign as it emerges he planned to take holiday as crisis threatened thousands of jobs
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Your support makes all the difference.Sajid Javid, the Business Secretary and rising star of the Tory Party, has faced calls to resign after it emerged he planned to take a holiday in Australia while the UK’s steel industry faced crisis and the loss of thousands of jobs.
Mr Javid took his daughter with him on an official visit to Australia this week, and planned to extend the trip into a holiday, it has emerged.
His trip coincided with the crunch Tata board meeting in Mumbai, which led to the steel giant’s decision to sell its UK business.
The Business Secretary cut short his trip to Sydney, for which he paid his daughter’s costs, after Tata’s announcement. He will visit the steelworks at Port Talbot in Wales on Friday, where he will face difficult meetings with workers and management. The plant is facing up to 4,000 job losses, with many more jobs in related industries also at risk.
The plant’s local MP, Labour’s Stephen Kinnock, said that given the “magnitude” of the threat to UK steel production, and suggestions his trip was not for “entirely work-related reasons”, Mr Javid should “consider his position”.
The Government has confirmed that it will appoint independent advisors to help Tata find a buyer for its UK business.
“I’m going to Port Talbot to meet staff and management, who are understandably extremely anxious about their future,” Mr Javid said. “I will listen to them, and I want to reassure them myself that the Government is on their side in working hard to achieve a long-term solution for them, for the region and for the wider UK steel industry.
“While we can’t change the status of the global steel market, we can and are playing a positive role in securing a sustainable future.”
Mr Kinnock was in Mumbai earlier in the week with Community union leader Roy Rickhuss to lobby Tata to back a rescue plan for Port Talbot.
“We have known for months that 29 March was going to be D-Day for the British steel industry, with up to 40,000 jobs on the line,” he said.
“The Business Secretary was not even in the country – he chose to jet off to Australia. He should have been in Mumbai with me and Roy Rickhuss.
“I really wonder whether, if they had steelworks in Oxfordshire, would we have this level of disengagement?”
The future of UK steel: The options
Find a buyer
Business minister Anna Soubry has said “the dream” solution would be finding a successful buyer. But Tata says it is losing £1m a day in its UK operations following a collapse in the price of steel products, making it a risky prospect for interested parties.
Government loans for buyer
The Government could step in and provide a loan to a potential buyer to make the purchase more attractive.
Temporary public ownership
The Government could play the middle man in the sale of Tata’s assets and help to find a suitable buyer. This would involve taking temporary ownership of the business before selling it on.
Tax relief
A range of tax breaks could also be considered to make the purchase more attractive.
Nationalise the steel industry
Despite cries for the Government to nationalise the steel industry, it has been ruled out by the Prime Minister David Cameron following a meeting with ministers.
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