You can read my original statement on the talks here.
I promised to update residents as soon as I was able to on the situation at the steelworks. The good news is that the Government and British Steel are still continuing their conversations and they both remain committed to doing so. Residents will understand that there is only so much the parties involved can say at this stage and these things take time but Government have confirmed that they are still at the table and British Steel have confirmed that they will maintain operations whilst negotiations are ongoing. I’m pleased that we are still seeing co-operation and good will - this is crucial.
Of course, we still have a lot of work to do! The Government has consistently shown support for the steel industry from maintaining safeguards to paying the wages of steel workers in our area. Over £780 million of support had gone into steel in the last 10 years.
This is such an important issue for us locally and as someone who has lived in North Lincs my entire life and grown up the granddaughter of steelworker, I know how important this for the entire local economy. I want to reassure residents that I’m not going to let up on this and that I am continuing to work with the Government and British Steel to reach a solution!