It’s time for the Government to address the sky-high industrial energy costs which affect the UK steel industry.

I recently questioned Ministers at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) following UK Steel’s recent “The Energy Price Scandal” report, which highlighted the growing disparity between industrial energy prices in the UK and key competitors in Europe.

In response to my questions, BEIS Ministers stated that the Government “recognises that industrial energy prices are currently higher than those in some competitor economies” and is looking carefully at UK Steel’s proposal as it looks to develop a ‘package of relief’ for key energy intensive industries.

We now have a situation where UK steelmakers are facing electricity prices that are twice those of French counterparts and 50% more than German steel producers. We need Ministers to urgently address the issue of energy costs for energy-intensive industries which play such a key role in our economy, including in my constituency of Newport East.

In their response to my questions, Ministers told me that the ability of industries to be able to compete across Europe and globally is a priority for them. It’s now time for them to back up these warm words with effective action.