Team Blitz India
NEW DELHI: The Tata Steel / Port Talbot Transition Board met for the second time recently, at the company’s Port Talbot site, where it agreed to establish two sub-groups for People, Skills, and Business; and for Place and Regeneration.
The sub-groups will mobilise local partners to gather information on a range of support programmes and recommend courses of actions to the board on which the £100m can be invested to build resilience and confidence in Port Talbot and affected areas, according to a press release from the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales.
David TC Davies, Secretary of State for Wales chairs the Transition Board, while Vaughan Gething, Minister for the Economy of Wales, and Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, are deputy chairs, it stated.
The Board members include Nusrat Ghani, Minister for Industry and Economic Security; Henrik Adam, Chair of Tata Steel UK; Rajesh Nair, Chief Executive Officer of Tata Steel UK; Cllr Steve Hunt, Leader of Neath Port Talbot Council; Stephen Kinnock, MP for Aberavon; and David Rees, MS for Aberavon. The Board also welcomed two new independent members, Katherine Bennett CBE and Anne Jessopp. Representatives from the trade unions also attend.
The next meeting of the board will be held early next year. “I am pleased that the UK Government has been able to find a way to ensure that steel continues to be produced in South Wales,” said a statement from Davies.
“However, it is vital that we do everything possible to support people who may be impacted as a result of Tata’s decision,” it added. Tata Steel announced proposals in September to invest £1.25 billion, including a UK Government grant worth up to £500 million, to enable greener steel production at Port Talbot. A Transition Board to support the people, businesses and communities affected by the proposed transition to low-CO2 steelmaking, was established in October.
The Transition Board will have access to up to £100 million to invest in skills and regeneration programmes for the local area. It will focus on: Immediate support for the people, businesses and communities directly affected by the proposed transition to low-CO2 steelmaking at Port Talbot; and A plan for local regeneration and economic growth for the next decade.
