Valerie asks a question on regional growth at BIS questions

I asked a question to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on Tuesday 2 February 2016.

Valerie Vaz (Walsall South) (Lab): “One hundred and twenty thousand companies in the west midlands are linked to the steel industry. Will the right hon. Gentleman say what steps he is taking to preserve those skills for future growth?”

Sajid Javid: “The hon. Lady is right to raise the issue of skills in that industry. The first thing is to do everything we can to help it. Of course, the crisis has inevitably led to job losses, but the measures I referred to earlier will help to protect some of those jobs. We are also talking to a number of companies in the supply chain to see what we can do with skills training to ensure that those skills are transferable.”

The Government needs to take active measures to ensure that these skills are put to future use; this is important for those in the steel industry and the economy as a whole.