Fund will help steelworkers affected by job losses

A caller authorities money has been announced to assistance steelworkers affected by occupation losses to commencement up caller businesses.

Ministers said the purpose is to assistance steelworkers and their families successful the Port Talbot country of South Wales affected by caller occupation cuts astatine the elephantine Tata site.

Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens said determination volition beryllium different £13 cardinal of enactment from a modulation committee acceptable up pursuing the occupation cuts.

It volition supply non-repayable grants of up to £10,000 for workers, families and businesses affected by the closure of the blast furnaces astatine the Port Talbot plant.

It was besides announced that 2 much caller enactment schemes volition beryllium launched targeted astatine firms successful the Port Talbot country and businesses successful the Tata proviso chain, with non-payable grants of £2,500-£250,000 available.

Jo Stevens said: “As a Government we are determined the Transition Board delivers for the steelworkers of Port Talbot, for the region’s businesses and for the community.

“This remains a truly hard clip for workers successful Port Talbot and their families.

“Many of them volition person aspirations to acceptable up their ain businesses oregon go aforesaid employed and the £13 cardinal released contiguous volition supply captious backing for them to marque their plans a reality.

“We said we would backmost workers and businesses affected by the modulation astatine Port Talbot and we are doing truthful with much than £26 cardinal announced since July.”

Welsh Government Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning, Rebecca Evans said: “We proceed to enactment with the UK Government and section partners to guarantee that our targeted enactment has the broadest and deepest affirmative interaction connected those affected by the modulation to an electrical arc furnace successful Port Talbot.

“Speaking to galore crossed the section community, I cognize what a quality extending disposable backing to contiguous household volition make.

“This is portion of our committedness to doing everything wrong our powerfulness to enactment businesses, households and communities to bounce backmost and guarantee that Port Talbot and the surrounding country continues its arrogant past arsenic a captious cog successful the Welsh economy.”

Neath Port Talbot assembly leader, Steve Hunt said: “I keenly invited the announcement of these backing packages to enactment some start-ups and existing businesses crossed our community.

“The steelworks person been a lynchpin for our system for implicit a period and truthful changes connected this standard interaction not lone directly-affected workers astatine Tata Steel, but galore different intimately connected companies.”