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An MP has accused Labour of neglecting former Tata Steel workers in Port Talbot after it emerged the UK Government cannot confirm how many of them have received retraining support.
Liz Saville Roberts, leader of Plaid Cymru in Westminster, said Freedom of Information (FOI) requests revealed that two government departments — the Wales Office and the Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government — had no data on how the £80 million support package to help 2,500 laid-off steelworkers is being used.
According to the FOI responses, the departments couldn’t say how many people had accessed the Employment and Skills Flexible Fund, how many grants were given, or whether any training providers received funding. Additionally, no funds were provided to the Community trade union or the Aberafan community support centre for reskilling support, including for workers in the plant’s supply chain.
The criticism follows the closure of the last two blast furnaces at the Port Talbot plant—one in July and the other in September—amid claims they were losing £1 million a day.
During Prime Minister’s Questions, Saville Roberts accused the government of valuing the livelihoods of Port Talbot workers less than those in Scunthorpe. She said the government’s failure to track the effectiveness of its retraining fund suggests that Labour has abandoned workers in South Wales.
In response, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer defended Labour’s efforts, noting that while in opposition, he engaged directly with Tata to delay decisions and secure improved redundancy terms, including a minimum voluntary payout of £15,000. He pointed out that £80 million had been set aside to support retraining for affected workers and those in related industries.
Tata Steel plans to build a new £1.25 billion electric arc furnace on-site, which will produce lower-emission steel and received planning approval in February. It is expected to be operational by 2028.
However, Saville Roberts later criticized Starmer’s response, calling it vague and inadequate. She argued that Labour missed a critical window of time to act, especially between January—when the first furnace closed—and September, when the second was shut down. She accused the government of showing clear bias in favor of Scunthorpe over South Wales.
Ian Ross, CEO of Whitehead-Ross Education, a training provider in South Wales, echoed concerns, saying the government’s lack of transparency and delayed action in Port Talbot stands in stark contrast to its swift response in Scunthorpe.
