Peer challenges Government over future of INEOS plants at Saltend
‘TIME FOR ACTION’: Lord McCobb
By Simon Bristow, Co-Editor
Liberal Democrat Peer Lord McCobb has challenged the Government to step in and secure the restart of the three INEOS acetyls plants at Saltend Chemicals Park, which were mothballed last month.
INEOS halted production at all three plants in late September, blaming UK gas prices that chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe said are “12 times the level in the US and eight times that of China”.
About 300 people work at the site, with about 4,000 more skilled jobs across the Humber supply chain reported to depend on it.
In a written question in the House of Lords, Lord McCobb has asked the Government:
What steps it is taking to secure the restart of the three INEOS acetyls plants at Saltend.
Whether it will convene a meeting in Hull between Ministers, INEOS, the leaders of Hull and East Riding councils, local MPs and trades unions to make that happen.
Lord McCobb is also pressing Ministers to say how much of the £350m in support for chemicals producers they have cited in response will actually reach Saltend.
Lord McCobb said: “Twenty-four years as a local councillor in Hull showed me just how vital good, secure jobs are for families all across the city and beyond. Hundreds of those jobs are at Saltend, with thousands more across the Humber depending on them.
“Ministers need to come to Hull and sit round the table with INEOS, our council leaders, our MPs and the unions, and agree a plan to get these plants working again. Pointing to support schemes from Westminster is not the same as making sure the support actually arrives.
“I came into Parliament to put Hull and East Yorkshire’s case directly to the Government. This is that case, and I'll keep making it until Ministers give Saltend’s workers the fair deal they deserve.”
Councillor Mike Ross, the Lib Dem leader of Hull City Council, said: “Saltend jobs matter to families right across Hull and the East Riding. We are ready to work with anyone to get these plants restarted, and we need the Government to show up and play its part.”
Graham Stuart, Conservative MP for Beverley and Holderness, is also calling for Ministers to act, saying there had been a week of “silence” after local leaders sent a cross-party letter to Prime Minister Andy Burnham seeking an “urgent rescue plan”.
He said: “The Government has not responded in a week while a major local and national business is mothballing, putting direct and supply chain jobs at risk.
“We heard great things from Andy Burnham and his Ministers at the Labour conference, but that rhetoric is not translating into action.
“There is cross-party support for action but the Government has not said anything, despite wanting good growth in every postcode. Well, in Saltend’s postcode, there will not be growth without Government action.
“Ministers must urgently convene a meeting with INEOS and regional representatives to stop this temporary mothballing from becoming a permanent closure.”