Labour MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, Tom Blenkinsop, has yesterday (4th April 2016) branded the decision by Air Products to end its ‘Energy-from-Waste’ business ‘another blow for the Teesside economy’.
Tom said:
“The news that Air Products is to ‘write off’ its Teesside energy from waste developments is the latest part of the crisis that is sweeping the UK’s industrial sector.
“I will be in contact with TVU to help seek assurances from Air Products that they are looking to find a sustainable, long-term buyer who can continue with this project and that they are not just looking to scrap the whole plant, which is nearly complete.
“I have long called for the taskforce which was set up to help SSI workers who were made redundant last year to be extended and given extra government funding to cover those who have been made redundant from other industrial sector jobs, such as the recent redundancies at Cleveland Potash in Boulby and workers let go in the oil and gas sector. I will be asking the government for extra funding to do this, again.
“There are serious questions the Minister for the Northern Powerhouse must answer. Since James Wharton received his title from Prime Minister David Cameron, the North East industrial sector has lost thousands of jobs. Workers at SSI in Redcar, miners at Cleveland Potash in Boulby, workers at Caparo in Hartlepool and now workers at Air Products in Billingham have all been failed by the Government’s lack of an industrial strategy. This is largely down to a long-term inertia and drift in Government policy. Empty slogans such as the ‘Northern Powerhouse’ are no replacement for genuine well thought and planned government industrial engagement.”