Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which official engagements he has undertaken in Redcar since May 2015.

My Rt hon Friend the Member for Bromsgrove (Sajid Javid) visited Redcar on 2 October 2015 following the announcement of the liquidation of Sahaviriya Steel Industries UK (SSI).

The then Secretary of State announced a support package worth up to £80 million for former employees affected by the closure. He was accompanied by the then Minister for Small Businesses, Industry and Enterprise, Anna Soubry.

The Minister for Small Businesses, Industry and Enterprise then attended the Redcar taskforce on 21 March 2016.

In his previous role as Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, my Rt hon Friend met the Mayor and Leaders of the five Tees Valley authorities on the following dates: 15 July 2015 (a joint meeting with James Wharton), 23 March 2016, 7 June 2016 (to launch Lord Heseltine’s report Tees Valley: opportunity unlimited) and 12 July 2016. These were regular catch-up meetings, which took place in Westminster.