FURTHER to the comments from politicians on SSI steel money to aid Boulby Potash job losses.
On the face of it this looks very laudable.
However recalling the £80m given to aid the first steelmaking closure by Lord Peter Mandelson, when this money was divided out with little going to steel, one wonders if the same flexibility is allowed with this second tranche of aid money?
One also recalls shortly after the Redcar blast furnace closure in 2015 the council’s business support unit people being made redundant.
When it was suggested the steel aid money could have been used to save their jobs, so they could help redundant steelworkers find work with business start-ups, on a casual enquiry to a council regeneration officer, they said rules prevented such a move.
However, it’s fair to say this proposal of transferring steel aid money to potash job losses is more hands-on. Full marks must go to local MP Simon Clarke for asking the funding reallocation question in the House of Commons recently.
George Dunning, Ormesby
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