Millions spent to help workers '“ and there could be more to come

Some £1.5m came from the Department for Business Innovation and Skills which also paid out £350,000 to map the impact on the supply chain.

UK Steel – part of Tata Steel – made £1.55million available for job creation.

480 Tata steel workers helped to retrain after redundancy

And the Local Enterprise Partnership paid out up to £4million to help supply chain businesses.

A £2.5million request for business support grants from Government from the LEP is still being considered.

Leader of Rotherham Council Chris Read said: “To date it has not been necessary to push the Government for the final part of the funding that was originally requested.

“However, given the continuing situation, we regularly revisit the funding arrangements and will of course return to press the Government for further funding if and when this is needed.

“We continue to work with city region partners and central government agencies to meet our commitment to companies in the Tata supply chain who have been affected by its restructuring.”

BIS cash paid for training and accreditation for steelworkers at further education colleges.

The original £9.9million support plan was put together by Rotherham Council supported by Sheffield City Region partners and Rotherham’s three MPs and submitted to Government in late December.

It combined locally-driven packages – such as training and development for those at risk – with a call for the Government to invest and give more support to the steel industry and others struggling to compete in the face of unfair imports, uncompetitive energy costs, business rates and the strong pound.

A local task force shaped the plan with input from Rotherham Council, the LEP, UK Steel Enterprise, Government agencies – including JobCentrePlus and the Skills Funding Agency – Barnsley and Rotherham Chamber of Commerce, trade unions and Tata Steel.

It included the creation of a Strategic Task Force to co-ordinate delivery, chaired by Chris Read.

He added: “We appreciate this has been a very difficult time for workers, their families, and supply businesses.

“The partners have been making every effort to help those affected by helping people find alternative jobs, access training, or simply highlighting new opportunities.”