Minister for Industry (): The Government committed
to updating Parliament on British Steel every four sitting weeks
for the duration of the period of special measures being applied
under the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act 2025 (“The Act”).
The Government's priority remains to maintain the safe operation
of the blast furnaces at British Steel. Government officials are
continuing to provide on-site support in Scunthorpe, ensuring
uninterrupted domestic steel production and monitoring the use of
taxpayer funds.
On funding, the position remains that all government funding for
British Steel will be drawn from existing budgets, within the
spending envelope set out at spring statement 2025. To date, we
have provided approximately £274 million for working capital,
covering items such as raw materials, salaries, and addressing
unpaid bills, including for SMEs in the supply chain. This will
be reflected in the Department for Business and Trade's accounts
for 2025-26.
The impact assessment relating to the Act has been submitted and
is currently awaiting review by the Regulatory Policy Committee.
It will be published in due course following their scrutiny. We
are also continuing work on the introduction of a compensation
scheme for steel undertakings in scope of the Act.
We continue to work with Jingye to find a pragmatic, realistic
solution for the future of British Steel. As we have stated
previously, our long-term aspiration for the company will require
co-investment with the private sector to enable modernisation and
decarbonisation, safeguard taxpayers' money and retain
steelmaking in Scunthorpe. Once a solution is found, we will
terminate the directions issued to British Steel under the Act
and make a statement on the need to retain, or repeal, the
legislation.
Steel Strategy
The Government remains committed to supporting the UK steel
sector and delivering a steel strategy. A robust position on
trade is a critical element of this strategy, underpinning our
approach to defending against unfair practices and global
over-capacity. We are prioritising developing robust measures in
light of the UK steel safeguard expiring during 2026 to protect
our domestic sector, making sure there are healthy levels of
imports, and engaging with our partners. We will therefore
publish the steel strategy in early 2026.
