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 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 £484 million for working capital,
covering items such as raw materials and salaries. This will be
reflected in the Department for Business and Trade's accounts for
both 2025-26 and 2026-27.
Next steps
A strong steel sector is essential to supporting our national
security, critical national infrastructure and highly skilled
jobs in communities across the country. This Government's steel
strategy sets out our long-term plan to revitalise the UK steel
sector, ensuring the competitiveness and viability of UK
steelmaking to sustain 40-50% of domestic demand being met by
domestic production and supporting key sectors including defence,
construction and clean energy.
Today, the Government will introduce a Bill to provide a route
for Government to bring steel companies or their operations into
public ownership, provided the public interest test in the
legislation is met. This will allow the Government to safeguard
domestic steelmaking capability in line with the steel strategy.
We do not take the decision to introduce the Bill lightly.
The Government has engaged in negotiations with the current owner
of British Steel regarding a commercial sale, but it has not been
possible to agree acceptable terms which would represent a
responsible use of public money. We want to see British Steel
play its part in in a revitalised steel sector, but it has not
been possible to agree this under its current ownership.
Given the information currently available to us, the Government
is strongly minded to use the powers in the Bill to bring British
Steel into public ownership in the future, subject to the public
interest being satisfied and taking into account all the relevant
facts at that time.
Safeguarding the long-term future of Britain's steel capability
and capacity is in our national interest. The Government believes
it is in the public interest to bring legislation which will give
Government the powers to nationalise British Steel. Bringing
British Steel into national ownership would allow the Government
to explore what future opportunities there may be for British
Steel including to modernise the site, deliver a transition to
decarbonised steelmaking at Scunthorpe, and provide stability for
workers, suppliers and customers.
The Government recognises that securing the long-term future of
the UK steel sector relies on both public and private investment
for modernisation. Delivering the best outcomes for taxpayers has
been, and will remain, a key priority for this Government.
