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 £555 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
The Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill has completed its
passage in the House of Commons and has entered the House of
Lords. 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.
