British Steel

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.