Written Statements

Wednesday 10th December 2025 Written Statements

Wednesday 10 December 2025

British Steel

Wednesday 10th December 2025 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business and Trade (Chris McDonald)]

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 £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 remain 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 overcapacity. To protect our domestic sector, we are prioritising developing robust measures in the light of the UK steel safeguard expiring during 2026, making sure there are healthy levels of imports, and engaging with our partners. We will therefore publish the steel strategy in early 2026.

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National Youth Strategy

Wednesday 10th December 2025 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Lisa Nandy)]

For too long, young people have not been sufficiently part of decisions that affect their current and future lives, not just at a national level but in every part of Government. We are determined to change this, building a future where young people are in the driving seat. Young people are not a problem to be solved but a powerful asset for our nation’s future.

In November last year, we announced the development of a new, ambitious direction for young people to begin that change. Today, we have published “Youth Matters: Your National Youth Strategy”, our cross-Government plan for the next decade to give young people a safe place to go, someone who cares for them and a community they feel a part of. We have two clear ambitions underpinning this plan. By 2035, we want

to have halved the participation gap in enriching activities between disadvantaged young people and their peers; and

half a million more young people to have access to a trusted adult outside of their home.

Over the past year, we have co-produced this strategy with young people from very different places and backgrounds and ran one of the biggest national conversations the Government have had with young people. We heard about the challenges that they face regarding their education, health, safety, relationships, community engagement and many more. Their insights and priorities are captured in our landmark “Youth Matters: State of the Nation” report, published alongside the strategy. We have also worked closely with our Youth Advisory Group and our Expert Advisory Group, and I thank them for all of their help in ensuring we respond to young people’s priorities and to the youth sector’s needs.

Through our strategy, we will give young people the spaces and opportunities they need to connect with their peers, with trusted adults and with their communities. It is the beginning of ambitious reforms in national and local youth policy, with three key shifts in how we will deliver for and with young people over the next decade: from national to local, from fragmented to collaborative, and from excluded to empowered.

The most devastating consequence of local cuts to youth provision over the last decade were the services that were lost, the youth clubs that were shut, and the trusted relationships that were broken and lifelines lost. So our work starts with rebuilding a strong, sustainable youth sector. We will invest £15 million over the next three years in the youth workers, volunteers and other trusted adults who listen to young people and guide them through life. We will also launch a £70 million programme over the next three years to help local areas better support young people and develop a network of up to 50 Young Futures hubs by March 2029. We have already chosen the first eight early adopter locations that will establish a hub to meet the support needs of local young people.

Building on that, we will enable young people to have access to more and better activities which support their wellbeing and their socioemotional skills. As a first step, we will be spending £350 million over the next four years through our better youth spaces programme to refurbish or build up to 250 youth facilities in areas that need one most. We will also create a new richer young lives fund with over £60 million of funding to create more high-quality fun activities and youth work opportunities in areas that need them most.

This strategy is a fully cross-Government plan which outlines our immediate and longer-term choices to help young people get good jobs, keep them safe in our streets and online, support their mental and physical health and many other priorities.

It builds on wider reforms to the education skills system with a target of two-thirds of young people participating in higher-level learning—academic, technical, or an apprenticeship—by age 25. It also builds on recent announcements, such as the publication of the child poverty strategy which will see the largest reduction in child poverty in a single Parliament as well as the investment of £1.5 billion through the Youth Guarantee and the Growth and Skills Levy—creating 50,000 more apprenticeships and foundation apprenticeships for young people over the next three years.

We will engage with partners within and outside the Government to deliver our plan and we call on parents and carers, youth providers, volunteers, teachers, local authorities, health providers, police officers, employers and countless more to work with us.

This publication is just the start. For too long, young people have been an afterthought when it comes to decision making. Yet the success of the nation depends on their success. We have an opportunity to unlock the potential of a generation and this is our promise to them.

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Fishing Opportunities Agreement 2026

Wednesday 10th December 2025 Written Statements

[The Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs (Dame Angela Eagle)]

The UK has reached agreement with the EU, Norway and other coastal states on catch opportunities for shared stocks for 2026. Across negotiations so far, the UK has secured agreement on over 80 total allowable catches—TACs—providing access to more than 520,000 tonnes of fishing opportunities for 2026, worth an estimated £830 million based on historic landing prices.

Additionally, the UK participated in multilateral consultations, reaching agreement on sustainable fishing opportunities and marine conservation management measures through the North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission, ICCAT—the international commission for the conservation of Atlantic tunas—and the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation, and updating the United Nations General Assembly resolution on sustainable fisheries.

We have set annual catch limits that are informed by the best available scientific advice, predominantly that provided by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea—ICES. The scientific advice for 2026 creates a challenging sustainability picture, with many stocks receiving declining advice—compared with 2025—or advice for zero catches, particularly in demersal mixed fisheries. We have therefore agreed new technical, remedial and management measures through these negotiations to reduce fishing pressure and support long-term sustainability.

In these negotiations the UK Government worked closely with the Scottish Government, Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive to secure outcomes that deliver on our domestic and international obligations to improve the sustainable management of our fish stocks for the long-term in support of the whole of the UK fishing industry.

UK-EU bilateral negotiations

The UK has secured fishing opportunities of 150,000 tonnes, worth around £430 million based on historic landing prices, through agreement on over 70 TACs as well as agreement on arrangements for non-quota stocks. Compared with the same stocks in 2025, this is similar in volume and £20 million higher in value. The small increase is primarily due to higher catch limits for North sea nephrops and sole. Most catch limits are the same as in 2025 or have declined, largely driven by the scientific advice.

We have set TAC positions above ICES headline advice for 18 stocks as part of our final negotiated position this year. This includes bycatch-only TACs for severely depleted stocks in mixed fisheries. The Government will publish early in 2026 a full assessment of the number of TACs set consistent with ICES advice across all annual negotiations.

In recognition of the depleted status of stocks this year, we have reduced the tonnage for some bycatch TACs and agreed new technical measures to reduce bycatch of vulnerable cod, haddock, whiting, place and sole stocks in the Celtic sea, Irish sea and channel.

The UK and EU have agreed to balance increases for the pollack and seabass fisheries with a cautious approach that aims to support long-term sustainability. For example, we have agreed to introduce a new mandatory bag limit for the pollack recreational fishery. This complements the voluntary measures already in place and aims to further reduce mortality of this stock.

The UK and EU also made commitments to work together through the Specialised Committee on Fisheries in 2026 to address management challenges and promote long-term sustainability of shared stocks. This includes continuing to review management approaches for skates and rays, monitoring behaviour change in the seabass fishery, and exploring options for a minimum conservation reference size for spurdog. The UK and EU also agreed to continue to work together through the SCF to support ICES in improving the science base for a number of stocks, including Rockall cod—to improve the quality of the biomass assessment in area 6b—mixing horse mackerel stocks in area 7e, and sole in area 7hjk.

For non-quota stocks, the UK and the EU agreed a roll-over of access arrangements for 2026 to ensure continued access to fish NQS in EU waters, worth around £25 million in 2024.

The parties also agreed a roll-over of access arrangements for spurdog in the North sea and albacore tuna.

UK-EU-Norway trilateral negotiations

The UK has also reached agreement with Norway and the EU on catch limits for 2026 for six jointly managed North sea stocks, giving the UK fishing fleet access to opportunities worth over £380 million, based on historic landing prices.

TACs for haddock, saithe, whiting and plaice have been set in line with, or below, the headline advice from ICES.

For northern shelf cod, the parties agreed that a multi-year approach was required to reduce fishing pressure, increase biomass and recover the sub-stocks to MSY levels as soon as possible. For 2026 the UK, along with the EU and Norway, agreed to introduce additional seasonal closures and update real time closure regimes, as well as introduce new restrictions on targeting of cod in the southern North sea. This enables a 2026 TAC which is projected by ICES to lead to biomass increases and which secures fishing opportunities that recognise the social and economic importance of cod in the mixed fishery. In the longer-term, the UK has committed to further work through the trilateral forum, much of which is to be led by the northern shelf cod management working group which the UK currently chairs.

For North sea herring, after many years of discussions on changing the management model for the stock, the UK, EU and Norway have agreed a new approach which includes the implementation of a long-term management strategy. This issue has been a UK priority for many years, and this new management regime, in place from January 2026, is expected to deliver sustainability improvements for the stock.

The parties renewed their commitment to deliver LTMSs for their other shared stocks. The parties also agreed to discussions in 2026 on moving the management of northern shelf anglerfish—monkfish—and the northern hake stock to a joint basis, and they further committed to continuing to progress their joint work on the monitoring, control and surveillance of their shared stocks.

Coastal states negotiations

The UK has reached agreement with other coastal states on fishing opportunities for blue whiting and Norwegian spring-spawning—Atlanto-Scandian—herring in the north-east Atlantic in 2026. These opportunities are worth an estimated £20 million to the UK fleet, based on 2024 landing prices. TACs for these two stocks have been agreed in line with ICES advice. Discussions on the 2026 TAC for mackerel, and associated management measures, are ongoing among coastal states.

North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission

The UK worked with other parties to secure new monitoring, control and surveillance measures. This included taking steps to bring the NEAFC scheme into alignment with guidelines published by the food and agriculture organisation of the United Nations on at-sea transhipment.

ICCAT—the international commission for the conservation of Atlantic tunas

The UK secured an increase from 63 tonnes to 230.65 tonnes of bluefin tuna per year for 2026 to 2028. The quota will enable the further development of commercial and recreational bluefin tuna fisheries in the UK and Crown dependencies from 2026 to 2028. DEFRA will share plans regarding these fisheries with interested parties soon.

The UK also secured a range of objectives to promote more sustainable fishing of Atlantic tunas, support economic growth and protect the environment. We secured adoption of a UK proposal to prohibit retention of white shark and basking shark, affording greater protection to these iconic species. ICCAT also adopted strengthened port state measures, based on a UK proposal, to help in the fight against illegal fishing. Although a UK proposal to help reduce bycatch of endangered seabirds was not adopted, we will continue to fight for this at ICCAT in 2026-27.

Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation

The UK agreed a TAC for NAFO division 3M cod, in line with scientific advice. This provides the UK with a quota of 1431.6 tonnes for 2026, a 22% increase over last year. The Canadian-set TAC for NAFO 3L cod also increased for 2025-26, providing the UK with a quota of 40.4 tonnes. Together this provides the UK with around £5 million-worth of fishing opportunities, based on historic landing prices.

UN General Assembly resolution on sustainable fisheries

The UK contributed to updating and strengthening the content of the UN General Assembly resolution on sustainable fisheries. Seven of the UK’s proposals were progressed this year, consistent with our overarching aim of improving global fisheries governance and sustainability. These included securing references to the latest findings from the food and agriculture organisation regarding the status of global fish stocks, and new text to help reduce or eliminate seabird bycatch, and improve the management of fisheries catching sharks.

UK-Norway and UK-Faroe Islands bilateral negotiations

Bilateral negotiations between the UK and Norway and the UK and the Faroe Islands for 2026 are ongoing. Our aim is to conclude those before the end of the year. These negotiations are to agree access, exchanges of fishing quota, and broader fisheries management measures between the parties.

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Motor Insurance Taskforce Report

Wednesday 10th December 2025 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Transport (Heidi Alexander)]

Today the Economic Secretary to the Treasury and I are pleased to publish the final report of the cross-Government taskforce on motor insurance.

On entering office, this Government were committed to tackling the soaring cost of motor insurance. Motor insurance provides peace of mind and financial security for millions of drivers, but the cost of premiums has become a real concern in recent years, impacting household budgets and, in some cases, limiting personal mobility and life chances.

This Government’s commitment to kickstart economic growth and break down barriers to opportunities as part of our plan for change reinforced our commitment to act.

Since it was formed in October 2024, the taskforce has worked across Departments and with our independent regulators to understand this complex market and to agree a set of actions that aims to stabilise and reduce the premiums paid by drivers.

Across Government, Departments will continue their efforts to address the broader factors that contribute to the cost of claims, such as vehicle theft and the cost of repairs. This includes efforts to tackle vehicle-related crime, continue to make our roads safer and work closely with industry to encourage innovation in new vehicle technologies, driving efficiencies and reducing costs.

As well as setting out the actions Departments and regulators are taking, the report also explores the characteristics of the UK’s motor insurance market. It acknowledges that the market is strongly competitive and innovative, and has faced real and increased costs to serve motorists in recent years.

The taskforce would like to acknowledge the support and insight of the stakeholder panel, representing both consumers and the motor and insurance industries, and the insight of our colleagues in the Devolved Administrations. Their perspectives have been vital as we have sought to capture the needs and concerns of people and firms across the UK.

The taskforce’s work has now concluded. Over the coming months, the Government will continue its work to deliver against the actions set out in the report.

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