Lord Redwood
To ask His Majesty’s Government when they will publish a business plan for British Steel.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business and Trade (Lord Leong) (Lab)
My Lords, on 16 July the Government took decisive action to nationalise British Steel, safeguarding our sovereign steel-making capability and skilled jobs. In September, we appointed Alan Lovell, an experienced business turnaround specialist, as chair. He and a new board are developing a credible transformation plan to secure British Steel’s long-term competitiveness and commercial sustainability. Key decisions are expected in the coming months and we anticipate publishing the plan once it has been agreed.
Lord Redwood (Con)
I am grateful to the Minister. When will the two ageing blast furnaces need to shut down for deep maintenance? What progress has been made with the development of plans for an electric arc furnace?
Lord Leong (Lab)
My Lords, maintaining safe and reliable blast furnace operations is an immediate priority. However, decisions on major maintenance and necessary shutdowns will be guided by detailed engineering assessments and operational requirements. The new board is also assessing future steel-making technologies, including electric arc furnaces, as part of its transformation plan. No final investment decision has been announced. Our priority is to preserve sovereign steel-making capability while securing a commercially viable, competitive and sustainable future for British Steel.
Lord Fox (LD)
My Lords, the noble Lord is right to ask this Question because a huge amount of public money is going out to British Steel every day. It does not take a report or a plan to improve what the business is doing. Things can be done day to day. It is important for your Lordships to understand what is happening now and how it is happening. It would behove the Minister to put a detailed report before your Lordships’ House so that we can assess the progress and the thinking behind British Steel.
Lord Leong (Lab)
My Lords, the Government stepped in to preserve this strategic steel-making capacity, but taxpayer support cannot substitute for commercial viability indefinitely. Britain needs its own steel industry to support defence, manufacturing, infrastructure, economic security and skilled jobs. As I said previously, the new board under Alan Lovell must set out a credible plan to profitability, with clear investment priorities, operational improvements and measurable milestones, and we will publish his plan in due course.
Baroness O'Grady of Upper Holloway (Lab)
My Lords, after years of uncertainty, underinvestment and unfair competition, steelworkers and their communities will welcome this Government’s strategy and action. However, will my noble friend consider strengthening the procurement framework to include private companies that receive government support—in the form of government grants, subsidies or loans—so that every penny of taxpayers’ money, where possible, is used to protect jobs?
Lord Leong (Lab)
My noble friend is absolutely right. I will support her point in ensuring that our businesses have a fair chance in procuring anything that is up for procurement by British Steel. We must ensure that our businesses up and down the country have a fair chance of securing those contracts.
Lord Lamont of Lerwick (Con)
My Lords, we all understand the wish and the need to protect jobs at Scunthorpe, but given that there are many more people employed in steel-using industries than in the steel production industry, was it wise for the Government to try to boost British Steel by introducing protectionist measures, reducing quotas and increasing tariffs on products that are widely used by the wider economy in this country? Is it not extraordinary, as the Public Accounts Committee pointed out, that some of the tariffs apply to goods that are not and could not be manufactured in this country and, of necessity, have to be imported? How does that help jobs?
Lord Leong (Lab)
My Lords, I say again that we must support British steel-making while protecting the thousands of businesses that rely on competitively priced steel. Tariffs, CBAM and emissions policies should be proportionate, carefully calibrated and mindful of downstream manufacturers. Equally, taxpayer investment must ensure commercial sustainability and not permanent subsidy.
Lord Cryer (Lab)
My Lords, contrary to what has just been said, could my noble friend say something more about how the Government can strengthen British Steel’s position with regard to the flood of very cheap imports coming into the country at the moment that are threatening British jobs?
Lord Leong (Lab)
My noble friend is absolutely right. British steel-makers must compete on a fair and level playing field, but we must recognise the serious challenges created by global overcapacity, unfair subsidies and artificially cheap imports. The Government will use all appropriate trade remedies in line with our international obligations to protect British industry from unfair competition. Strengthening domestic demand through infrastructure, investment and procurement opportunities is equally important. Our ambition is therefore very clear. British Steel should have every opportunity to compete, invest and succeed.
Lord Watts (Lab)
My Lords, is it not the case that we had 14 years of no action by the last Tory Government, while it has taken this Government a few months to get a credible plan together? Is it not a bit ironic that a party that did nothing for 14 years should criticise us?
Lord Leong (Lab)
I thank my noble friend for that. Again, a strong steel sector is essential for our economic growth, national security and supporting highly skilled jobs right across the country. In March, we published the UK’s first ever steel strategy, a long-term plan to stabilise and rebuild the sector, attract new investment and position the UK as a world leader in clean, modern steel production.
Lord Hunt of Wirral (Con)
My Lords, our national debt has now exceeded £3 trillion. While this is happening, as the noble Lord, Lord Fox, pointed out, the Government have spent, on the Minister’s own admission, £671 million of taxpayers’ money on British Steel, yet there is still no credible published plan to make the company financially sustainable. Will he please answer my noble friend Lord Lamont’s question? The Government have imposed a 50% tariff above sharply reduced steel quotas, putting jobs in our downstream steel-using industries at risk. My question is simple: when will the Government finally produce a serious, costed plan for British Steel that protects both the taxpayer and jobs across the whole steel supply chain?
Lord Leong (Lab)
First, to correct the noble Lord, the Government have provided £751 million since April 2025 in working capital to support British Steel. That funding has allowed British Steel to continue its operation right across its sites and to maintain steel production and supplies to customers. As I said earlier, we have appointed Alan Lovell as chair. I am sure the noble Lord will agree that he and his board of directors, who are known for their turnaround specialism, will produce a plan in due course, which, hopefully, will address the noble Lord’s question.
Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (GP)
My Lords, the UK exports 8 million tonnes of scrap steel every year, which is about 75% of the scrap steel generated in the country. Most of that goes to countries with far lower environmental standards than ours. Does the Minister agree that that figure should be reduced to zero as far as possible—for many reasons, such as jobs, environment and ensuring that we have the steel we need?
Lord Leong (Lab)
Let me address the point head-on. We have to reconcile the need to maintain primary steel-making with maintaining our net-zero commitment. The move to cleaner steel-making presents a significant opportunity for British industry, but it must be commercially realistic and protect our strategic capabilities. We want Britain to remain a steel-making nation, producing the steel needed for infrastructure, manufacturing and clean energy in the future.
Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Con)
My Lords, I want to correct the record for the noble Lord opposite, who suggested that the Conservative Party did very little to help the steel industry. In fact, we put £500 million into the Port Talbot steelworks, enabling it to transition to an electric arc furnace. I would also like to correct the noble Baroness, Lady Bennett of Manor Castle, because that electric arc furnace will reuse second-hand steel in order to preserve the steel industry for this country.
Lord Leong (Lab)
I do not think that I said that the Conservatives did not support British Steel. I said that we have published our first-ever steel strategy, providing a long-term plan to stabilise and rebuild the sector so that we can attract inward investment and position the UK as a world leader in clean, modern steel production.