Asked by: Lord Redwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to publish a business plan for British Steel.
Answered by Lord Leong - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
As set out in the Written Ministerial Statement on 16 July 2026, the Government is putting in place a new Board of Directors for British Steel Limited, who will bring extensive commercial and industrial expertise to support the company and management in stabilising operations and moving the firm on from its current poor commercial position. The Board will be responsible for developing a plan to transform British Steel into a commercially and environmentally sustainable steelmaking enterprise. It will be the responsibility of the Board to determine if and when any strategic plans should be published.
Asked by: Lord Redwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they held with Jingye to agree terms of nationalisation of British Steel.
Answered by Lord Leong - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
We have been in discussions since 2023 with Jingye about how to deliver a sustainable future for British Steel and since April 2025 regarding Jingye’s proposal to sell British Steel to HMG. Since we tabled our proposal earlier this year we met a number of times to discuss a pathway to resolution. We agreed with Jingye that our discussions should remain confidential.
Asked by: Lord Redwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what due diligence they conducted regarding the environmental, employee, trading, and general business liabilities of British Steel before acquisition.
Answered by Lord Leong - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The Government undertook proportionate due diligence before acquisition, drawing on information available through engagement with British Steel during the intervention under the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act 2025. This included assessment of potential environmental liabilities, consideration of employee-related obligations and potential liabilities, and general business liabilities. The extent of some liabilities will depend on the future operational plans for the site. The Government's assessment, based on the relevant factors including cost considerations, is that it is necessary in the public interest to nationalise British Steel Limited.
Asked by: Lord Redwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they acquired the debts and borrowings of British Steel as part of nationalisation.
Answered by Lord Leong - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The Schedule of the transfer Regulations (S.I. 2026/832) laid on 16th July defines the property, rights and liabilities excluded from the transfer, meaning they remain the property, rights and liabilities of the transferor. These include but are not limited to any liabilities owed to, or relating to liabilities owed to undertakings within the same corporate group as the transferor. Certain unsecured liabilities owed to third parties are also excluded. The Government has acknowledged the duty to bring forward compensation scheme regulations to allow an independent valuer to determine whether or not compensation is payable.
Asked by: Lord Redwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much additional debt, if any, the UK has acquired through the nationalisation of British Steel.
Answered by Lord Leong - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The transfer brought certain property, rights and liabilities into a company wholly owned by the Secretary of State, subject to specified exclusions, and these are listed in Schedule 1 to the British Steel Limited Property Transfer Regulations 2026 (S.I. 2026/832).
The financial position of the company wholly owned by the Secretary of State--renamed by the transfer regulations as British Steel Ltd.--following nationalisation will be disclosed in accordance with relevant accounting standards, and through the 2026-27 Annual Report and Accounts process.
Asked by: Lord Redwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consultation they held with steel-using UK businesses and other stakeholders before deciding to nationalise British Steel.
Answered by Lord Leong - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The Department engages regularly with steel producers, steel-using businesses, trade unions and other stakeholders on issues affecting the UK steel sector, including the Steel Act and the usage of its powers. Ministers and officials also have regular engagements, meetings and roundtables with downstream users.
Asked by: Lord Redwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the annual capacity of the UK vehicle industry to produce battery electric cars.
Answered by Lord Stockwood
The Government has not made a single estimate of annual battery electric vehicle production capacity, however the latest forecasts from the Advanced Propulsion Centre estimate the UK will produce 200k battery electric vehicles (passenger cars and commercial vehicles) in 2027, rising to 600k in 2030. We are supporting UK battery manufacturing via DRIVE35, which helped strategic investments like the Agratas gigafactory in Somerset, and have already committed £47 million for key R&D battery projects across the UK through the Battery Innovation Programme, helping to create skilled jobs, a stronger supply chain and position the UK as a globally competitive destination for battery manufacturing.
Asked by: Lord Redwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the budget for payments to Scunthorpe steelmaking in 2026–27.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
Budgets for British Steel are subject to the usual government approvals processes and ministerial decisions. The need for HMG support is kept under constant review and all efforts are being made to secure a viable future for the company. All support for British Steel has been drawn from existing HMG budgets, with no additional borrowing required.
To date, we have provided approximately £504 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.
Asked by: Lord Redwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how much public money was allocated to the British Business Bank for the (a) 2023-4 and (b) 2024-5 financial years.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Minister without Portfolio
Public funding for the British Business Bank’s DEL funding, Business As Usual programmes and administration of the Covid-19 loan schemes, for 2023/24 is expected to be up to £735m. The projected figure for 2024/25 is £357m. Any capital gains will be returned to the taxpayer over the course of the investment cycle.
Asked by: Lord Redwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make a comparative assessment of energy prices for steel production in (a) the UK, (b) China, (c) Germany and (d) the US.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
Comparisons with energy costs in other countries is one of the considerations for the development and introduction of support for energy intensive industries including the steel sector. The British Industry Supercharger will introduce targeted measures to ensure the energy costs for key UK industries are in line with other major economies around the world – levelling the playing field for British companies across Europe. The government is committed to rolling out its measures between April 2024 and April 2025.