Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of maintaining British Steel's operations between 10 December 2025 and the publication of the Steel Strategy in 2026.

The Government is committed to supporting the UK steel sector and delivering a steel strategy, to be published in early 2026.

To date, the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has provided British Steel with £274 million as working capital and during the period of the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act. The Government is committed to supporting British Steel’s operational costs as needed, covering items such as raw materials and salaries. However, future costs are susceptible to wider macroeconomic factors and the contribution of DBT funding is therefore subject to change.