Scunthorpe Steelworks

Baroness Redfern Excerpts

Monday 31st March 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Lab)]

My Lords, steelmaking in the UK is absolutely fundamental. We are in the process of developing a detailed steel strategy and we will come back to your Lordships’ House with further details. I make it clear that the Government will simply not allow the end of steelmaking in the UK, despite the situation we inherited, in which there has been a 50% decline in crude steel production over the past decade. We will continue to give steel, and steel in the UK, an absolute priority.

[Baroness Redfern (Con)]

My Lords, I refer to my interests in the register. The closure of Scunthorpe’s blast furnaces and other steelmaking sectors is devastating news for almost 3,000 workers and their families. British Steel must not allow the final two blast furnaces to close until the two arc furnaces are installed to continue producing steel and ensure customers do not have to rely on international supplies. Will the Minister reaffirm that all options remain open, including a strong national intervention to protect our proud steel industry and ensure that British steel continues to be made here in the UK? Will she also reaffirm support for Scunthorpe’s green growth zone and companies in the artificial intelligence sector?

[Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Lab)]

I thank the noble Baroness for that question and reiterate that steel is an absolute top priority for this Government. We have made a generous conditional offer on financial support for British Steel, and negotiations are continuing with the company and trade unions to find the best possible outcome that will protect jobs, steel-making and taxpayers’ money.

We obviously cannot pre-empt the outcome of the consultation process. However, we have extensive cross-departmental contingency plans in place to ensure that British Steel workers, their families and the wider Scunthorpe community will be protected. They include plans to establish a task force, should this become necessary, which will consider and prioritise measures that create jobs and support the local economy through recovery.