Asked by: Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the reasons why British Steel has not filed statutory accounts for the year ending 31 December 2024; what discussions they have had with (1) the company, (2) its directors, (3) Companies House, or (4) the Financial Reporting Council, about the delay; and when they expect those accounts to be filed.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
To date, funding of £484m has been provided to British Steel Limited under the provisions of the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act, and the full amount is recoverable as a debt due to the Crown, as set out in section 3(6) of the Act. There are no conditions attached save the requirement for the funds to be used in accordance with the purpose set out in legislation. All funding released to British Steel is reviewed and approved in advance. Recoverability of this debt is currently being assessed, and the resulting treatment will be reflected and published in the Department for Business and Trade's accounts for 2025-26.
HMG has set out its policy and operational intent to British Steel’s auditors under the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act 2025. This does not constitute a financial guarantee, indemnity or underwriting of liabilities and reflects material already in the public domain.
British Steel remains owned by Jingye and HMG’s powers to intervene under the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act 2025 are designed to maintain steelmaking and avoid a disorderly closure of the blast furnaces. We continue to work with Jingye to find a pragmatic and realistic solution for the future of British Steel.
The preparation and filing of statutory accounts are a matter for the company and its directors. The arrangements for preparing and approving company accounts are a matter for British Steel and its directors, in line with their statutory responsibilities.
Asked by: Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have provided British Steel, its directors, auditors or creditors with any formal or informal assurance, comfort letter, guarantee, indemnity, undertaking or other indication of continuing financial support for the company; and if so, what is the (1) nature, (2) duration, and (3) legal basis, of that support.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
To date, funding of £484m has been provided to British Steel Limited under the provisions of the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act, and the full amount is recoverable as a debt due to the Crown, as set out in section 3(6) of the Act. There are no conditions attached save the requirement for the funds to be used in accordance with the purpose set out in legislation. All funding released to British Steel is reviewed and approved in advance. Recoverability of this debt is currently being assessed, and the resulting treatment will be reflected and published in the Department for Business and Trade's accounts for 2025-26.
HMG has set out its policy and operational intent to British Steel’s auditors under the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act 2025. This does not constitute a financial guarantee, indemnity or underwriting of liabilities and reflects material already in the public domain.
British Steel remains owned by Jingye and HMG’s powers to intervene under the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act 2025 are designed to maintain steelmaking and avoid a disorderly closure of the blast furnaces. We continue to work with Jingye to find a pragmatic and realistic solution for the future of British Steel.
The preparation and filing of statutory accounts are a matter for the company and its directors. The arrangements for preparing and approving company accounts are a matter for British Steel and its directors, in line with their statutory responsibilities.
Asked by: Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether British Steel is currently trading on a going concern basis; and if so, whether trading on that basis relies on financial support from (1) HM Government, (2) Jingye, (3) another third party, or (4) a combination of those sources.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
To date, funding of £484m has been provided to British Steel Limited under the provisions of the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act, and the full amount is recoverable as a debt due to the Crown, as set out in section 3(6) of the Act. There are no conditions attached save the requirement for the funds to be used in accordance with the purpose set out in legislation. All funding released to British Steel is reviewed and approved in advance. Recoverability of this debt is currently being assessed, and the resulting treatment will be reflected and published in the Department for Business and Trade's accounts for 2025-26.
HMG has set out its policy and operational intent to British Steel’s auditors under the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act 2025. This does not constitute a financial guarantee, indemnity or underwriting of liabilities and reflects material already in the public domain.
British Steel remains owned by Jingye and HMG’s powers to intervene under the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act 2025 are designed to maintain steelmaking and avoid a disorderly closure of the blast furnaces. We continue to work with Jingye to find a pragmatic and realistic solution for the future of British Steel.
The preparation and filing of statutory accounts are a matter for the company and its directors. The arrangements for preparing and approving company accounts are a matter for British Steel and its directors, in line with their statutory responsibilities.
Asked by: Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what arrangements are in place to enable the directors of British Steel to prepare and approve company accounts.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
To date, funding of £484m has been provided to British Steel Limited under the provisions of the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act, and the full amount is recoverable as a debt due to the Crown, as set out in section 3(6) of the Act. There are no conditions attached save the requirement for the funds to be used in accordance with the purpose set out in legislation. All funding released to British Steel is reviewed and approved in advance. Recoverability of this debt is currently being assessed, and the resulting treatment will be reflected and published in the Department for Business and Trade's accounts for 2025-26.
HMG has set out its policy and operational intent to British Steel’s auditors under the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act 2025. This does not constitute a financial guarantee, indemnity or underwriting of liabilities and reflects material already in the public domain.
British Steel remains owned by Jingye and HMG’s powers to intervene under the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act 2025 are designed to maintain steelmaking and avoid a disorderly closure of the blast furnaces. We continue to work with Jingye to find a pragmatic and realistic solution for the future of British Steel.
The preparation and filing of statutory accounts are a matter for the company and its directors. The arrangements for preparing and approving company accounts are a matter for British Steel and its directors, in line with their statutory responsibilities.
Asked by: Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the total amount of funding provided to British Steel since 12 April 2025; what proportion of that funding is classified as debt to the Crown; and whether any formal loan agreement, interest rate, repayment scheme, security or repayment trigger has been agreed.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
To date, funding of £484m has been provided to British Steel Limited under the provisions of the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act, and the full amount is recoverable as a debt due to the Crown, as set out in section 3(6) of the Act. There are no conditions attached save the requirement for the funds to be used in accordance with the purpose set out in legislation. All funding released to British Steel is reviewed and approved in advance. Recoverability of this debt is currently being assessed, and the resulting treatment will be reflected and published in the Department for Business and Trade's accounts for 2025-26.
HMG has set out its policy and operational intent to British Steel’s auditors under the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act 2025. This does not constitute a financial guarantee, indemnity or underwriting of liabilities and reflects material already in the public domain.
British Steel remains owned by Jingye and HMG’s powers to intervene under the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act 2025 are designed to maintain steelmaking and avoid a disorderly closure of the blast furnaces. We continue to work with Jingye to find a pragmatic and realistic solution for the future of British Steel.
The preparation and filing of statutory accounts are a matter for the company and its directors. The arrangements for preparing and approving company accounts are a matter for British Steel and its directors, in line with their statutory responsibilities.
Asked by: Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the likelihood that British Steel will repay the government funding provided since 12 April 2025; and whether any impairment, write-off or provision has been (1) made, or (2) considered, in relation to that funding.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
To date, funding of £484m has been provided to British Steel Limited under the provisions of the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act, and the full amount is recoverable as a debt due to the Crown, as set out in section 3(6) of the Act. There are no conditions attached save the requirement for the funds to be used in accordance with the purpose set out in legislation. All funding released to British Steel is reviewed and approved in advance. Recoverability of this debt is currently being assessed, and the resulting treatment will be reflected and published in the Department for Business and Trade's accounts for 2025-26.
HMG has set out its policy and operational intent to British Steel’s auditors under the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act 2025. This does not constitute a financial guarantee, indemnity or underwriting of liabilities and reflects material already in the public domain.
British Steel remains owned by Jingye and HMG’s powers to intervene under the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act 2025 are designed to maintain steelmaking and avoid a disorderly closure of the blast furnaces. We continue to work with Jingye to find a pragmatic and realistic solution for the future of British Steel.
The preparation and filing of statutory accounts are a matter for the company and its directors. The arrangements for preparing and approving company accounts are a matter for British Steel and its directors, in line with their statutory responsibilities.
Asked by: Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to reverse the prohibition on domestic production of coking coal; and if so, on what timetable.
Answered by Lord Whitehead - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government announced on 14th November 2024 its intention to introduce new legislation to restrict the future licensing of all new coal extraction. It will bring forward legislation to do this when parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what volume of ferrous scrap was imported into the UK in each of the last three calendar years, broken down by country of origin and by grade or category of scrap.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The data on imports of ferrous scrap is given in table 1. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is responsible for the collection and publication of data on imports and exports of goods to and from the UK. HMRC releases this information monthly, as an Accredited National Statistic called the Overseas Trade in Goods Statistics (OTS), which is available via their dedicated website (www.uktradeinfo.com ). | |||
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Table 1: UK import volumes (kg) of Ferrous Scrap |
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Country | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
Not Declared | 100,666,973 | 119,323,136 | 110,711,763 |
Ireland | 58,409,303 | 62,163,906 | 54,568,750 |
Belgium | 10,620,084 | 11,853,794 | 385,988 |
Germany | 6,447,914 | 11,121,900 | 392,921 |
Netherlands | 3,600,562 | 5,603,047 | 1,460,658 |
UK | 1,783,716 | 4,873,692 | 705,830 |
United States | 451 | 137,270 | 2,211,158 |
France | 128,252 | 375,242 | 107,888 |
Canada | 2,880 |
| 372,743 |
Costa Rica | 106,506 |
| 25,000 |
Iceland | 110,610 | 9,610 | 6,490 |
Panama | 44,000 | 40,000 | 20,000 |
Spain |
| 2,003 | 99,660 |
Italy | 12,133 | 41,211 | 41,752 |
Malta | 24,100 | 41,760 |
|
Norway |
| 51,060 |
|
Czechia | 14,272 | 11,114 | 25,097 |
Israel |
| 48,830 |
|
Lithuania |
|
| 48,711 |
Estonia |
|
| 29,241 |
Latvia |
| 24,000 |
|
Congo (Dem. Rep) | 15,000 |
|
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Switzerland | 7,120 | 5,530 | 331 |
China | 158 | 2,041 | 4,380 |
Slovakia |
| 52 | 2,971 |
Sweden |
|
| 2,674 |
Falkland Islands | 2,540 |
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India | 869 | 582 | 209 |
Jamaica |
|
| 637 |
Oman | 228 |
|
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Comoros |
|
| 180 |
Singapore |
| 54 |
|
Somalia |
|
| 15 |
Taiwan | 3 |
|
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Hungary | 1 |
|
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Grand Total | 181,997,675 | 215,729,834 | 171,225,047 |
Source: HMRC Overseas Trade Statistics / UK TradeInfo.com | |||
Notes |
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• Data for 2023-2025 are for calendar years | |||
• HS8 72044110, 72044191, 72043000, 72044199, 72044910, 72044930, 72044990, 72045000 | |||
• Import trade is on a country of origin basis | |||
• 2025 is an open year and is therefore provisional and is subject to change | |||
• Country of origin is not required on trade declared through the Intrastat system | |||
Asked by: Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what volume of iron ore imports into the UK there was in each of the last three calendar years, broken down by (1) fines, (2) pellets, (3) lump ore and (4) other iron-bearing feedstocks, and by country of origin.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The data on imports of ferrous scrap is given in table 1.
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is responsible for the collection and publication of data on imports and exports of goods to and from the UK. HMRC releases this information monthly, as an Accredited National Statistic called the Overseas Trade in Goods Statistics (OTS), which is available via their dedicated website (www.uktradeinfo.com ).
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Table 1: UK import volumes (kg) of Iron ore per year, from 2023 to 2025 | |||
Country | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
Sweden | 944,860,000 | 650,899,243 | 909,881,920 |
Brazil | 1,293,175,122 | 524,445,534 | 598,107,272 |
Canada | 1,290,465,000 | 496,900,000 | 565,870,677 |
Norway | 1,187,212,714 | 368,949,807 | 27,807,184 |
United States | 596,604,115 | 492,035,282 | 215,978,363 |
South Africa | 745,243,000 | 16,017,200 | 188,157,000 |
Mauritania | 315,269,000 | 248,684,000 | 356,403,000 |
Liberia | 379,172,000 | 243,407,200 |
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India | 127,150,000 | 71,500,000 |
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Vatican City | 158,257,000 |
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Egypt | 92,702,000 | 46,135,000 |
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Uruguay | 47,868,000 | 82,184,000 |
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Libya | 49,597,000 | 47,248,000 |
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Netherlands | 329,102 | 78,165,633 | 278,805 |
Trinidad:Tobago |
| 43,061,000 |
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Australia | 35,718,811 |
|
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Turkey | 117,089 | 258,720 | 282,240 |
France | 27,193 |
| 1,920 |
Germany | 23,086 |
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Spain |
| 3,018 | 6,178 |
UK | 2,397 | 3,560 | 1,550 |
Chile | 450 |
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Sierra Leone |
|
| 233 |
Ukraine |
| 203 |
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Italy |
|
| 95 |
Ireland | 14 |
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China |
| 2 |
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Grand Total | 7,263,793,093 | 3,409,897,402 | 2,862,776,437 |
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| Source: HMRC Overseas Trade Statistics / UK TradeInfo.com |
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Notes |
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• Data for 2023-2025 are for calendar years |
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• HS8 26011100, 260112000, 26012000 |
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| |
• Import trade is on a country of origin basis |
| ||
• 2025 is an open year and is therefore provisional and is subject to change | |||
• Country of origin is not required on trade declared through the Intrastat system | |||
Asked by: Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the value and volume of steel imported into the UK in each of the last three calendar years, broken down by country of origin; and what percentage of total steel imports each country accounted for in each year.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The data on imports of steel is given in the attached tables in Annex A (volume) and Annex B (value).
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is responsible for the collection and publication of data on imports and exports of goods to and from the UK. HMRC releases this information monthly, as an Accredited National Statistic called the Overseas Trade in Goods Statistics (OTS), which is available via their dedicated website (www.uktradeinfo.com ).