Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how much funding was allocated to the steel innovation grant scheme.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We are committed to providing up to £2.5bn for the steel sector, which is being delivered in part through the National Wealth Fund. The NWF has £5.8bn to invest across clean energy and advanced manufacturing sectors, including steel, and is engaging with firms on opportunities aligned with its investment principles.
No funding has been allocated to a competitive steel grant fund.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will publish (a) internal advice and (b) correspondence relating to the decision to not proceed with proposals to give businesses a cash grant for innovative steel projects.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We remain committed to providing up to £2.5bn for the steel sector, which is being delivered in part through the National Wealth Fund. The NWF has £5.8bn to invest across clean energy and advanced manufacturing sectors, including steel, and is engaging with firms on opportunities aligned with its investment principles.
In February 2025, the UK government launched a "Plan for Steel" consultation to seek views on issues such as electricity costs, trade challenges, domestic demand, and funding. The forthcoming Steel Strategy will set out our response to those issues.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to help support steel businesses with (a) innovative and (b) low-carbon projects.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
This Government has committed up to £2.5bn to the UK steel industry, which is being delivered in part through the National Wealth Fund (NWF). The NWF has £5.8bn to invest across clean energy and advanced manufacturing sectors, including steel, and is engaging with firms on opportunities aligned with its investment principles. This is in addition to £500m grant funding towards Tata’s overall £1.25bn Port Talbot transformation project, which will see the Port Talbot site transition to lower carbon Electric Arc Furnace steel making.
We have also supported innovation through our £22million in funding of the Material Processing Institute’s PRISM programme since 2020, and have recently consulted on proposals to deliver a framework of voluntary policies to grow demand for low carbon industrial products, with an initial focus on the steel, cement, and concrete products used in construction.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department received (a) applications and (b) expressions of interest prior to the decision to not proceed with proposals to give businesses a cash grant for innovative steel projects.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We are committed to providing up to £2.5bn for the steel sector, which is being delivered in part through the National Wealth Fund (NWF). A consultation was launched in February 2025 regarding the upcoming steel strategy, and we sought views on further potential mechanisms to support the steel industry, including the possibility of grant funding. However, we were not seeking applications or expressions of interest at that stage.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to secure UK-specific country quotas for steel exports under the European Commission’s proposed import quota system.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is actively assessing the potential impact of this proposal, and we are in active dialogue with the European Commission on the details of their proposal and next steps.
We will continue to take a cool-headed approach to any possible tariffs and remain prepared to defend the UK’s national interest where it is right to do so.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing steel import quotas to ensure that 60 per cent of steel used in the UK is made by domestic producers.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Steel is a top priority for this Government and we recognise the continuing challenges facing the UK steel industry – driven by global overcapacity and with a changing landscape on international trade.
This Government is developing a steel strategy to be published in 2025 that will set out a long-term vision for a bright and sustainable steel sector in the UK and the actions needed to get there. Moreover, we will will ensure there is a plan in place for the UK steel industry in light of the expiry of the global safeguard measure on certain steel imports next year.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has held discussions with the European Commission on mitigating the potential impact of proposed EU steel import quotas on UK steel exports.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We are in active dialogue with the European Commission on this issue. The Secretary of State spoke about it with Maroš Šefčovič, European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, on 20 October.
We will continue to take a cool-headed approach to any possible tariffs and remain prepared to defend the UK’s national interest where it is right to do so.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of ensuring the continuation of domestic steel manufacturing on the UK’s (a) critical national infrastructure resilience and (b) emergency response capability.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We recognise the strategic importance of a secure and resilient steel supply, and the domestic steel sector has an important role to play in supporting our national infrastructure, defence capability and broader national resilience.
This government will continue to support security of supply that protects our national resilience. These factors, among many others, will inform part of our wider approach to the sector ahead of the publication of the steel strategy later this year, and, as announced in the industrial strategy, steel will be a component of ongoing analysis conducted by the new Supply Chain Centre.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent discussions her Department has had with the European Commission on the timetable for implementing its proposals to replace the EU steel safeguard system; and whether the Government has sought transitional arrangements for UK-based producers.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We are in active dialogue with the European Commission on this issue. The Secretary of State spoke about it with Maroš Šefčovič, European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, on 20 October.
We reserve the right to take any action in response to any changes to our trading relationships to protect steel jobs and defend our steel industry.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the European Commission’s proposal to reduce tariff-free steel import quotas and increase out-of-quota tariffs to 50% on UK steel exports; and what steps she is taking to negotiate UK-specific quotas for steel products.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is actively assessing the potential impact of this proposal and we are in active dialogue with the European Commission on the details of their proposal and next steps.
We reserve the right to take any action in response to any changes to our trading relationships to protect steel jobs and defend our steel industry.