Steel Strategy: Consultation

Sarah Jones Excerpts

Monday 24th February 2025 Written Statements

[The Minister for Industry (Sarah Jones)]

Steel is essential for a modern economy, underpinning sectors from construction to advanced manufacturing and driving growth. It plays a vital role in the communities in which it is situated, supporting jobs and living standards in the UK’s industrial heartlands.

The Government are wasting no time in taking action to support the industry. We have simplified public procurement and aligned it with the Government’s missions, to put UK firms—including the steel industry—in the best possible position to compete for and win public contracts. That is on top of delivering a better deal for Port Talbot within weeks of taking office, to transform production there and deliver a modern electric arc furnace and implementing the British industry supercharger to cut electricity costs for steel firms, bringing prices more in line with international competitors.

We are committed to rebuilding the UK steel sector and securing the future of the industry, and that is why in spring 2025 we will publish the steel strategy, “The Plan for Steel”, which will establish a clear and ambitious long-term vision for the steel industry and set out the actions needed to get there. It will articulate what is needed to create a competitive business environment in the UK, with the aim of attracting new private investment to expand UK steelmaking capability. Our planning reforms will give the industry a strong pipeline of business that will secure supply chains for years to come and drive economic growth as part of our plan for change. This will be backed by up to £2.5 billion, which will be available through the national wealth fund and other routes.

This could benefit regions across the UK—such as Scunthorpe, Rotherham, Redcar, Yorkshire and Port Talbot—that have a strong history of steel production. It will be spent on initiatives that will give the industry a long future, such as supporting the transition to electric arc furnaces, or other improvements in UK capabilities. The strategy will be pursued in alignment with wider Government priorities, including the trade strategy, the strategic defence review and Invest 2035, the upcoming industrial strategy.

On Sunday 16 February 2025, we published a consultation document that sets out our planned approach for the strategy and asks stakeholders for their feedback and evidence on a range of topics, both on the wider direction that the UK steel sector should take and on the detail of the proposed areas of focus for the strategy. This is an important step in developing the strategy for the longer term. This includes issues that we know to be concerns for the industry, such as the price of electricity and the challenging global trading environment, but also areas of new opportunity, such as how best to leverage the UK’s abundant supplies of scrap steel and how we can best align our production capabilities with domestic demand. The document also seeks views on funding and financing, which will help inform how best to take forward our commitment of up to £2.5 billion for the sector. This information will be reviewed as we develop the strategy and will be reflected in the final document when it is launched in spring 2025.

This is just one element of our open and collaborative approach to this work, which had a strong start at the beginning of this year with the first meeting of the Steel Council under this Government. The intention is that the Steel Council, a body of industry experts and representatives, will meet again before the publication of the strategy. I have also had the opportunity to speak to the industry directly—and I will continue to do so— by chairing a series of roundtables addressing specific issues where detailed industry feedback will be vital to inform our approach.

We believe that this is important and timely work. This Government stand by the UK steel sector as it continues to work on finding solutions to those challenges. As the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, my right hon. Friend the Member for Stalybridge and Hyde (Jonathan Reynolds), has set out in the consultation document, the steel industry has an enormous role to play in our mission to drive economic growth, and it is of the utmost importance that the steel strategy is a real driver of meaningful change in the industry. The publication of this consultation, and the insight that we hope to receive from stakeholders, is an important step in achieving that.

Responses to the consultation can be provided by online survey until 30 March.

[HCWS457]