Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential (a) economic, (b) security and (c) supply chain risks posed by the potential closure of the UK's remaining blast furnaces.

The UK government recognises the strategic importance of the steel industry for economic growth and national security. We are committed to developing the sector.

Many countries, particularly across Europe, are replacing aging blast furnaces with Electric Arc Furnaces (EAFs). While the future of the remaining blast furnaces ultimately lies with British Steel, as I recently conveyed to the Hon Gentleman, the government is reviewing innovative technologies, such as Direct Reduced Iron, to support primary steelmaking in the future.

EAFs will also bolster our economic security by reducing our reliance on imports. This shift will enable us to use the abundant supply of scrap metal available in the UK, thereby increasing the resilience of our steel sector and the wider UK supply chain from global shocks.