Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether it remains Government policy to (a) offer specific financial support to the UK steel industry and (b) take a 25 per cent equity stake in Tata Steel.

The Government continues to make compensation payments to all Electricity Intensive Industries, including steel, for the policy costs in their electricity bills. To date we have paid the steel sector over £100 million. We continue to make significant progress in addressing the wider challenges faced by the steel sector, and are working through the Steel Council to ensure the efforts of the sector itself, the Trade Unions, and the Government are all targeted in the right areas.

We are also continuing to work with Tata, the Welsh Government and Trade Unions to support commercial discussions on the future of the company’s remaining UK assets.