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.

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.