Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when he plans to publish the responses to the call for evidence on steel trade measures, which closed on 7 August 2025.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is currently considering the responses from the Call for Evidence to shape future trade measures on steel following the expiry of the steel Safeguard in June 2026.
The future of the steel sector is of great importance to this Government as well as the UK's prosperity and security. This Call for Evidence reflects the UK Government's longstanding commitment to ensuring sufficient measures are in place to address the impact of global steel overcapacity and to strengthen the security of the UK's critical supply chains.
We will announce next steps in due course.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when he next plans to conduct a national security assessment of (a) British Steel and (b) the wider UK steel industry.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The government is conducting a range of assessments and analysis to inform future options for British Steel and our strategy for the steel industry. Matters relating to national security are under constant review. We do not comment on the timing or content of any assessments.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what support mechanisms he is considering for the UK steel industry should the criteria for removing export tariffs on shipments to the US not be met.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government’s priority remains the swift implementation of the UK-US Economic Prosperity Deal to enable UK businesses to export steel and aluminium to the United States without incurring Section 232 tariffs. We are engaged in active and constructive discussions with our US counterparts to this end.
The Government has also taken major action on areas crucial for the sector, including slashing electricity costs, changing procurement rules to ensure UK-made-steel is considered for all public projects and opening a Call for Evidence on future trade measures. More detailed information on support for the sector can be found in a press release published on 03 July.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the special measures on the competitiveness of other UK steel manufacturers not subject to intervention under the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act gives the Government the power to direct British Steel, and its workforce, to keep the blast furnaces running safely. Our priorities remain continuing production, stabilising operations and remedying critical health and safety issues.
Competition between British Steel and other UK producers is limited, as they typically manufacture different types of steel products and serve distinct markets. The intervention is narrowly targeted and temporary, aimed at safeguarding national capability rather than conferring a commercial advantage. An impact assessment will be published in due course, following Regulatory Policy Committee scrutiny.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent steps he has taken to help protect the steel industry.
Answered by Gareth Thomas
Through measures announced in our Industrial Strategy, we are taking action to improve the competitiveness and growth potential for our steel sector.
This includes steps to make industrial electricity costs for UK businesses cheaper and accelerating grid connection timelines for new projects. We are leveraging the Government’s purchasing power to bolster domestic competition by streamlining and strengthening criteria for suppliers to contribute to these objectives in their bids and continuing to incentivise investment in CCUS and hydrogen.
This Industrial Strategy, together with the Steel Strategy to be published later in the year, will ensure that this Government has a coordinated response to sector challenges and to drive new investments.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
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 merits of extending the Energy Intensive Industries support scheme to include (a) metal manufacturing, (b) mining and (c) disposal of waste.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The British Industry Supercharger already covers manufacturers of iron, steel, aluminium and other metals, and mining companies, subject to the business-level test on electricity usage. Iron and steel manufacturers may also be eligible for compensation on indirect carbon costs stemming from electricity generation. We will conduct an eligibility review for the British Industry Supercharger in 2026 to account for changing business trends.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will provide indemnities to steel companies for the period following the announcement of the UK-US trade deal but prior to the implementation of lower tariff rates.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Secretary of State for Scotland
The deal agreed on 8 May will protect jobs in the automotive and steel industries. Talks with the US are ongoing to progress implementation of the General Terms of the UK-US Economic Prosperity Deal and ensure that UK businesses feel the benefits as soon as possible.
The US has committed to removing Section 232 tariffs on steel. In addition, it has pledged to reduce tariffs on automotives faced by UK exporters by developing a quota system – which will save thousands of jobs in the UK.
We remain committed to working in close partnership with industry to support their needs and ensure that the interests of British businesses are at the forefront of our engagement with the US.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to support growth in the UK steel industry.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Steel is one of the Government’s top priorities. We are continuing to develop our upcoming steel strategy which will articulate what is needed to create a competitive business environment in the UK with the aim of attracting new private investment.
We remain committed to providing up to £2.5bn for the steel sector, which will be delivered though the National Wealth Fund and other routes. We are developing our thinking on how this funding will be aligned with the steel strategy.
The National Wealth Fund is operationally independent, and financing is already accessible to projects that meet the investment principles.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
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 contribution of domestic steel production to the transition to net zero.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Steel was responsible for 3% of UK emissions in 2022, 16% of UK manufacturing emissions. The majority of these emissions were due to the production of steel via the Blast Furnace route at Port Talbot and Scunthorpe. Currently the only commercially viable decarbonisation option is Electric Arc Furnaces (EAFs), which can also contribute to meeting the demand for steel required for the Net Zero transition.
UK Government and Tata Steel have agreed a transformation deal to decarbonisation Port Talbot reducing carbon emissions from the site by 85%, and UK emissions by 1.5%.
We are also open to supporting innovative technologies like hydrogen-based Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) and Carbon Capture and Storage and continue to assess their feasibility.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps is he taking to support the steel industry.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Steel is a top priority for this Government. As shown with the passing of the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act, this Government will not hesitate to take unprecedented steps to safeguard the future of steelmaking in the UK, protecting jobs, national security and supply chains.
We have completed the roll out of the British Industry Supercharger, which from this month means our steel industry will save an estimated £320mn – £410mn this year. This is on top of continuing the network charging compensation scheme.
We have taken action to make public procurement of UK-made steel easier and increased support for businesses to report unfair international trade practices. We have continued to develop the policy and approach for the steel strategy.