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British Steel and government special measures

On 12 April 2025, Parliament passed the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act 2025, giving the Secretary of State powers to issue directions to or take control of steel undertakings’ assets in England  – meaning businesses engaged in steelmaking – if they were at risk of closing down. This allowed the government to direct British Steel’s operations, including securing raw materials and maintaining blast furnace activity.

The government employed the special measures powers under the act following a period of unsuccessful negotiations about government support for a decarbonisation plan of British Steel and the company’s increasing financial difficulties.

Who owns British Steel?

The government has not yet decided on the long-term future of British Steel. It has been in discussions with British Steel’s current owner, the Chinese company Jingye, to find a “pragmatic, realistic solution for the future of the site”.

Will British Steel be nationalised?

The government has said that it aspires to find private investors to co-invest in the company's modernisation.

During the passage of the emergency legislation, the Secretary of State for Business and Trade said that nationalisation of British Steel was not the purpose of the special measures, but was one of the options.

Nationalisation would typically require a government decision and an Act of Parliament. An act to nationalise British Steel could authorise the government’s acquisition, set out the terms of nationalisation, including potential compensation arrangements for the previous owner, define the governance structures of the new entity, address the transfer of employees, and more. In this scenario, some details could be left to secondary legislation, especially where decisions were urgent, or where the government wanted more flexibility.

On 14 May 2026, the government introduced the Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill (Bill 10) 2026-27 in Parliament. If passed, the bill would allow the government to transfer the shares or property of a steel company into public ownership where doing so is in the public interest. The bill’s powers could be used to nationalise British Steel. Further details are in our briefing, Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill 2026-27.

How much has the government spent on British Steel?

As of 14 May 2026, the amount of working capital that the government has provided to British Steel since the emergency legislation was passed on 12 April 2025 stood at £484 million.