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MPs say the government has spent more than £500 million keeping British Steel afloat but still cannot explain how the company will become financially sustainable.

Members of Parliament have called on the government to produce a credible long-term strategy for British Steel, warning that the nationalised firm is costing taxpayers £1.3 million per day with no clear route to financial sustainability. In a report published by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), MPs criticised ministers for failing to set out a viable business model or decarbonisation pathway more than a year after emergency legislation was used to prevent the closure of the Scunthorpe blast furnaces in April 2025. The committee highlighted that spending on British Steel was projected to reach £642 million by the end of June 2026, including advisory fees, yet the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade could not explain how much of the government's £2.5 billion commitment to the steel sector remained available. Clive Betts MP, deputy chair of the PAC, acknowledged that the initial intervention to safeguard national infrastructure was welcome, but stressed that propping up the company with public money without a plan for its future was insufficient. The report also raised concerns about employment uncertainty for the site's 4,052 workers and warned that new tariffs on imported steel lacked detail on which products could be sourced domestically. PAC members recommended that the government reduce its reliance on external advisers, clarify the future direction of British Steel, and remain engaged given the firm's importance to national and economic security. The findings come amid broader pressures on the UK steel industry, with the former owner Jingye seeking nearly £1 billion in compensation following nationalisation.