What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the support available for UK-based downstream steel companies that are seeking to decarbonise their industrial processes.
We are developing a suite of policies to enable industry, including UK-based downstream steel companies, to deliver savings through fuel switching from fossil fuels to low carbon alternatives. As we do so, we are closely engaging with industry, both with sector trade associations as well as with manufacturers directly, to identify and understand the challenges, barriers and costs of their decarbonisation pathways. For example, we published a summary of responses to our Call for evidence on Enabling Industrial Electrification in September 2024 (https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/enabling-industrial-electrification-a-call-for-evidence). To give longer-term confidence for industry to decarbonise, a renewed Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy will set the strategic direction for our approach to working with industry towards a competitive and low carbon industrial base in the UK, ensuring growth opportunities are captured in tandem with emissions reductions. More widely, we are determined to work towards a bright future for steel through our steel strategy. The Government stands by our manifesto commitment to invest up to £2.5bn in steel through the National Wealth Fund and other routes.