Scunthorpe steel bailout could cost taxpayers up to £1.5bn by 2028, says NAO
The National Audit Office warns that the government’s rescue of Scunthorpe’s blast furnaces could top £1.5bn by 2028 if current costs persist, with £377m already spent on a loan to British Steel. The intervention saved thousands of jobs and protected primary steel-making, but total costs could rise further due to potential compensation to Jingye, sale costs, and the expensive transition to greener electric-arc furnaces, all while the DBT has no repayment schedule and faces trade-offs with other spending.
