Government set to nationalise troubled steel firm
Production at SSUK sites in South Yorkshire and the West Midlands was paused earlier this year.
**Government moves toward nationalising troubled steel firm**
A plan to nationalise the UK’s third-largest steelworks is being drawn up by the government, MPs have been told.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds told the House of Commons that ministers were considering acquiring Speciality Steel UK (SSUK), which has sites in Stocksbridge and Rotherham in South Yorkshire and Wednesbury in the West Midlands.
The government first took control of SSUK, formerly part of Liberty Steel, last year after the High Court forced it into liquidation.
Reynolds said a bidder had emerged earlier this year, but the government chose not to back the offer, pointing to "serious concerns" about the proposed financing of the deal and "protections for UK taxpayers".
Ministers had therefore decided the government would prepare its own formal acquisition of the business, he said.
Production at the company, which employs about 1,300 people, was halted several months ago, and staff were placed on furlough at reduced pay.
Reynolds told the Commons: "Having concluded that we cannot support the preferred bidder's proposal, we are faced with a choice.
"We can allow events to take their course through the liquidation process and risk being left with no say in the future of these sites, or we can act.
"We will therefore engage with the official receiver sale process and develop a proposal for the public acquisition of SSUK.
"This will preserve strategic control and ensure that all credible future opportunities can be properly considered before irreversible decisions are taken."
He said any future decisions and spending commitments connected to the business would be "subject to detailed due diligence and funded from existing government budgets".
Reynolds added: "Working towards public acquisition will create the necessary time and space to undertake a full assessment of the opportunities available.
"It will let us consider future industrial use, regeneration opportunities and the role that specialist manufacturing capabilities could play in supporting growth and our national resilience."
In a message to workers, he said: "I will do all I can to secure a bright future for you, your communities and your families."