Judith Cummins

With this it will be convenient to discuss the following: Clauses 52 and 53 stand part. Amendment 8, clause 54, page 35, line 25, leave out “may— (a) require or permit” and insert— “must— (a) require”. See explanatory statement for Amendment 7. Amendment 9, page 35, line 34, at end insert— “(4A) The regulations must— (a) provide that the independent valuer prepares and submits to the Secretary of State a written estimate of the environmental liabilities of that undertaking, including but not limited to— (i) contamination of land, water or air attributable to the undertaking’s operations; (ii) compliance with environmental obligations imposed by or under any enactment; and (iii) remediation or restoration costs that are contingent or prospective; (b) provide that the Secretary of State must publish and lay any written estimate provided under this subsection before Parliament.” See explanatory statement for Amendment 7. Amendment 6, page 35, line 40, at end insert— “(c) the anticipated effects of— (i) external tariffs on UK industry; and (ii) the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, as set out by Part 5 of the Finance Act 2026 on the value of a steel undertaking.” This amendment would require consideration of external tariffs and the implementation of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, when conducting a valuation of the Steel undertaking. Clauses 54 to 57 stand part. Amendment 20, clause 58, page 39, line 7, at end insert— “(1A) The Secretary of State may only provide financial assistance under this section if they are satisfied that financial assistance will secure value for money.” This amendment would only allow the Secretary of State to provide financial assistance if the NAO had concluded that it would secure value for money for taxpayers. Amendment 22, page 39, line 8, at end insert— “(1A) The Secretary of State may not in any five-year period provide financial assistance under this section of an amount that exceeds £1 million per employee of the steel undertaking. (1B) The number of employees of a steel undertaking for the purpose of subsection (1A) is the number of persons employed on the date the financial assistance was first provided. (1C) ‘employee’ has the meaning given by section 230 (Employees, workers etc.) of the Employment Rights Act 1996.” This amendment would cap the amount of financial assistance that could be provided to a steel undertaking to £1 million per worker over 5 years. Amendment 24, page 39, line 24, at end insert— “(4A) Financial assistance under this section may not include funding provided by the National Wealth Fund.” This amendment prevents money from the National Wealth Fund being used to provide financial assistance under this Act. Clause 58 stand part. Amendment 4, clause 59, page 39, line 29, insert at end “and, (b) compensation paid under any compensation scheme regulations made under section 52.” This amendment requires the Government to report on the compensation paid under any compensation scheme regulations made under section 52. Amendment 10, page 39, line 31, leave out “12” and insert “3” This amendment together with Amendment 14 would increase the frequency with which the Secretary of State must make reports about financial assistance to every three months. Amendment 11, page 39, line 33, leave out “12” and insert “3” See explanatory note for Amendment 13. Clauses 59 and 60 stand part. New clause 6—Parliamentary scrutiny of Financial Assistance— “(1) Before providing any assistance under section 58, the Secretary of State must lay a proposal for providing the financial assistance (‘the proposal’) before Parliament. (2) No financial assistance may be provided under section 58 unless the proposal has been laid before Parliament. (3) If, within the period of 90 days after the proposal has been laid, a select committee of the House of Commons makes any recommendations with regard to the proposal, the Secretary of State must lay before Parliament a statement setting out the Secretary of State’s response to the recommendations before providing any financial assistance. (4) The proposal must include— (a) details of the nature and amount of the financial assistance, (b) the intended beneficiary or beneficiaries of the financial assistance, (c) the expected purpose and effect of the financial assistance, (d) any conditions, repayment arrangements, guarantees, indemnities or other liabilities attaching to the financial assistance, and (e) any other information the Secretary of State believes it is necessary for the Committee to have in order to complete its consideration of the proposal, subject to the restrictions in subsection (3). (5) The proposal may not include information which, if it were made public, may damage— (a) national security; (b) fiduciary duties; or (c) commercially sensitive interests.” This new clause prevents financial assistance being provided until 90 days after information about the package of financial assistance being made available to a Select Committee of the House of Commons for its consideration. New clause 12—Financial assistance: limit— “Financial assistance of a total value of no more than £2.5 billion may be provided under section 58 of this Act before 15 August 2029.” This new clause would limit the financial assistance that can be provided under the Act. New clause 13—Financial assistance: England and Wales— “Where financial assistance is provided to steel undertakings in England under section 58 of this Act, an equivalent to the total amount of financial assistance provided to steel undertakings in England must be made available to steel undertakings in Wales.” This new clause requires equivalent funding to be provided to steel undertakings in Wales compared to those in England. Clauses 61 to 64 stand part. New clause 7—Impact assessments— “Before exercising any power under this Act, the Secretary of State must publish an impact assessment on the proposed exercise of that power.” This new clause would require an impact assessment to be published before the Secretary of State exercised any of the powers under the Act. New clause 4—Limit on expenditure on financial assistance and compensation— “(1) The total amount of compensation paid by the Secretary of State under Part 2 and financial assistance paid under section 58 is limited to— (a) £500m, or (b) an amount so authorised by resolution of the House of Commons, whichever is higher.” This new clause prevents the Secretary of State from paying more than £500m in financial assistance and compensation under the Act, unless the House of Commons passes a resolution authorising them to do so. New clause 9—Duty to try to find a private sector purchaser for any nationalised steel undertaking— “Where a steel undertaking has been subject to the principal transfer power under this Act, the Secretary of State must— (a) make all practicable efforts to find a private sector purchaser for the steel undertaking; and (b) lay a report before Parliament every six months which sets out progress made towards finding a private sector purchaser for the steel undertaking.” This new clause would put a duty on the Secretary of State to seek a private sector buyer for any steel company that has been nationalised, and report to Parliament on progress made every six months. New clause 10—Report on the impact any nationalisation of steel undertakings has had on inward investment to the United Kingdom— “Within six months of the passing of this Act and every subsequent six months, the Secretary of State must lay a report before Parliament which sets out the impact that nationalisation of any steel undertaking under this Act has had on inward investment to the United Kingdom.” This new clause would place a duty on the Secretary of State to report to Parliament on the impact any nationalisation of steel undertakings has had on inward investment to the United Kingdom. New clause 11—State aids— “The Secretary of State must not exercise the powers in this Act so as to grant any advantage through state resources on a selective basis to any organisations that could potentially distort competition and trade, including any advantage that might be granted to steel undertakings subject to a transfer power over comparable privately-owned steel undertakings in the United Kingdom.” This new clause would require the Secretary of State to maintain a level playing-field between nationally owned and privately owned steel businesses.