Taxpayer bill for saving Scunthorpe steel furnaces could top £1.5bn by 2028, auditor says
The cost of keeping the UK’s last remaining blast furnaces going at British Steel’s Scunthorpe plant could exceed £1.5bn by 2028 if it continues at its current rate, according to the government’s spending watchdog.Ministers took the plant into public control in April last year, after its Chinese owner – industrial firm Jingye – threatened to shut down the loss-making site.The National Audit Office (NAO), which monitors state spending, said the intervention saved thousands of jobs at Scunthorpe and prevented a “serious impact” on UK industry, including Network Rail, which buys steel for the railways from the plant.Shutting the plant would also have ended Britain’s “primary” steel-making ability because blast furnaces allow steel to be made from scratch, rather than relying on scrap metal.
While the NAO’s report highlighted the benefits of the intervention, it warned about the high cost of the rescue package, which had reached £377m by the end of January this year, including £15m spent on advisers.The bill could soar beyond £1.5bn if operating costs continue at their rate of £1.3m a day, it said.In practice, taxpayer liability could be significantly higher because the estimate does not include compensation that might be paid to Jingye, costs associated with any eventual sale process, or the huge investment that would be required to replace its blast furnaces to greener electric arc furnaces.
Gareth Davies, head of the NAO, said the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) “should learn from this experience to be better prepared for future interventions”,The £377m spent so far is classified as a loan from DBT,DBT has no repayment schedule in place, the NAO said, and it is not apparent that British Steel will be able to repay the money,The department was not allocated funding for the intervention at the spending review and will have to make savings elsewhere to meet some of the costs, it added,The government has previously announced a £2.
5bn support package for the steel industry, through measures such as reducing energy bills, and using more green UK-made steel for infrastructure projects.The NAO said using that fund to support British Steel would lead to “trade offs” with other spending plans.DBT is working on a wider strategy proposal for the struggling UK steel industry.Alasdair McDiarmid, general secretary of the steelworkers’ union Community, said: “Should the government have sat on its hands, and allowed British Steel to collapse, the financial and social impacts would have been catastrophic.“The government made the right decision to invest now because local economies would have been decimated, our nation would have been less secure, and we would have seen a massive and long-term increase to the welfare bill.
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Benjamina Ebuehi’s recipe for caramelised white chocolate and rhubarb cheesecake | The sweet spot
It’s often my own impatience that forces me to make no-bake cheesecakes over baked ones. They’re not at all as faffy, though it’s pretty hard to beat the lighter, silkier texture you get with a baked version plus the extra effort is worth it on a special occasion such as Mother’s Day. I’ve sweetened the filling for this one with caramelised white chocolate – it brings a beautiful, creamy, dulce de leche-type caramel flavour that even the biggest white chocolate haters should enjoy. If making your own caramelised white chocolate feels a step too far, however, just buy bars of blond chocolate instead. Top with gently poached rhubarb for a pop of colour and to cut through the richness
Noma chef resigns amid allegations of physical abuse of staff
René Redzepi, the head chef and co-founder of Noma, has announced his resignation from his internationally acclaimed Copenhagen restaurant following allegations he physically abused his staff.Redzepi had been facing protests in Los Angeles before a four-month pop-up that launched this week. His resignation on Wednesday comes after the New York Times detailed allegations of physical and psychological abuse, including claims that he “punched employees in the face, jabbed them with kitchen implements and slammed them against walls”.He wrote in an Instagram story: “I’ve decided to step away and allow our extraordinary leaders to now guide the restaurant into its next chapter.”Redzepi said the recent weeks had “brought attention and important conversations about our restaurant, industry and my past leadership”, writing: “I have worked to be a better leader and Noma has taken big steps to transform the culture over many years
Light red wines for spring drinking
Can wine ever be good for you? The question has surely occurred to most of us after a night on the chȃteau de migraine, especially if we’ve read the increasingly dire warnings on alcohol consumption. Still, as with chocolate, a lot depends on what type of alcohol you drink. After all, a 90% cocoa solids situation is probably going to do less harm than, say, a family tub of Celebrations, and, while all alcohol is, I hate to break it to you, alcohol, there are definitely better choices you can make.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link
Rachel Roddy’s recipe for risotto in bianco | A kitchen in Rome
Parmigiano reggiano, grana padano, lodigiano, trentingrana and the other members of the grana-type cheese family (there are many, and all are worth seeking out) are far from cheap. Which is why it is important to use every last bit, including the rind with the last few millimetres of cheese still attached. That functions as a sort of highly flavoured and fatty stock cube that can be added to soups and stews. The best place to keep your precious rinds is in a plastic bag or airtight container in the freezer, which also preserves flavour and stops them drying out, until they’re pulled out and added directly to whatever needs a boost, or to make one of the nicest, most delicately flavoured and cheesy broths, which in turn makes a lovely risotto.I have written about risotto many times here, with each version a new favourite, and providing lessons in a dish that, regardless of how much I learn and practise, I am always chasing: the right proportions of rice to broth, as well as a pleasing consistency and texture
‘Highly problematic behavior’: Noma residency in LA starts with PR crisis
It was always going to be an indulgence for René Redzepi, the Danish-Albanian chef of Noma fame, to bring his exacting, innovative vision of haute cuisine to Los Angeles and spend several weeks tickling the palates of well-heeled diners at a hilltop estate once dubbed “the most beautiful home in Hollywood”.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.The timing has certainly been unfortunate, since the US is now fighting a destabilizing war in the Middle East and food prices are climbing so steeply that many ordinary Americans can no longer afford to eat at McDonald’s, much less contemplate the counterintuitive delights of tacinga cactus, bougainvillea petals, mealworms and giant tuna eyes
Before sunrise: while Sydney sleeps, suhoor meals attract a lively social scene during Ramadan
Suhoor – the pre-dawn meal – is typically shared at home. But in Sydney customers also queue outside food trucks, restaurants and cafes with extended trading hoursIt’s just after midnight in an industrial courtyard in Auburn in Sydney’s west and a glow of string lights and the constant sizzle of a grill signal one of Ramadan’s newest late-night rituals. A food truck specialising in halal steak sandwiches has attracted a small crowd and a queue begins to form.The rest of the city is largely asleep but here the courtyard hums with life as young Muslims arrive in waves after evening taraweeh prayers, chatting and checking their phones as the clock edges closer to suhoor – the pre-dawn meal eaten during Ramadan before the day’s fast begins.Inside The Meat Up, a Lebanese husband-and-wife duo move quickly over the grill
‘I’ve been living under a shadow for 13 years’: life with prostate cancer
London’s Burning actor John Alford dies in prison aged 54
Australia’s pornography age-verification: a victory for advocates or a gateway to ‘darker corners of the internet’?
Unpaid carers ordered to repay benefits despite DWP knowing rules were unlawful
Fetuses likely have more ‘forever chemicals’ in blood than thought – report
Give mayors more powers to tackle youth unemployment crisis, says Alan Milburn