Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the opportunities to support the UK steel industry through public procurement policies.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The government wants to see more use of UK-made steel in public projects, whilst respecting our national and international legal obligations. The latest steel public procurement data shows that in the financial year 2024-2025, where all the steel required could be produced in the UK, 95% of the steel procured by central government buyers was UK produced.

That said, we continue to strengthen mechanisms to enable the public procurement of UK-made steel. Updated steel procurement guidance (Public Procurement Policy Notice 022) was introduced in June 2025 and requires all in-scope organisations for all new relevant steel procurements to consult UK Steel’s digital catalogue before making procurement decisions and encourages them to consider if the national security exemption under the Procurement Act applies.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the opportunities to mandate greater use of UK-made steel in publicly funded projects.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The government wants to see more use of UK-made steel in public projects, whilst respecting our national and international legal obligations. The latest steel public procurement data shows that in the financial year 2024-2025, where all the steel required could be produced in the UK, 95% of the steel procured by central government buyers was UK produced.

That said, we continue to strengthen mechanisms to enable the public procurement of UK-made steel. Updated steel procurement guidance (Public Procurement Policy Notice 022) was introduced in June 2025 and requires all in-scope organisations for all new relevant steel procurements to consult UK Steel’s digital catalogue before making procurement decisions and encourages them to consider if the national security exemption under the Procurement Act applies.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that employees who face violence are supported, such as through guaranteed offers of counselling and group debriefing.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

DWP has a robust serious incident reporting process, where colleagues’ wellbeing is paramount. The guidance advises the line manager to consider, with the colleague, whether to seek support from our 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme (which may include counselling) and Mental Health First Aiders. It also asks them to consider using a stress risk assessment where appropriate.

There is proactive support in place such as mandatory keeping safe training, procedures, and intranet guidance to limit these incidents and to make sure colleagues and managers are aware how to respond should an incident occur. All such incidents must be reported. Colleagues are made aware that abuse affects people differently and as such the response and support they receive will be tailored to their needs, whether through immediate help or ongoing support.

Through DWP’s critical incident support, our Employee Assistance Programme supplier can attend DWP sites for face-to-face critical incident support through both group support sessions and one to one conversations. They also offer legal advice and signposting.