Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will take steps to ensure that only British steel is used to build the three new Royal Navy support ships regardless of the outcome of the international tender.

Decisions about the sourcing of steel for our major procurement programmes are taken by our prime contractors, taking into account the cost, timeliness of availability and the specification of steel needed to meet the requirements of defence contracts. These considerations allow defence contractors to deliver value for money for the taxpayer, and will be finalised upon contract award.

European and UK procurement regulations do not allow the Ministry of Defence to mandate the use of specific suppliers as part of the contract.