Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether pipeline data has been made available to UK steel producers to ensure that UK defence steel requirements can be met by British steel producers; and if he will make a statement.

This Government is committed to creating the right conditions in the UK for a competitive and sustainable steel industry. In December 2016 the Government published its future pipeline for steel requirements, indicating the quantities of steel expected to be required for major projects, including defence. This will enable UK steel manufacturers to better plan and bid for Government contracts.

Updated policy guidance on Government steel procurement was also published, which the Ministry of Defence has adopted, which encourages the public sector to take full account of the value provided by UK steel producers when conducting procurement activities.

The pipeline, together with the updated procurement policy, is published on gov.uk at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/procurement-policy-note-1116-procuring-steel-in-major-projects-revised-guidance.