Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what the reason the new Royal Navy Dreadnought Submarine programme will be built from steel imported from France.

United Kingdom (UK) submarine steel requirements continue to be sourced by our prime contractors from a range of UK and international suppliers. This reflects the need to source specific grades of steel, not all of which are available in the UK, and ensures competitive procurement in terms of cost, time and quality.

There are no UK suppliers of the specialised steel required in the manufacture of submarine pressure hulls. Other grades of steel used in the manufacture of submarines are sourced from a range of suppliers, including a number of UK companies.

We encourage the sourcing of UK steel wherever it is technically and commercially feasible and publish our future pipeline of steel requirements, enabling steel manufacturers better to plan and bid for government opportunities.

This Government is committed to ensuring that defence spending supports British based businesses and economic growth which will be a key tenet in the upcoming Defence Industrial Strategy.