Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of equipment procured by Defence Equipment and Support makes use of steel produced or processed in the UK.

Steel for our major programmes is mainly sourced by our prime contractors, taking into account cost, time and quality. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not, therefore, hold a complete central record of the origin of steel used in all past defence equipment projects.

UK suppliers have, however, made a significant contribution to the supply of steel for some of our largest defence equipment projects, including 88% of the structural steel for the Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers. The specialist nature of some of our steel requirements means that UK steel producers do not always have the capability to supply our programmes.

More broadly, this Government is committed to creating the right conditions in the UK for a competitive and sustainable steel industry. In support of this, the Government has now 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. The pipeline is published on the gov.uk web site at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/procurement-policy-note-1116-procuring-steel-in-major-projects-revised-guidance.

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