Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential costs and practical implications for contractors delivering publicly funded projects of incorporating a requirement to use a proportion of UK-produced steel; and how that assessment informs their consideration of the role of procurement policy in supporting domestic steelmaking capacity.

We want to see more use of UK made steel in public projects, whilst respecting our national and international legal obligations.

Central government procurers have an excellent record of using UK made steel. In FY 2023/24, where full domestic sourcing was possible, about 97% of the steel (by value) procured was UK made, equivalent to c.£351million. That said, we continue to strengthen mechanisms to enable the procurement of UK made steel. Our steel Procurement Policy Note, introduced in June, states that all organisations in scope should consult UK Steel’s digital catalogue before making procurement decisions.

More broadly, we also welcome industry led local content targets across all industrial strategy sectors, including clean energy.