Defence Contracts: British Steel

Lord Hoyle Excerpts

Monday 21st November 2016 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord Hoyle]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are planning to require all future British defence contracts to specify the use of British steel exclusively.

[The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Earl Howe) (Con)]

My Lords, this Government are committed to supporting the British steel industry and we are addressing any barriers that prevent UK steel producers competing effectively in the open market. Defence 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 cost, time and quality.

[Lord Hoyle (Lab)]

However, it is not only on the replacement for the Trident submarine that foreign steel is being used but on the Royal Navy patrol vessels, for which 60% of the steel comes from Sweden. Will the Minister not apply Article 346, which will ensure some relief to our beleaguered steel industry and provide some job security for the hard-working, highly skilled steel employees?

[Earl Howe]

My Lords, along with the rest of the Government, the MoD is fully committed to supporting the British steel industry. Most defence steel requirements are sourced by our prime contractors; in fact, the British steel industry has proved very successful in those competitions. We are taking specific action across government. We are compensating energy-intensive manufacturers such as steel for the costs associated with renewables and climate change policy, worth £126 million to them. We secured flexibility over EU emissions regulations. We have made sure that social and economic factors can be taken into account when the Government procure steel. We have also successfully pressed for the introduction of trade defence instruments to protect UK steel producers from unfair steel dumping. There is a range of measures that we believe will help our industry compete even more effectively.