Steel Sector

Lord Hunt of Wirral Excerpts

Thursday 23rd April 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Stockwood (Lab)]

I thank my noble friend for her question. The issue of grid connections partly sits in my department; the House might be interested to know that we have 800 gigawatts of demand in new projects to 60 gigawatts of supply. Grid connections and making sure that the grid is fit for the future will be a massive part of what we do. We also have a prioritisation process that helps prioritise the highest value projects, not just economically but socially. I would be happy to update the House on that.

As to the “Save our Steel” campaign, it is worth stating that the steel factory in Scunthorpe is close to where I grew up and I have many friends who work in the industry. I commend that organisation and the work that it does in ensuring that we do not lose sight of the fact this is not just an economic story for the UK but about real lives and communities. The work it has done has been excellent.

[Lord Hunt of Wirral (Con)]

My Lords, the Government’s steel strategy and procurement guidance require all government departments to consult UK Steel’s digital catalogue and consider whether the national security exemption in Schedule 2 to the Procurement Act 2023 applies. However, at the same time, the Government are asking the Ministry of Defence to find £3.5 billion in savings, even as our Armed Forces are being asked to prepare for a far more dangerous world. In the circumstances, does the Minister agree that this is a wholly perverse bureaucratic requirement to place on the MoD? If the Government truly accept that national security must now come first, will they exempt the MoD from these domestic steel procurement requirements so that it can source steel rapidly?

[Lord Stockwood (Lab)]

The noble Lord raises a critical question around how we balance the national resilience of our steel industry with security concerns; that balance is paramount. We remain in conversation with the MoD about making sure that this does not have a prohibitive impact on its procurement and access to products. Equally, it is really important that we utilise the UK Government’s procurement processes to ensure that we are prioritising UK products and services to meet the demand of all our government departments. There are a number of initiatives working on procurement, but I agree that we need to make sure that that perverse incentive does not drive the wrong behaviours.