Oral Answers to Questions

Lillian Jones Excerpts

Thursday 21st May 2026 Commons Chamber

[Chris Bryant]

We are listening to both sides of industry, because there are the downstream users and there is the production. The truth of the matter is that UK steel production under the previous Government fell from— I think this is correct—27 million tonnes a year to 4 million tonnes a year. If we are to meet our armaments needs in future years, we need a sovereign steel capacity in this country. We have to be able to produce British steel. We have been very careful to ensure that the quotas are cutting areas only where the UK can produce that steel.

[Lillian Jones (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab)]

Does the Minister agree that expanding the use of home-grown timber in construction and manufacturing would not only support UK forestry and small businesses, but strengthen supply chain resilience and reduce our reliance on imports, which currently make up 80% of the timber we use? What specific measures will the Government introduce to support this sector as a strategic national asset?

[Chris McDonald]

My hon. Friend knows that I am a strong advocate of steel in construction, but she is right: there has been a missed opportunity on timber, particularly as many of our hardwood forests are coming to maturity, which means we will have a real surplus of hardwood in the UK. Something we will suffer from, though, is downstream processing of timber, so we need to look at how we can encourage more investment in the sawmills and downstream processing industry.