Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment has been made of whether public procurement policy adequately supports domestically produced construction materials.

The Procurement Act 2023 sets out the legal framework for public procurement. The National Procurement Policy Statement sets out the Government’s strategic priorities, which include the need to drive economic growth and strengthen supply chains. The Social Value Model provides the mechanism to deliver these broader economic and social objectives through individual procurement design. Steel is a critical domestically produced construction material, and our updated procurement guidance (PPN 022) ensures that UK made steel is regularly considered in public projects. The guidance requires procurers to consult a digital catalogue of UK-made steel products, before making their procurement decisions.