Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the likely effect of redundancies in the UK steel industry on the proportion of defence procurement that arises from UK businesses.

Steel is sourced by our contractors from a range of UK and international suppliers, reflecting the need to ensure competitive cost, time and quality. The Ministry of Defence has not directly made an assessment of the likely effect of redundancies in the UK steel industry but, is represented on the cross-Government steel procurement working group led by the Cabinet Office, and new Government guidelines, which include the need for effective pre-procurement engagement, will help UK suppliers compete for contracts and continue to support future defence requirements for steel.