Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the UK government considers coal for (a) steel and (b) cement manufacture to be a strategically important mineral; and if he will make a statement.

The Government recognises the importance of coal as a raw material for cement producers, and in primary steel production where coke and iron ore are the principle inputs to the blast furnaces at Scunthorpe and Port Talbot. Currently, there are well-functioning global markets for the types of coal required in the UK industrial base and these materials are not in short supply. As part of the Industrial Strategy we have secured a sector deal with the UK construction sector, and remain in close dialogue with the UK steel sector in pursuit of a similar outcome. Through these conversations neither sector has raised concerns regarding coal. In addition to the Department’s current efforts in encouraging all UK businesses to prepare resilient contingency plans to ensure continuation of supply for their key inputs (including materials) as we leave the EU, all commercial operators in these sectors will have been constantly monitoring their key dependencies and risks as responsible businesses.