Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his Answer of 16 June to Question 10178 on Royal Yacht: Procurement, whether the procurement framework for the new national flagship will provide for its construction using British steel.

Procurement of the National Flagship will be conducted strictly in accordance with Government procurement policy, including that on the procurement of steel as set out in Procurement Policy Note 11/16. Responsibility for sourcing steel for Government procured vessels rests with prime contractors and, in line with Procurement Policy Note 11/16, it will be for the prime contractor to make its steel requirements known to the UK steel industry in order that they may consider bidding.

The joint industry and Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Steel Procurement Taskforce was launched in March 2021, with the aim of working with the sector to promote the unique selling points of UK steel and explore how best to support and position the industry for success in forthcoming major public contracts.