Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has made an assessment of the (a) potential merits and (b) capacity of the domestic steel industry to provide materials for the Multi Role Support Ships.

Steel for our major defence programmes is generally sourced by our prime contractors from a range of UK and international suppliers. This Government is committed to creating the right conditions in the UK for a competitive and sustainable steel industry. It publishes its future pipeline for steel requirements, together with data on how Departments are complying with steel procurement guidance. This enables UK steel manufacturers to better plan and bid for Government contracts.