Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 17 October 2016 to Question 48291, what bids his Department received for the provision of specialist steel required for the pressure hulls for the Successor submarine programme.

The management of the steel procurement process for the Successor programme is the responsibility of the Prime Contractor, BAE Systems. The Ministry of Defence conducted a technical assessment during the BAE Systems tendering process to ensure bids met specifications.

There were four bids received in total. I am withholding details of the bidding firms as the disclosure of this information would be prejudicial to commercial interests.

Other stages of construction will include grades of steel manufactured by British suppliers and we encourage them to take the opportunity to bid.

85% of BAE Systems supply chain for the new submarines is based in the UK.