Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes in the UK's steelmaking capacity on the UK's (a) defence and (b) critical infrastructure.

The UK steel sector provides vital support to the UK’s defence capabilities including specialist cast and forged steel components for a range of UK defence programmes such as submarines, surface vessels and artillery barrels.

An initial assessment of the impact of changes in UK Steelmaking capacity on the UK’s (a) defence and (b) critical infrastructure is deemed low. Steel used in our major Defence programmes is sourced by our prime contractors from a range of UK and international suppliers, as programmes may often have requirements for specialist steel which cannot be sourced in the UK.

The amount and origins of steel procured for Defence programmes is included in the Department for Business and Trade’s annual Steel Public Procurement report which can be found on the gov.uk website: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/steel-public-procurement

This Government is producing a steel strategy that will consider implications for Defence and Critical infrastructure and create the right conditions in the UK for a competitive and sustainable steel industry.