Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential of extracting valuable secondary materials from scrap steel.

Defra has not made a formal assessment of the potential of extracting valuable secondary materials from scrap steel.

Through the critical minerals strategy, the Government is committed to accelerating the UK’s domestic capabilities and developing a more efficient circular economy for critical minerals in the UK.

The flagship, four-year, £30m National Interdisciplinary Circular Economy Research Programme (NICER) is targeting funding to support innovation in advanced metal sorting techniques to promote a circular economy for metals.

Also, Innovate UK’s Circular Critical Materials Supply Chains (CLIMATES) programme is committing £15 million towards recycling critical minerals through R&D investments, skills and engagement with international partners.

Our forthcoming document “Maximising Resources, Minimising Waste” will also consider how best to prevent waste in several key economic sectors, including construction, and we are working with groups such as the Green Construction Board to realise those ambitions.