Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to supporting the smelting of scrap copper in the UK instead of exportation.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Government recognises copper’s importance, which is why DBT designated copper a growth mineral in the Critical Minerals (CM) Strategy and funded a study by the CM Intelligence Centre assessing copper scrap and waste flows, to help inform circularity in the UK.
This government is committed to transitioning towards a circular economy where resources are in use for longer and waste is designed out. Defra will soon publish a Circular Economy Growth Plan setting out how government will deliver a more circular and more prosperous economy. We will consider the evidence for action right across the economy and evaluate interventions needed.
Asked by: Lord Stirrup (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to strengthen the resilience and readiness of supply chains for critical components used in uncrewed systems, including whether it maintains strategic reserves of key parts, and the criteria used to designate components as critical.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Defence Industrial Strategy (DIS) sets out steps to develop a more resilient UK industrial base and policies capable of adapting and surging to address emerging priorities and demands. It details steps to enhance the resilience of the industrial base and improve the readiness of supply chains. This includes regularly assessing the scalability and resilience of production for all major procurements and strengthening supply chain data and enhancing resilience of critical and cross-cutting supply chains (page 76, policies 6.2.2.3 and 6.2.3.1). Central to this is the Defence Supply Chain Capability Programme (DSCCP) which is pivotal to ensuring operational readiness and resilience across Defence and has scoped the work required to address critical minerals and component supply within Defence.
The autonomous systems are identified as a priority sub-sector in the DIS which include combat air, complex weapons, directed energy weapons and next-generation land and maritime capabilities.
Asked by: Lord Stirrup (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the United Kingdom’s ability to surge domestic production of uncrewed systems in the event of a conflict, including the principal industrial, workforce and supply-chain constraints identified.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Defence Industrial Strategy (DIS) sets out steps to develop a more resilient UK industrial base and policies capable of adapting and surging to address emerging priorities and demands. It details steps to enhance the resilience of the industrial base and improve the readiness of supply chains. This includes regularly assessing the scalability and resilience of production for all major procurements and strengthening supply chain data and enhancing resilience of critical and cross-cutting supply chains (page 76, policies 6.2.2.3 and 6.2.3.1). Central to this is the Defence Supply Chain Capability Programme (DSCCP) which is pivotal to ensuring operational readiness and resilience across Defence and has scoped the work required to address critical minerals and component supply within Defence.
The autonomous systems are identified as a priority sub-sector in the DIS which include combat air, complex weapons, directed energy weapons and next-generation land and maritime capabilities.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what (a) products and (b) geographic areas have been allocated funding as designated critical minerals sites in Devon.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department for Business and Trade does not designate any products or geographic areas as dedicated critical mineral sites.
Following Spending Review 2025, new funding of up to £50 million will be made available by DBT to support critical mineral projects, to expand research and innovation as well as supporting commercialisation. Further details will be announced later this year.
This new funding is in addition to over £165m already provided for critical minerals supply chains, including through the National Wealth Fund and grant programmes like DRIVE35.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps will be taken to implement the recommendations of the UK-Canada Economic and Trade Working Group.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
In line with the commitment made between our Prime Ministers in June 2025, the UK-Canada Economic and Trade Working Group met over the course of last year in order to identify ways in which the UK and Canada can deepen cooperation, tackle market access barriers and grow our bilateral trading relationship, which was worth £30bn in the 12 months to June 2025.
The Working Group has identified a number of priority bilateral workstreams for 2026, including updating the UK-Canada Trade Continuity Agreement’s Rules of Origin, and deepening cooperation on critical minerals, carbon border measures, economic security, and defence procurement and trade.
The joint report for Prime Ministers itself is subject to ongoing discussions with the Government of Canada, and will be finalised in due course.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when he will publish the findings of the UK-Canada Economic and Trade Working Group.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
In line with the commitment made between our Prime Ministers in June 2025, the UK-Canada Economic and Trade Working Group met over the course of last year in order to identify ways in which the UK and Canada can deepen cooperation, tackle market access barriers and grow our bilateral trading relationship, which was worth £30bn in the 12 months to June 2025.
The Working Group has identified a number of priority bilateral workstreams for 2026, including updating the UK-Canada Trade Continuity Agreement’s Rules of Origin, and deepening cooperation on critical minerals, carbon border measures, economic security, and defence procurement and trade.
The joint report for Prime Ministers itself is subject to ongoing discussions with the Government of Canada, and will be finalised in due course.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what the current status is of the report of the UK-Canada Economic and Trade Working Group.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
In line with the commitment made between our Prime Ministers in June 2025, the UK-Canada Economic and Trade Working Group met over the course of last year in order to identify ways in which the UK and Canada can deepen cooperation, tackle market access barriers and grow our bilateral trading relationship, which was worth £30bn in the 12 months to June 2025 .
The Working Group has identified a number of priority bilateral workstreams for 2026, including updating the UK-Canada Trade Continuity Agreement’s Rules of Origin, and deepening cooperation on critical minerals, carbon border measures, economic security, and defence procurement and trade.
The joint report for Prime Ministers itself is subject to ongoing discussions with the Government of Canada, and will be finalised in due course.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he is taking steps to ensure that bilateral and multilateral mineral-security initiatives signed by the United Kingdom include binding anti-forced-labour standards.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As set out in the UK's Critical Minerals Strategy, we are working through bilateral and multilateral initiatives to promote transparent, sustainable, and responsible supply chains that uphold robust labour standards.
Last year the UK worked with multilateral partners to agree the G7 Critical Minerals Action Plan, and G20 Critical Minerals Framework. We support global standards such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Mineral Supply Chains which helps businesses operate responsibly in high-risk areas.
In addition, the Modern Slavery Act requires large businesses operating in the UK to report annually on steps taken to combat forced labour in their supply chains, and the Government is reviewing its approach to responsible business conduct as part of the Trade Strategy. This includes assessing the effectiveness of current measures and exploring alternative ways to prevent human rights abuses in supply chains.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps are being undertaken to promote UK investment in critical minerals and other resources outside of regions where forced labour is a significant risk, such as Xinjiang.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As set out in the UK's Critical Minerals Strategy, we are working through bilateral and multilateral initiatives to promote transparent, sustainable, and responsible supply chains that uphold robust labour standards.
Last year the UK worked with multilateral partners to agree the G7 Critical Minerals Action Plan, and G20 Critical Minerals Framework. We support global standards such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Mineral Supply Chains which helps businesses operate responsibly in high-risk areas.
In addition, the Modern Slavery Act requires large businesses operating in the UK to report annually on steps taken to combat forced labour in their supply chains, and the Government is reviewing its approach to responsible business conduct as part of the Trade Strategy. This includes assessing the effectiveness of current measures and exploring alternative ways to prevent human rights abuses in supply chains.
Asked by: Tristan Osborne (Labour - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy is aligned with the Critical Minerals Strategy and the Circular Economy Growth Plan.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We are ensuring our upcoming plan for industrial decarbonisation aligns with the Critical Minerals Strategy and the Circular Economy Growth Plan through joint working across government and coordinated policy development. This approach aims to strengthen supply chain resilience and embeds resource efficiency into policy design, helping industry decarbonise while supporting sustainable growth.