Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Public Procurement: UK-made Steel

Thursday 2 February 2023 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The Government reported a 160 million increase in the value of UK-made steel procured by the Government last year.
  • The Cabinet Office confirmed that 67% of the steel required for High Speed 2 is UK-produced.
  • The Cabinet Office also stated that 94% of the steel used to maintain rail track and 90% of the steel used to build schools is produced in the UK.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Jessica Morden Lab Newport East
Business & Trade
Context

The MP is concerned about the use of domestically produced steel in government contracts. She references a previous debate where the steel Minister acknowledged potential for more domestic procurement.

Question

What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to promote the use of UK-made steel in public procurement, given that last week's Westminster Hall debate highlighted room for improvement in this area?

Answer from Alex Burghart

The Government are ensuring a competitive future for the UK steel industry, and the reported value of UK-produced steel procured by the Government was up last year by £160 million, from £108 million to £268 million.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Steps being taken with Cabinet colleagues and specific measures for promoting UK-made steel in public procurement were not addressed.

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Q2 Jessica Morden Lab Newport East
Business & Trade
Context

The MP is concerned about transparency and ambition in using domestic steel. She references a previous debate where improvements were acknowledged.

Question

Will the Cabinet Office commit to publishing up-to-date data on the Government's record in using UK steel, because it has not been good enough so far, and to adopting ambitious targets across Departments on the use of domestic steel in public projects?

Answer from Alex Burghart

I am pleased to tell the hon. Lady right now that 67% of the steel required for High Speed 2 is UK-produced, 94% of the steel used to maintain our rail track is produced in the UK and 90% of the steel used to build schools is produced in the UK.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Commitment to publishing up-to-date data and setting ambitious targets was not addressed.

How: Redirected To An Urgent Question With A Different Minister

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