Public Sector: Iron and Steel
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of updating public procurement policy to (a) incentivise and (b) mandate greater use of UK made steel in publicly funded projects.
Answered by Chris McDonald
The Government wants to see more use of UK‑made steel in publicly funded projects, whilst respecting our national and international legal obligations. The latest steel public procurement data shows that in the financial year 2024–25, where all the steel required could be produced in the UK, 95% of the steel procured by central government buyers was UK‑produced.
That said, we continue to strengthen mechanisms to enable the public procurement of UK‑made steel. Updated steel procurement guidance (Public Procurement Policy Notice 022), introduced in June 2025, requires in‑scope organisations to consult UK Steel’s digital catalogue for all new relevant steel procurements before making decisions, and encourages them to consider whether the national security exemption under the Procurement Act applies.
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