Minerals: Production
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the Department for Business and Trade's press release entitled UK to secure critical minerals boosting economic resilience and cutting reliance on imports, published on 22 June 2026, what assessment he has made of the contribution the programme will make towards achieving the objectives set out in the Government's Critical Minerals Strategy.
Answered by Chris McDonald
The UK Critical Minerals Strategy sets out clear success features by 2035 to increase domestic resilience and diversify supply chains: meeting 10% of UK annual demand for critical minerals through domestic production, 20% through recycling products, and no more than 60% of the UK’s annual demand for critical minerals is supplied by any one country.
The £50 million programme a key enabler of this vision alongside the strategy’s wider policy framework, including competitive energy costs, planning and permitting, and access to finance through the UK’s public finance institutions. Progress towards the Strategy’s success features is monitored through Government’s strategy governance.
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