UK Steel - Submission to the Strategic Defence Review

August 2024

UK Steel submitted a response to the Strategic Defence Review being undertaken by the Ministry of Defence at the end of August.

The Defence Select Committee published its report ‘Ready for War?’ in February 2024. This important publication identified serious deficiencies in defence procurement practices, with the relationship between the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and suppliers “not anywhere close to where it needs to be”. The report also identified a pressing need to strengthen domestic production capacity across the board. If supported by a positive investment environment and a pipeline of projects, the United Kingdom possesses a range of domestic steel producers and suppliers with the capability to produce key products for defence and security of national supply.

As part of any review of procurement practices as part of the Strategic Defence Review, our industry can make a significant contribution to supply chain resilience, bringing the procurement of key materials closer to home and reducing our dependence on foreign companies in an increasingly competitive and protectionist world by better support and utilisation of our domestic steel industry.

In this submission to the Review we will explore the current issues hampering better engagement between the MOD and UK steel companies, list concisely what steel products of relevance are made in the UK and by whom and provide wider recommendations for rectifying some of the issues identified by the Defence Select Committee and, separately, by the Royal United Services Institute.