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Written question asked by Mike Wood (Conservative) on Friday, 29 May 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 2 June 2026. It was answered by Chris Ward (Labour) on Wednesday, 3 June 2026 on behalf of the Cabinet Office.

Procurement

Question

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he has taken with Cabinet colleagues to encourage government procurement in British companies in relation to (a) shipbuilding, (b) steel-making, (c) energy and (d) artificial intelligence.

Answer

This government believes that it matters where things are made and who makes them. We also believe Government procurement should do much more to protect national security including in critical UK industries, in line with our international trade agreements.

In order to protect essential security interests in critical industries and supply chains, the Government announced in March that we will issue new guidance to all government departments to make use of the national security exemptions in the Procurement Act, where lawful, to ensure procurement serves the national interest. We will start with four critical sectors: steel; shipbuilding; energy infrastructure and artificial intelligence.

This is a major step forward in supporting British national security in critical industries and supply chains, and I will update the House when the new guidance is published.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
4136
Session
2026-27
Transferred
Yes
Subjects
Energy Iron and steel Procurement Shipbuilding Artificial intelligence
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk