20 May 2019
UK Steel today proudly launches a vital new procurement initiative in Parliament where the Minister for Business and Industry, Andrew Stephenson MP, will publically sign the UK Steel Charter on behalf of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. This latest signature follows the Welsh Government’s commitment last Thursday at Tata Steel’s Shotton works, and will be followed by the Scottish Government at an event at Liberty Steel’s Dalzell plant next week. In the months ahead the industry will encourage key government departments such as DfT and MOD, local authorities and major infrastructure projects such as HS2 and Heathrow, to all sign up and commit to improved procurement practises.
The UK Steel Charter is a new initiative aimed at maximising the amount of UK produced steel used in UK construction and infrastructure projects. With just over half of the steel purchased for UK construction projects currently coming from abroad (6 million tonnes annually), the potential to purchase more steel from UK producers is significant and would boost steel production, support steel jobs and communities, strengthen manufacturing supply chains, and increase UK GDP.
The Charter builds upon existing government policy on steel procurement but goes one step further by asking signatories to commit to a range of simple procurement steps. These simple steps could transform the way we purchase steel and other materials, ensuring longer term strategic aims are taken into account such as social and environmental considerations, and the UK’s long-term economic growth. These steps will inject real transparency into procurement practises, maximising the ability of UK steel producers to compete for and win supply contracts.
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