UK Steel, the trade association representing Britain’s steel producers, has launched a Digital Steel Catalogue.
This new digital platform is designed to help contractors easily search for UK-made steel products and gain a clearer understanding of the construction steel offered by UK steelmakers, and will answer the needs of the Government’s ambitious new Industrial and Infrastructure Strategies.
The Digital Catalogue is at the heart of the Government’s revised procurement guidance for steel, which includes a formal requirement for steel buyers to consult the Catalogue during purchasing decisions, as well as a requirement to consider national security considerations. National security and resilience are also at the heart of a consultation on reforms to the Procurement Act launched alongside the guidance.
The Catalogue is a key outcome of the Government-backed Steel Procurement Taskforce and is now embedded and linked in the revised guidance. The guidance and launch of the Catalogue is the product of months of collaboration between the steel industry and the Government to increase procurement from UK businesses, ensure that economic value is retained in the UK, and strengthen the increasingly important national security agenda.
With the roll-out of the Industrial Strategy, National Infrastructure Strategy and the forthcoming Defence Industrial Strategy, Britain’s steel sector stands on the cusp of a once-in-a-generation opportunity to supply billions of pounds worth of projects in the public pipeline. The new Digital Catalogue will serve as a vital gateway to ensure that procurement leads and industry can work together to supply into this demand.
UK Steel Director-General, Gareth Stace, said: “The Digital Steel Catalogue represents a step change for UK steel procurement. By broadening the scope of the revised guidance, the Government is embedding domestic sourcing deeper into the public procurement process.
“Our digital steel catalogue is a one-stop-shop that will take away any uncertainty around what we do and do not make here in the UK. With our construction steel products listed clearly, UK steelmakers can help the Government achieve its mission to grow and develop the UK’s economy, homes and infrastructure all with the use of steel.
“With national security concerns front and centre, we urge all public and private sector buyers to make full use of the catalogue to help ensure that economic value, jobs and supply chains are built up right here in the UK and not lost abroad. We are especially grateful to Procurement Minister Georgia Gould and Industry Minister Sarah Jones for their leadership and recognition of the strategic importance of steel to our economy and infrastructure.”