§ 17. Mr. James Hamiltonasked the Minister of State for Defence what is the percentage tonnage of steel imported from the United States of America for constructing nuclear submarines.
§ Mr. Ian GilmourThe percentage of steel imported from the United States of America for nuclear submarines under construction or ordered is about 55 per cent.
§ Mr. HamiltonI thank the hon. Gentleman for that reply. I have had correspondence with him on the matter. Does he agree that this is an indictment of the British Steel Corporation? I know that the Minister is anxious to purchase steel in this country. Will he make representations to the British Steel Corporation, bearing in mind the redundancies which are taking place in development areas, to manufacture the necessary steel and thereby give employment to many of the people in those areas?
§ Mr. GilmourAs the hon. Gentleman knows, we are buying from the British Steel Corporation as much of this special steel as it is able to allocate to us. I assure him that we shall be glad to buy more steel from British sources whenever it is available.