Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions his Department has had with the Scottish Government on establishing a Defence Technical Excellence College in Scotland.

As part of the Defence Industrial Strategy, £20 million was allocated to skills initiatives in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Through the Scottish Defence Growth Deal framework, we are currently engaging with a wide range of stakeholders including government, industry and academia to understand the key skills gaps for Scotland’s defence sector and how this funding should best be used to address them. This includes exploring the concept of a Scottish Defence Technical Excellence College.