Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has for the National Shipbuilding Office to work in partnership with industry.

The National Shipbuilding Office (NSO) is already working closely with industry and will continue to do so through the implementation of the National Shipbuilding Strategy Refresh. The key forum to do this will be through the Shipbuilding Enterprise for Growth (SEG), an integrated and collaborative community with membership from across the UK shipbuilding enterprise. The SEG will be co-chaired by the NSO's Chief Executive Officer and the Director of the Society of Maritime Industries. It will identify opportunities for members to work together, outside of any competitive procurement processes, to take action which will deliver tangible improvements to the shipbuilding enterprise. In addition, the first industry secondee has recently joined the NSO, with further secondees expected to join in the near future.