Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Maritime Enterprise Working Group is a permanent structure.

The Maritime Enterprise Working Group (MEWG) was set up, following the publication of the National Shipbuilding Strategy in 2017, to provide a forum for the UK’s professional marine engineering, science, manufacturing and technology community for addressing issues of common concern to secure a truly competitive, sustainable and globally successful marine engineering and shipbuilding industry.

On 16 March 2021, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence and Shipbuilding Tsar announced that we are currently conducting a refresh of the National Shipbuilding Strategy which will be published this summer. As part of this, we will consider whether to adapt or strengthen the existing structures to enable strong partnership working between Government and industry going forward.