Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what measures are being implemented to ensure maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) resilience for major fleet assets within domestic shipyards.

This Government is putting national security and resilience first as we implement the recommendations of the Strategic Defence Review and Defence Industrial Strategy to grow our shipbuilding sector, delivering deterrence and powering innovation.

Our £26 billion investment through Project Royal Oak will deliver the largest programme of upgrades for naval bases and shipyards since the Cold War, demonstrating our commitment to improving infrastructure and facilities to enhance the UK’s resilience.

We also recognise that a resilient shipbuilding industry requires clear demand signals from Government in order to balance investment and workforce planning. That is why we are using the full range of powers available to us through the combined civil and defence shipbuilding pipeline to maximise the demand required to support resilience across industry and the supply chain.

The Government recently announced the first use of the national security exemption contained within the Procurement Act 2023 to procure a new research vessel for the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science and build it within the UK. This coincided with the announcement that the major project to deliver new submarine docking infrastructure – known as Programme EUSTON – would also be delivered through a UK-only competition.