Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Shipbuilding Enterprise for Growth minutes of 12 September 2023, whether he made an assessment of the potential merits of providing additional funding to enable the self-assessment to be completed by December 2023.

As part of its work programme, the Shipbuilding Enterprise for Growth has created a Task and Finish group which is focussed on Centres of Excellence. That group is conducting analysis of the market, including initial gap analysis, and will deliver findings to the Shipbuilding Enterprise for Growth (SEG) for consideration by summer 2024.

In addition, the Shipyard of the Future Task and Finish group continues to engage with Industry stakeholders and with others including the Catapult network to consider options including self-assessment and will consider funding requirements as part of this.