Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the impact of the Refresh to the National Shipbuilding Strategy on (a) regional economic development and (b) job creation.

The National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSbS) Refresh published on 10 March 2022, is designed to deliver over the long term and reflects well over £4 billion of investment in UK shipbuilding over the next three years.

The National Shipbuilding Office (NSO) and the Ministry of Defence have undertaken a Regional Impact Assessment to better understand the economic footprint of the UK shipbuilding industry, which in turn has helped inform Government’s knowledge of the economic impacts of building military vessels domestically.

As a result of the Ministry of Defence’s investment in the Type 26, Type 31 and Fleet Solid Support programmes alone there has been significant job creation or planned creation. This has been outlined in the table below: