Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he is taking steps to support UK shipyards to be competitive against foreign state-owned shipyards when bidding for work through the 30-year pipeline.

I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given to him on 27 March to Question 172473 to the former Member for Somerset and Frome (David Warburton).

Since that answer, the Department for Business and Trade launched the Shipbuilding Credit Guarantee Scheme on 26 July 2023 to provide vital support to improve the competitiveness of UK shipyards. Under the scheme, the Government will provide a significant guarantee to lenders making a loan to a ship-buyer or operator so that new vessels or refits and retrofits of existing vessels can be procured from UK shipyards.