Jan. 16 2024
Source Page: A focus on skills for UK shipbuildingFound: A focus on skills for UK shipbuilding
Feb. 29 2024
Source Page: Defence Minister praises Scottish shipbuilding apprenticesFound: Defence Minister praises Scottish shipbuilding apprentices
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 12 December 2023 to Question 4940 on Shipbuilding, if he will update that table to include a breakdown by each (a) devolved nation and (b) region in England.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
This Government is championing shipbuilding and a strong shipbuilding enterprise supports jobs right across the United Kingdom. All jobs referenced in the response to Question 4940 will be based here in the UK.
Although information regarding exact regional breakdowns is not held by the MOD, investment in naval shipbuilding has led to significant job creation. This includes through the Type 26 and Type 31 programmes that are being built in Scotland by BAE Systems and Babcock respectively and the Fleet Solid Support Ships that are being built by Team Resolute, with the majority of the works being carried out by Harland and Wolff in Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 12 December 2023 to Question 4940 on Shipbuilding, how many and what proportion of the jobs in the Direct Jobs column of the table will be located within the UK.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
This Government is championing shipbuilding and a strong shipbuilding enterprise supports jobs right across the United Kingdom. All jobs referenced in the response to Question 4940 will be based here in the UK.
Although information regarding exact regional breakdowns is not held by the MOD, investment in naval shipbuilding has led to significant job creation. This includes through the Type 26 and Type 31 programmes that are being built in Scotland by BAE Systems and Babcock respectively and the Fleet Solid Support Ships that are being built by Team Resolute, with the majority of the works being carried out by Harland and Wolff in Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 40 of the policy paper entitled Refresh to the National Shipbuilding Strategy, published on 10 March 2022, whether the Shipbuilding Enterprise for Growth Group has identified priority aspects of the shipbuilding value chain where centres of excellence would be expected to operate.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
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.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
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.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
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:
Programme | Company | Direct Jobs | UK Supply Chain |
Type 26 (Govan) | BAE Systems | 1,700 | 2,300 |
Type 31 (Rosyth) | Babcock | 1,250 | 1,250 |
Fleet Solid Support (Belfast) | Harland & Wolff | 1,200 | 800 |
Mentions:
1: Nusrat Ghani (CON - Wealden) departmental minute before Parliament describing a contingent liability arising from the launch of a shipbuilding - Speech Link
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 30 of the policy paper entitled Refresh to the National Shipbuilding Strategy, published on 10 March 2022, what recent steps his Department has taken to implement a consistent approach to shipbuilding.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The National Shipbuilding Strategy Refresh (NSbS) was launched on 10 March 2022. It sets out a comprehensive package of Government support to ensure a globally successful, innovative and sustainable UK shipbuilding enterprise. It reflects over £4 billion of investment in UK shipbuilding over this spending period.
A key element of the NSbS was the creation of the National Shipbuilding Office which works across Government and the Shipbuilding Enterprise to deliver transformative change and take a consistent approach to shipbuilding.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 31 of the policy paper entitled Refresh to the National Shipbuilding Strategy, published on 10 March 2022, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the level of his Department's spending on shipbuilding on the (a) sustainability and (b) competitiveness of the shipbuilding market.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
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 30 Year Cross-Government Shipbuilding Pipeline, established in the Refresh, is designed to drive sustainability and competitiveness in the sector through providing industry a clear demand signal of Government’s procurement programmes.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to encourage the recruitment of skilled workers to the defence shipbuilding sector.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
As identified in the National Shipbuilding Strategy Refresh, the independent UK Shipbuilding Skills Taskforce (UKSST) was established to work across government, the Devolved Administrations, industry and training providers to develop and publish a future-focussed skills strategy for both Defence and the broader shipbuilding enterprise. The Taskforce published its recommendations on Monday 11 September in a report called "A Step Change in UK Shipbuilding Skills", and the government will publish a formal response to this in the New Year.
I have also discussed maritime skills with a number a number of UK Defence primes.