Select committee: Scottish Affairs Committee
Conclusion 45
Fourth Report - Defence in Scotland: military shipbuilding
Published 27 Jan 2023
Addressed to Scotland Office
Scottish Affairs Committee Defence in Scotland All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
Some parts of this pipeline have since been confirmed, such as the confirmation that the second batch of Type 26 frigates would be built by BAE at Govan (considered in more detail later in this chapter).73 However, the pipeline is also subject to change. The Refresh explains that The NSO will oversee this pipeline, working with Departments to manage this against UK industrial capacity. As the pipeline spans a 30 year period, it is subject to change and will be agreed through future Spending Reviews. The NSO will update this pipeline at each multi-year Spending Review, however we will be reliant upon industry delivering programmes to cost and time so that we can minimise changes to the pipeline and provide greater certainty.74 Some changes to the pipeline have already been seen, such as the decision to cancel the National Flagship, and consequent acceleration of the Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance Ship (MROSS) procurement, in November 2022.75 In January it was reported that the UK Government had purchased a civilian vessel, the MV Topaz Tangaroa, for conversion into the first MROSS at Cammell Laird on Merseyside. This means the first MROSS will not form part of the shipbuilding pipeline for Scotland. The MOD plans to order a second MROSS, to be built from scratch; the site of this work is currently not known.76
From: Scottish Affairs Committee, Fourth Report - Defence in Scotland: military shipbuilding (HC 1096), 27 January 2023
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 6 April 2023 (deadline 27 March 2023).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The MOD disagrees with the Committee's first conclusion and its conclusion on a potential Scottish workstream gap, while welcoming recognition of export success and the National Shipbuilding Office's Edinburgh presence and setting out its position on the pipeline, skills and SMEs.
- On the Fleet Solid Support contract, the MOD says the decision to award it to Team Resolute "did not prioritise short-term savings" and followed "a fair and open competition". It says it does not disclose details of losing bids, so it cannot say why the Team UK bid was non-compliant.
- The MOD "does not agree" that the award creates a potential gap in the workstream for the Scottish warship industry. It cites Type 31 construction continuing until 2028 and Type 26 construction "expected to continue into the mid-2030s".
- On the pipeline, the MOD says it is "subject to change" as it spans 30 years, but the National Shipbuilding Office "has committed to updating the shipbuilding pipeline at each multi-year Spending Review". For Type 32 frigates, the procurement route is "yet to be determined".
- On annual Type 26 updates to Parliament, the MOD "will consider its request". On skills, the UK Shipbuilding Skills Taskforce "intends to publish a report of recommended actions in autumn 2023", and its Chair "would be pleased to meet with the Committee" afterwards.