Select committee: Scottish Affairs Committee
Conclusion 46
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)
Other elements of the pipeline face questions, including the Type 32 frigates, which under the pipeline suggested above would be built by Babcock at Rosyth from 2028 into the late 2030s. A National Audit Office report in November noted that, in July 2022, Navy Command withdrew its initial plans for Type 32 frigates and Multi-Role Support Ships because of “concerns about unaffordability,” and that “the revised costing profile is likely to be significantly higher.”77 The Government said in response to a written question in December 2022 that the Type 32 “remains a key part of the future fleet and is currently in 71 National Shipbuilding Office, National Shipbuilding Strategy Refresh, CP 605, 10 March 2022, p.8 72 Defence Committee, Fifth Special Report of Session 2021–22, “We’re going to need a bigger navy”: Government Response to the Committee’s Third Report, HC 1160, p. 15 73 HC Deb, 15 November 2022, Col. 16WS [Commons Written Ministerial Statement] 74 National Shipbuilding Office, National Shipbuilding Strategy Refresh, CP 605, 10 March 2022, p.19 75 HC Deb, 7 November 2022, Col. 17 [Commons Chamber] 76 PQ 80884 [Multi Role Ocean Surveillance Ship: Contracts], 7 November 2022 77 National Audit Office, The Equipment Plan 2022 to 2032, HC 907, 29 November 2022, p. 20 22 Defence in Scotland: military shipbuilding the concept phase. Work continues to ensure the programme is affordable.”78 In January 2023 it was reported that the ships may be dropped from the pipeline as part of the upcoming defence review.79 Witnesses expressed concern about what the loss of the Type 32 contract would mean for Scottish shipbuilding: Ian Waddell of the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions told the Defence Committee there was a fear that the ‘frigate factory’ at Rosyth could be lost if the Type 32 contract were to go elsewhere.80 Reports suggest that the frigates would directly support 1,200 jobs, as well as thousands more in the wider supply chain.81
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.