Source · Select Committees · Scottish Affairs Committee
Recommendation 46
46
Accepted
Other elements of the pipeline face questions, including the Type 32 frigates, which under the...
Conclusion
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
Government Response Summary
The MOD recognizes the importance of maintaining a regular drumbeat of orders across the Shipbuilding industry and the NSbS aims to provide a more sustainable demand signal from Government through a 30-year cross-Government Shipbuilding Pipeline. The NSO has committed to updating the shipbuilding pipeline at each multi-year Spending Review. The Type 32 Frigate programme remains a key part of the future fleet and will be UK-built, but the procurement route has yet to be determined.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The MOD fully recognises the importance of maintaining a regular drumbeat of orders across the Shipbuilding industry. The NSbS is clear that we do not want a return to the “boom and bust” cycles of historic Naval demand, but to provide a more sustainable demand signal from Government as a whole, providing the certainty required by industry. The 30-year cross-Government Shipbuilding Pipeline of over 150 new vessels aims to do just that. It sets out a huge range of opportunities for UK shipyards and the variety of vessels creates a baseline of volume to encourage industry investment in facilities, infrastructure, innovation and skills. As the pipeline spans a 30-year period, it is subject to change and the details of shipbuilding programmes in the later decades will come with time. Nonetheless, the NSO has committed to updating the shipbuilding pipeline at each multi-year Spending Review to ensure industry has a transparent pipeline of work to plan against. As the committee have noted, Scotland plays a vital role in defence shipbuilding with both Type 26 and Type 31 being built in Scotland. This is enabled by the strength of the local maritime infrastructure, skills, training and academic resources, which creates expertise in both naval and civil shipbuilding and engineering. The recent announcement of the Type 26 Batch 2 contract with BAE Systems reaffirmed the UK Government’s commitment to shipbuilding in Scotland, which will protect over 1,700 jobs in Scotland and more than 4,000 jobs across the wider UK maritime supply chain into the 2030’s. The Royal Navy’s Type 31 vessels are being built by Babcock in Rosyth. New facilities and upgrades to existing site infrastructure are being delivered at the shipyard. The New Assembly Hall has cost £31.5 million, which is part of a £60 million investment in Rosyth, in addition to the circa £100 million invested over the last decade. At its height, Babcock has said the programme will employ a workforce of around 1,250 highly-skilled roles in multiple locations throughout the UK, with around 150 new technical apprenticeships to be created. Babcock also envisage that the Design and Build of T31 will support a further 1,250 roles within the wider UK supply chain, including with small and medium enterprises. The Type 83 destroyer will replace the Type 45 destroyers and will be a key part of the Future Air Dominance System (FADS) that will provide area air defence and offensive strike options to the Carrier Strike Group from the mid-2030s. The department will continue to work with industry and will engage at the earliest opportunity to communicate the chosen procurement strategy. Turning to the Type 32 Frigate programme, this remains a key part of the future fleet. Work continues to ensure the programme is affordable in order to deliver the ships the Royal Navy and Marines need. These ships will be UK-built, with the procurement route yet to be determined.