Select committee: Scottish Affairs Committee
Recommendation 49
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 ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
In its December 2021 report “We’re going to need a bigger Navy”, the Defence Select Committee recommended that the Ministry of Defence provide Parliament with an annual shipbuilding plan, including the number of ships planned to enter and leave service each year in the next 30 years. We ask that the Senior Responsible Owners for the Type 26, Type 31, Astute and Dreadnought programmes provide the Committee with an annual report on each of their programmes within six months of the publication of this report, and then annually.83 In its response the Ministry of Defence said it would “provide a single annual update to the Defence Committee which will include an update on Surface Fleet availability and shipbuilding plans.”84 More than a year on from the publication of the Defence Committee’s report, the MOD has not yet published an update, despite indicating in a letter that it would provide one in October 2022.85 78 PQ 109433 [Warships: Procurement], 13 December 2022 79 The Times, Fears for Scots shipbuilding as prime minister prepares to scrap £2.5bn frigate order, 15 January 2023 80 Evidence taken before the Defence Select Committee, 17 May 2022, Q30 81 The Times, Fears for Scots shipbuilding as prime minister prepares to scrap £2.5bn frigate order, 15 January 2023 82 Q3 83 Defence Committee, Third Report of Session, “We’re going to need a bigger Navy”, HC 168, p. 56 84 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, HC1160, p. 14 85 Letter from the Minister of State for Defence Procurement to the Chair of the Defence Select Committee, 13 June 2022 Defence in Scotland: military shipbuilding 23
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.