Select committee: Scottish Affairs Committee
Conclusion 89
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)
The National Shipbuilding Strategy Refresh recognised the importance of skills as an issue, and in response announced the establishment of a UK Shipbuilding Skills Taskforce (UKSST). The Taskforce is run by the Department for Education, working with the National Shipbuilding Office.146 The Taskforce’s role is to “build a picture of industry’s skills needs and provide solutions to skills shortages, particularly those related to new and emerging technologies.”147 The UKSST has initially been tasked with building a picture of the skills needs and barriers within the shipbuilding industry; the Taskforce will then prepare a Shipbuilding Skills Strategy by 2023, which will include recommendations to help the UK shipbuilding sector meet its skills requirements, before taking steps to begin implementing those recommendations.148
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.