Select committee: Scottish Affairs Committee
Conclusion 92
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)
A complicating factor in the work of the Taskforce is the devolved nature of skills policy in parts of the UK, including in Scotland. Kevin Craven of ADS Group said “the devolved nature of the work involved means that co-ordination and collaboration, working together on these things, is desperately important.”155 The National Shipbuilding Strategy Refresh recognises this and states that the Taskforce “will work jointly with the Devolved Administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to ensure the shipbuilders and the supply chain in all parts of the UK can access the skills they need.”156 The Secretary of State told us that “the Scottish Government and the British Government can work hand in hand on…improving STEM skills, science skills and engineering skills to support shipbuilding. Scottish shipbuilders are represented on the Skills Taskforce, and it is chaired by Captain Dr Paul Little, the Principal and Chief Executive of City of Glasgow College.157 Engagement with the Scottish Government appears to have already begun: Minister Ivan McKee MSP welcomed the fact that the Scottish Government had already had opportunities to engage with the Taskforce.158 However, the Taskforce’s terms of reference do not include a specific objective to encourage coordination of skills policies across UK jurisdictions.159
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.