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National Shipbuilding Strategy
10 March 2022
Lead MP
Jeremy Quin
Debate Type
Ministerial Statement
Tags
DefenceTaxationBusiness & Trade
Other Contributors: 18
At a Glance
Jeremy Quin raised concerns about national shipbuilding strategy in the House of Commons. A government minister responded. Other MPs also contributed.
How the Debate Unfolded
MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said:
Government Statement
The Minister, Jeremy Quin, announced the Government's refreshed national shipbuilding strategy in the UK. He emphasised that the UK remains a leader in maritime design and technology, with over 42,600 people employed across various regions due to the industry. The statement highlighted an increase in Ministry of Defence investment in shipbuilding from £850 million to more than £1.7 billion per year by the end of this Parliament. This strategy includes committing to a future fleet of frigates and destroyers, launching competitions for new ships like the national flagship, and establishing the National Shipbuilding Office (NSO). The Minister also announced over £5 billion in investment for the next three years aimed at fostering innovation, decarbonisation, and financial support. Additionally, he mentioned initiatives to enhance skills training and market access, aiming to grow UK ship exports by 45% by 2030.
Chris Evans
Lab Co-op
Caerphilly
Question
Why does the strategy not promise a “British built by default” approach to defence procurement and include targets for UK steel in UK ships? Without these, how can the Minister ensure investment and job creation?
Chris Evans
Lab Co-op
Caerphilly
Question
Why has the strategy been published without a clear timeline for delivery? How will £5 billion cover the cost of 150 ships, and is this even new money?
Chris Evans
Lab Co-op
Caerphilly
Question
Does the Minister still think that spending MOD money on a new royal yacht is the best way to allocate resources, given the Defence Committee's stance?
Chris Evans
Lab Co-op
Caerphilly
Question
After months of delay, the Minister has announced a shipbuilding strategy. The question criticises the Prime Minister's historical approach to shipbuilding and questions why the Ministry of Defence gave a £10 million contract to a Dutch yard when it could have been built in Britain. It highlights the Royal Navy's need for more ships, the lack of commitment to ensure they are built in UK yards, and demands clarity on MOD timelines and costs.
Minister reply
The Minister responded that the strategy aims to deliver hard facts and support modern technology and environmental sustainability. He highlighted investments such as £1.7 billion for warships, Type 31 frigates being built in Rosyth, and plans for up to five Type 32s entering service with the Royal Navy. The strategy also includes a home shipping guarantee system similar to export guarantees.
Mark Francois
Con
Rayleigh and Wickford
Question
The MP questioned why there is not an urgent operational requirement for Type 45 destroyers, which are currently plagued by propulsion problems that will not be resolved until 2028. He asked for a review to ensure these ships can fight now rather than in six years.
Minister reply
The Minister confirmed that they are looking at ways to accelerate the PIP programme and apologised for a previous statement regarding HMS Dauntless undergoing sea trials, which was incorrect.
Dave Doogan
SNP
Angus and Perthshire Glens
Question
The MP welcomed the minister’s strategy but questioned its effectiveness in providing substantial impact across all yards. He highlighted Scotland's skills in building ships such as QE2-class, Type 26 under construction in Glasgow, and Type 31 under build in Rosyth. The question also queried whether exports would require countries to build these ships in UK yards.
Minister reply
The Minister acknowledged the national endeavour but mentioned plans for part of the NSO to be based in Edinburgh. He welcomed export orders as they support jobs, design, and subsystems used by overseas purchasers. The strategy includes selling Type 31s to countries that lack building capacity with work done in Rosyth or elsewhere.
Greg Smith
Con
Mid Buckinghamshire
Question
I warmly welcome my hon. Friend’s statement. I am sure he has been glued to the Transport Committee’s current inquiry into fuelling the future, where we have heard evidence about a plethora of new, cleaner fuels being developed for use across the transport sector. With the £206 million he has announced for the UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions, may I urge him to give as much regard to the cleaner fuels of the future as to the tech being developed on vessel?
Minister reply
Absolutely; I thank my hon. Friend and look forward to the conclusion of the Select Committee’s work. He is right about fuelling for the future, and I have no doubt that my colleagues in the Department for Transport will place a significant emphasis on exactly those issues.
Question
I draw the House’s attention to my non-pecuniary interests entry in the Register. I welcome the Minister’s statement. In his original report, Sir John Parker emphasised the drumbeat of work and regular orders that is important for yards—but that means orders. The Minister’s own Department, in the past few weeks, has awarded a £10 million contract to a Dutch yard, even though I warned him about that several months ago. He has given no commitments on the FSS, and the Border Force and the Home Office are looking at procuring boats from the Dutch, too. No other country does that. We need a full commitment from Government to ensuring that when those orders are procured, they are procured in UK yards. They used to hide behind the European Union, but they can no longer do that. I understand that Ministers are now hiding behind some international trade issues, but no other country has this problem.
Minister reply
The right hon. Gentleman and I did have a discussion across this Dispatch Box regarding the order, and his intuition proved correct. There was a competition process, and he proved to be correct in his assumption, although I emphasise that that was not a new build of a new vessel, but a requirement for the Royal Navy to have an existing vessel that it could practise some new developments on.
Question
I, too, welcome the statement from the Minister, which is excellent—what is not to like? This is about jobs, livelihoods, R&D, technology, self-sufficiency, investment and exports. I welcome the growing imperative towards a “build it in Britain” strategy. That is very important. Given our proud shipbuilding pedigree in Wales, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, does he agree that this is great for the Union? Moreover, noting that we are a proud seafaring member of the United Nations P5 and of NATO, does he agree that we are better off together?
Minister reply
I absolutely agree that we are better off together. I agree with my hon. Friend that we should build in Britain; that should be the result of this refresh.
Sarah Champion
Lab
Rotherham
Question
I welcome the Minister’s statement about the commitment to shipbuilding. May I urge him to do all he can to make sure that the ships are built in Britain, using British steel? In Rotherham, we make world-leading steel and we are the only place making speciality steel. If he could make that commitment, it would give real security to the industry.
Minister reply
In the same way that we have that pipeline of 150 vessels, as the hon. Lady knows, we always set out the pipeline of what is coming up imminently to help steel manufacturers in the UK to know where the opportunities are.
Lee Anderson
Reform
Ashfield
Question
This is welcome news and I thank the Minister for his statement, but does he agree that these warships should be built in Great Britain by great British workers, using great British steel, and—the bit that will upset the Opposition—using great British coal to make that steel?
Minister reply
I feel that today I have trod on the toes of many Departments in bringing forward many policies from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Department for Transport and the Department for Education, which are going to do a great job for British shipbuilding.
Jamie Stone
Lib Dem
Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross
Question
In 1941, Winston Churchill embarked on HMS Prince of Wales to meet President Roosevelt and sign the Atlantic charter. That was a battleship—a warship. In 1947, the royal family embarked on HMS Vanguard to start their South African tour. HMS Vanguard was a battleship—a warship. May I suggest to the Minister that it would be better to spend the cost of a Type 31 frigate on another Type 31 frigate than on a national flagship?
Minister reply
I respect the hon. Gentleman’s views. I remind him that the cost of the national flagship, spread over four years, is about 0.1% of the MOD’s overall budget, so this does not break the bank; it is a relatively small proportion of the overall budget.
Question
I thank the Minister for his excellent statement. Does he agree, though, that we should not just rely on domestic demand to drive investment in British shipbuilding but look to sell more abroad, as with, for example, the contract Babcock secured with Poland last week?
Minister reply
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. A lot of work went into that. I spoke to my Polish opposite number only this morning. The Poles are delighted by what they are getting.
Question
The Minister prays in aid of his case international rules, but surely that requires international agreement, conformity and consensus. The Government used to claim that the issue was EU rules which no other EU country followed. Then they claimed it was WTO rules. Now it is the international order. Now in the statement they have declared the fleet solid support ships to be warships. Frankly, the last veil has been ripped away and his policy is naked to the world. Why will he not declare that they will now buy British first?
Minister reply
We will be buying British in so many ways among those 150 vessels, but we will be doing that not because we have retreated into a narrow protectionist hole but because the design, innovation and skills in this country will be second to none as we work through the benefits of this refresh.
Brendan O'Hara
SNP
Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber
Question
My constituency has 23 inhabited islands and therefore ferries are never far from my mind. Babcock is the site of a state-of-the-art advanced manufacturing facility currently manufacturing Type 31 frigates. Does the Minister agree that this expert workforce are ideally placed to design and to manufacture specialist vessels that could serve Scotland’s island communities, and indeed those across the UK, for many years to come?
Minister reply
I certainly agree that there are great skills and great design capacity in Rosyth. I have seen that for myself.
Kate Osborne
Lab
Jarrow and Gateshead East
Question
While communities across the north such as those in my own constituency recognise and appreciate industrial investment, does the Minister recognise that his party was responsible for the decimation of our shipbuilding industry over many years? I also ask him to commit to UK shipyards such as A&P Tyne in my constituency to secure these jobs. Can he also commit to involving and consulting the trade unions in the new national shipbuilding strategy?
Minister reply
I share a vision with the trade unions for the future of our national shipbuilding endeavour, which includes high skills and trained workforce. The decline of national shipbuilding has not been under the purview of one party or another, but this Government is determined to reverse it by ensuring competitiveness on the world stage, having the necessary skills, innovation, R&D, and productivity.
Jim Shannon
DUP
Strangford
Question
I thank the Minister for his statement and welcome it. Can he confirm that Harland and Wolff in Belfast will have an important, practical role in the national shipbuilding strategy and that financial benefits such as wage packets will come as a boost for the Northern Ireland economy?
Minister reply
There is great potential for Harland and Wolff to play a significant part in our renaissance across the UK. The Government has 150 vessels coming through over the next 30 years and £1.7 billion of procurement for MOD vessels by the end of this Parliament, providing lots of opportunity.
Shadow Comment
Chris Evans
Shadow Comment
The Shadow Minister criticised the lack of commitment in ensuring that ships are built within the UK, highlighting issues such as the MOD giving a contract to a Dutch yard. He called for a “British built by default” approach and questioned the absence of targets for UK steel usage. The response also raised concerns over the strategy's failure to address delivery challenges and the high cost of vanity projects like a new royal yacht without clear evidence of benefit.
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