National Shipbuilding Strategy

Debate between Baroness Goldie and Baroness Jolly

Wednesday 6th September 2017 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Jolly (LD)]

My Lords, I join the noble Lord, Lord Touhig, in welcoming the Minister to the Front Bench on her first defence Statement. As a general rule, we welcome the shipbuilding strategy, which is all to do with the delivery of the 2015 SDSR. We welcome the boost that it is likely to give to British engineering and the use of the distributed build model, which was so successfully used with the carriers. We welcome the opportunity that should come from this to spread enterprise and employment to shipbuilding yards across the UK, and the opportunities to export.

I should welcome some clarity from the Minister about the opportunity to open the market. I have not read the detail in the strategy, but can she indicate how this might work? As she outlined, the timescale is really tight if we are to have our first Type 31e frigate by 2023, so how long is the procurement process expected to last, and how long the build? Here, I echo concerns about efficiency savings. We clearly need to be effective and efficient, but if we start cutting corners, we will rue the day.

What gives the Government confidence that there will be men and women available to build the ships and, once built, to man them, given that unemployment is pretty much at an all-time low at the moment and the Royal Navy is not attracting recruits or retaining young men and women? Finally, what mechanism is envisaged to report to Parliament on the progress of the strategy outlined in the document?

[Baroness Goldie]

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Touhig, and the noble Baroness, Lady Jolly, for their questions and express my appreciation of their kind words about my taking on this brief. I am very much dependent on the sympathy of your Lordships. It is clear that my expertise does not lie in the design, construction or build of naval ships, but I shall do my level best to deal with the issues arising. First, I will take the points raised by the noble Lord, Lord Touhig, which were comprehensive, and deal first with the issue of delay. I remind the House that when Sir John Parker produced his far-reaching, forensic and profoundly analytical report in November 2016, the Government published it without redaction. We thought it important that everybody should understand, as the noble Lord said, exactly what the challenges had been for Governments of all political hues.

It is a measure of the reaction to the report that the Government have placed such importance on trying to build a strategy on the main recommendations of the report. Yes, there was a delay. A general election intervened and, naturally, that inevitably distracted from getting on with the business as the country went to vote and had to return a new Government. But what is important now is how the Government take forward, in a very comprehensive manner, the recommendations of Sir John Parker. It is worth reminding the House that the Government have accepted all the recommendations in the report that concern the Government.

A number of issues arose and I shall try to deal with them as best I can. I was asked how we can deliver on pledges about growth, apprenticeships and training. What has been announced today is reflective of a very healthy procurement programme, and one with a certainty about it that perhaps has not attended previous procurement exercises. Our shipbuilding industry in the United Kingdom is in very good health, I am delighted to say, which is manifest in the activity reflected throughout all parts of the United Kingdom. To answer the point made by the noble Baroness, Lady Jolly, there is now within the United Kingdom good competition for seeking to build ships for the Royal Navy. Also very importantly, there will be an international competition, because we shall be looking to engage with international shipbuilders, along with our United Kingdom shipbuilders, on the building of ships that are not warships and where there are not issues of national security. That is to ensure that we get the best possible choice of vessel, at the price that is the best possible option for the taxpayer.

On the growing defence capability, the issue of employment was raised by the noble Baroness, Lady Jolly, and the noble Lord, Lord Touhig. My understanding is that the Royal Navy is at 97% levels of manning, which is very good—and it also means, if my memory serves me correctly, that we are at the lowest unemployment for the Royal Navy in 40 years. That is a very positive development but, notwithstanding that, the Secretary of State announced in the other place this morning that we shall engage a further 400 service personnel for the Royal Navy.

On the important matter of review that was raised, Sir John Parker will review progress in a year’s time. MoD directors are responsible for implementing the strategy outlined today.

An important issue was raised about apprenticeships. There are a variety of initiatives in place across the UK to allow individuals to develop the skills needed to deliver the ships. We hope that shipbuilding in the UK and the pledges that have been made today and which will come for the future will allow the industry to train skilled workers of the future. Our shipbuilding industry is in good heart, which is a very important and positive attribute to remember.

The issue of sourcing materials was raised, and again that is important. Sir John Parker referred to what he described as a “regional renaissance” of shipbuilding, which is an interesting description of what many of us know to be the case throughout the United Kingdom. I know that the Government will take an interest in discussions with shipbuilders as to how they source materials—and I think that there would be a desire, if it was possible, to source materials locally, to help local economies. But there will also be cases where specialisation and a specialised need means that that may not be an option. We have to understand that that is one of the practical obligations on shipbuilders to ensure that they have the materials that they need to produce the vessels of a quality that we require.

I hope that I have managed to deal with the main issues raised by the noble Lord and the noble Baroness, but if I have omitted anything I shall have a look at Hansard and undertake to write.