National Shipbuilding Strategy

Lord Mountevans Excerpts

Wednesday 30th April 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Coaker (Lab)]

The shipbuilding tsar will be appointed as soon as possible—I cannot give the noble Baroness a date. The National Shipbuilding Office has been involved in a number of projects, not least, as I mentioned yesterday, the five Type 31s being built in Rosyth and the eight Type 26s being built on the Clyde. The National Shipbuilding Office has also been ensuring that the various departments across government recognise that they also have a responsibility to ensure that the ships they want are built as far as possible in British yards.

[Lord Mountevans (CB)]

My Lords, I welcome much of what the Minister has said, but turning to the commercial side of shipping, the Parker report drew attention to the potential of and importance of commercial shipbuilding in growing skills and capacity throughout the land. As has been noted, very little has happened from the NSO on that. I do not blame it because I know that a great deal of effort has been made by some of the officials; indeed, there are people in the Gallery today who put tremendous effort into this. Can the Minister try to unfreeze funds for export credit guarantees for merchant ships where there is potential, we have orders and people want to build here? Also, have the Government decided where they want to locate the National Shipbuilding Office? Which ministry will it be attached to? Perhaps the Minister could enlighten us.

[Lord Coaker (Lab)]

The National Shipbuilding Office is based in the MoD but works across government. There is a review of the export guarantee, the fundamental point of which is that, where we have exports and ships that need to be built, there is access to finance. We are not satisfied with how that is working at present, and the review is going on to see if we can do better.