Oral Answers to Questions

Stuart Andrew Excerpts

Wednesday 16th January 2019 Commons Chamber

[Kelvin Hopkins (Luton North) (Ind)]

2. What recent estimate he has made of the value of the defence sector to the Scottish economy.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Stuart Andrew)]

The Ministry of Defence spent nearly £1.6 billion with Scottish businesses in 2016-17, supporting some 10,500 jobs. This demonstrates the vital contribution of the workforce in Scotland to defending the UK from the growing threats we face from across the globe.

[Kelvin Hopkins]

At Defence questions on 26 November, I raised concerns about the desperate shortage of Royal Navy coastal defence vessels, which number just three according to the Minister for the Armed Forces. It is also the case that Scottish shipyards have suffered from major cuts in defence orders. Will the Government now right both those wrongs by allocating new orders for coastal defence vessels from Scottish shipbuilders?

[Stuart Andrew]

I am afraid that I do not agree with the hon. Gentleman. We have secured 20 years’ worth of work for the Clyde shipyards. We would be hard-pressed to find any industry in the UK that could say it has secured 20 years’ worth of work to help its workforce for the future.

[Kirstene Hair (Angus) (Con)]

15. Armed forces personnel in my constituency of Angus and across Scotland warmly welcomed the UK Government’s intervention last year to mitigate the Scottish Government’s income tax increase. Can my hon. Friend confirm that the UK Government will seek to continue that mitigation to ensure our armed forces personnel in Scotland are not out of pocket?

[Stuart Andrew]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise this important issue. The Ministry of Defence is reviewing the Scottish Government’s plans for next year’s tax, and we await the final outcome and ratification from the Scottish Parliament. We will review the situation and determine whether the impact on the UK armed forces warrants an offer of financial mitigation. Once a decision has been made, an announcement will be made to this House and to those affected personnel.

[Mr Speaker]

Happy birthday, Mr Sweeney. I gather it is a significant birthday—30 today and you do not look a day older than 20.

[Ian Murray (Edinburgh South) (Lab)]

The defence sector is critical for the Scottish economy, but so are other sectors, such as financial services, higher education, food and drink, and fisheries. So will the Minister have a chat with the Secretary of State to make sure that in Cabinet the Secretary of State is insisting that a no-deal outcome is ruled out?

[Stuart Andrew]

I admire the hon. Gentleman’s ingenious way of bringing in defence industry issues. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is constantly fighting for Scotland around the Cabinet table and he will continue to do so long into the future.

[Chris Stephens (Glasgow South West) (SNP)]

11. Glasgow has a proud shipbuilding tradition, and long may that continue, but the Minister will be aware of the situation on key land platform contracts. What is he doing to make sure that Scotland gets a good share of those contracts?

[Stuart Andrew]

As I said, we are trying to build in a good shipbuilding programme so that shipyards around the country know what the Ministry of Defence’s requirements are going to be for the next 30 years and they can plan accordingly. We also want them to be incredibly competitive, so that they are able to compete for commercial lines, and not just in this country—we want them to be able to compete for opportunities around the world.

[Mike Wood (Dudley South) (Con)]

What would the impact of the break-up of the Union be on defence supply companies based in Scotland?

[Stuart Andrew]

Catastrophic.

[Lesley Laird (Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath) (Lab)]

I wish to start by adding my sentiments to those expressed by the Secretary of State on our wonderful sportsman Andy Murray.

The Secretary of State has turned his back on Scotland’s great shipbuilding tradition by putting the fleet solid support contract out to international tender. He will no doubt trot out the line, “These are not warships.” However, the Minister of State for Defence, Earl Howe, responded to a written question by saying that a ship such as this is a “non-complex warship”. I grew up in a shipbuilding community. A warship carried weapons, explosives and ammunition, which is exactly what these ships do. So if these are not warships, what are they?

[Stuart Andrew]

I have made this point consistently, as the hon. Lady will know: the national shipbuilding strategy defines warships as frigates, destroyers and aircraft carriers. The primary role of the FSS ships is the replenishment of naval vessels with bulk stores. They are non-combatant naval auxiliary support ships, and therefore they will go out to international competition. What I am delighted to see is that there is a British bid in that competition.

[Lesley Laird]

May I suggest to the Secretary of State that he might want to visit a shipyard, as I am sure plenty of workers there would like to give him a different account of that strategy? We are talking about highly skilled, high-paid jobs that could return £2.3 billion of revenue to the Treasury, while providing sustainable employment and ensuring that communities continue to thrive. Instead, the Secretary of State is torpedoing Scottish shipbuilding in favour of bargain basement deals. So will he allow this Prime Minister to continue the destructive legacy of Thatcher or will he support the Scottish Labour party and the Labour party by backing our plans to finally stand up for Scottish shipbuilding, and protect and create jobs in the industry?

[Stuart Andrew]

It may have escaped the hon. Lady’s attention but I am not the Secretary of State, and I have visited many of the shipyards around this country and in Scotland. I have seen for myself how well they are doing. We want them to be competitive, so that they can have a long-term future. We have 20 years of work guaranteed for Scotland’s shipyards, and Conservative Members can be proud of that.

[Douglas Ross (Moray) (Con)]

3. What progress has been made on securing the Moray growth deal.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Stuart Andrew)]

We have been making good progress since the Government’s intention to negotiate a Moray deal was announced in September 2018. The partners there have submitted a number of project proposals, which are currently being scrutinised.

[Douglas Ross]

I am grateful to the Minister for that response. The Ministry of Defence is one of the largest employers in Moray, and it is set to get even bigger after significant UK Government investment. Given that local personnel at Kinloss barracks and RAF Lossiemouth are already engaged with the Moray growth deal, will the Minister confirm that his Department will now play a significant role in this important deal for Moray?

[Stuart Andrew]

First, I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for the work he is doing on this deal; I know that he takes a keen interest in it, as does the MOD in terms of surplus land being released at Forthside as part of the Stirling deal. He is right that as a local employer we are an important player in that area. I can confirm that the MOD is exploring opportunities for involvement in my hon. Friend’s local growth deal.

[Kirsty Blackman (Aberdeen North) (SNP)]

5. What recent discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on the UK leaving the EU.