Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 27 February 2018 to Question 128159, for what reasons the decision was made to procure ships other than warships by international rather than UK-only competition.

As outlined in the National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSbS), the Government is committed to the procurement of non-warships through international competition. It remains the cornerstone of defence procurement policy as the means by which we attract the best solutions and maximise value for money for UK taxpayers, and lies at the heart of the NSbS. The exemption under the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (Article 346), which allows any member nation to reserve a procurement for reasons of national security, does not apply to the design, construction and commissioning of non-warships. Where applicable, the sensitive elements of these ships will be limited to a UK only competition. A key element of our vision for a modern and efficient maritime sector, capable of meeting the country’s future defence and security needs, is one that can compete in the overseas as well as in the domestic market. Sir John Parker identified a renaissance in the UK shipbuilding sector, which has a record of success in international competitions. As a result of the NSbS, we have set up and are supporting the Maritime Enterprise Working Group, an industry group aimed at actively assisting UK shipyards and supply chains improve their competitiveness and capability capacity to put in high-quality bids. BEIS expects UK shipbuilding companies to be in a position to be able to bid into all competitions announced by MoD. We strongly encourage UK companies to take part in all Defence competitions.