Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to maximise the role that UK suppliers can play in the development of the Type 26 programme.

In February 2015 the Government signed a £859 million Demonstration Phase contract for the Type 26 (T26) Global Combat Ship. Around 1,700 jobs in the UK will be sustained as a result with 600 of those jobs safeguarded in Scotland where T26 will be built.

The majority of sub-contractors to the T26 Global Combat Ship programme are selected by BAES through competition.

The use of competition remains the cornerstone of defence procurement and this approach has been successful in driving efficiency into the UK defence industry. UK suppliers have had an equal opportunity to bid for work on the T26 programme with selections based on cost and the ability of suppliers to meet the schedule and performance requirements.

To date BAES has placed eight design development agreements (DDAs) and six design and manufacture contracts with UK based companies. These are shown in the table below:

Design Development Agreements – UK based companies only

Design & Manufacture Contracts – UK based companies only

We anticipate that more UK based sub-contracts will be appointed as the programme progresses.