Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with BAE Systems about delaying the closure of the Portsmouth shipyard until the results of the Scottish referendum are known.

No discussions have been held with BAE Systems about delaying the closure of Portsmouth shipyard pending the results of the Scottish referendum.

The Government is clear that Scotland benefits from being part of the UK and the UK benefits from having Scotland within it. The Government is not making plans for independence as we are confident that the people of Scotland will vote to remain within the United Kingdom in the referendum.