Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many meetings the Minister for Defence Procurement has had with the devolved Administrations to discuss the Refresh to the National Shipbuilding Strategy since his appointment; and on what dates those meetings took place.

Responsibility for engaging the Devolved Administrations is principally a matter for Ministry of Defence’s Lords Minister, currently the Earl of Minto. His predecessor, Baroness Goldie, regularly engaged with the Devolved Administrations on a range of issues including the National Shipbuilding Strategy and that the current incumbent will endeavour to engage where relevant in the future. Whilst Defence is a reserved issue, I engage regularly with a range of different stakeholders in all parts of the Union. For example, to date I have held SME forums in Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as visited key Defence assets in Scotland.