The UK Government has confirmed that spending with Scottish defence small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has increased from 2.5% in 2020/21 to 7% in 2021/22.
This comes in response to the Scottish Affairs Committee’s report on military shipbuilding, which raised concerns that Scottish companies were being overlooked by the Ministry of Defence and prime contractors.
In its report, the committee suggested that the building of warships is gradually being ‘off-shored’, with competition opening up to international companies which could be to the detriment of Scottish shipyards and supply chains.
In particular, it considered the decision to award the Fleet Solid Support (FSS) ships to an international consortium, Team Resolute, rather than a Team UK bid which would have supported more UK - and in particular Scottish - jobs.
The committee called for further clarification as to why the Team UK bid was non-compliant with the terms of the competition and to better understand how the decision was consistent to the objectives outlined in the National Shipbuilding Strategy.
As such, committee chair Pete Wishart has written to the Defence Secretary asking for clarity.
“While the Government’s response to our report was largely welcome, we were disappointed with the lack of information on the decision to award the FSS contract to an international consortium over a Team UK bid that would have supported Scottish shipbuilding,“ stated Wishart.
“If the UK Government is insistent that it is not offshoring the building of warships, we need to better understand the reasons for its decision.
“I hope the Defence Secretary is able to shed some light on this issue in response to my letter today.”
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