- PM announces £4 billion injection into regional shipbuilding
to support thousands of high-quality jobs
- Funding will support shipyards and suppliers across the UK,
delivering a pipeline of more than 150 new naval and civil
vessels
- PM visits Merseyside dockyard as the Government launches a
refreshed National Shipbuilding Strategy to galvanise sector
The Prime Minister will visit a Merseyside dockyard today [THU]
as he announces a £4 billion injection into the UK’s regional
shipbuilding industry to create tens of thousands of high-quality
jobs.
The multi-billion pound investment will galvanise and support
shipyards and suppliers across the UK, delivering a pipeline of
more than 150 new naval and civil vessels for the UK Government
and Devolved Administrations over the next 30 years.
The funding comes as the Ministry of Defence prepares to publish
its refreshed National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSbS) today [THU],
which will outline how the Government will support UK shipyards
across the nation to upskill workers, create high-quality jobs,
drive technology development and ensure UK shipbuilding delivers
on next-generation challenges.
The strategy also builds on the UK’s increased support for
European defence capability in the face of rising Russian
aggression, with UK defence giant Babcock successfully being
chosen as Poland’s preferred partner to deliver three new
warships based on the UK’s Type 31 design.
During his visit the Prime Minister will meet apprentices and
shipbuilding experts to understand how UK Government investment
is creating jobs and levelling up communities across the
country.
The UK’s historic shipbuilding industry currently supports 42,600
jobs across the UK, from Cornwall to Belfast and Govan, and
contributes more than £2.8 billion to the economy.
The Prime Minister
said:
“Shipbuilding has been in our blood for centuries and I want to
ensure it remains at the heart of British industry of generations
to come.
“The National Shipbuilding Strategy will transform this important
and crucial industry, creating jobs, driving technology
development and upskilling the shipbuilders of tomorrow, ensuring
we are levelling up across every dock, port and shipyard in the
UK.
“This will ensure the UK is rightly seen as a shipbuilding power
across the world .”
The NSbS Refresh will also establish a new UK Shipbuilding Skills
Taskforce, led by the Department for Education. The taskforce
will work with industry and training providers across the UK to
identify and address skills gaps, ensuring the UK continues to
develop and nurture future-focused skills and knowledge to help
our shipbuilders deliver the world-class vessels of tomorrow.
Meanwhile, as part of the strategy, the Department for Transport
will invest £206 million in the UK Shipping Office for Reducing
Emissions (UK-SHORE) to match fund research and development in
zero emission vessels and infrastructure and ensure our place as
global leader in green technology.
UK-SHORE will help to tackle barriers to investment in clean
maritime technologies, including investment in port
infrastructure.
A new Maritime Capability Campaign Office (MCCO) within the
Department for International Trade will also be established. The
MCCO will coordinate export support across government and
industry and use robust analysis to improve our understanding
about global markets, helping maritime suppliers to win export
orders and increase UK market share.
Defence Secretary and
Shipbuilding
Tsar said:
“As Shipbuilding Tsar, I am proud to be announcing our new
strategy, this is an exciting time to be involved in the sector.
“With significant government investment, we will be levelling-up
across our shipbuilding, workforce, from shipyard to supplier,
from procurement to designer, creating tens of thousands of new
employment opportunities, boosting living standards and
pay.
“Our refreshed strategy will see the sector galvanised at a
crucial time for our economy and see a vital part of British
industry expand and flourish.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
The investment covers:
- More than £4 billion for new vessels, including the Royal
Navy Pipeline, which was announced in the 2020 Spending Review
and the 2021 Autumn Budget.
- The MOD’s overall shipbuilding investment will double over
the life of this Parliament, rising to more than £1.7bn a year.
- £206 million for UK SHORE.
- £11 million of new funding for the Maritime Capability
Campaign Office (MCCO).
- An initial £2 million of new funding to set up the Home
Shipbuilding Credit Guarantee Scheme (HSCGS), with additional
investment - for underwriting the finance of vessel contracts -
to be confirmed in due course.
