Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Defence on the role of Scottish shipyards in fulfilling future Royal Navy procurement contracts.

My Department engages regularly with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) on a range of issues.

Scottish shipyards play a key role in fulfilling Royal Navy procurement contracts. The commitments set out in the National Shipbuilding Strategy have enabled MoD investment in Scotland’s yards both at Rosyth and on the Clyde.

BAE Systems in Glasgow is constructing eight Type 26 frigates, which will form the Anti-Submarine Warfare backbone of the future Royal Navy surface fleet into the 2060s.

Simultaneously, Babcock in Rosyth is building five Type 31 frigates to replace the Navy’s Type 23 general purpose frigates. This investment ensures Rosyth’s shipbuilding capability and capacity can be optimised to support further opportunities.

In late 2024, I had the pleasure of visiting both BAE Systems in Govan and Babcock’s Rosyth dockyard to witness the progress of these two key UK Government defence programmes. I also recently hosted a defence industry roundtable to discuss sector priorities and opportunities, including regional economic development and employment.