RE: Defence select committee today.9 Sep 2020 11:31
Last month, The Telegraph revealed how foreign companies were invited to take part in “market engagement” about the deal as the Ministry of Defence tries to get it under way again.
Unions have been battling to make sure the vessels are built in UK shipyards. They argue it would create 1,800 jobs directly and is the only major naval construction project in the pipeline.
However, the Government has previously argued that under EU procurement rules the contract has to be tendered internationally. As the FSS ships are not classified as warships, as they are part of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.
Ross Murdoch, the GMB union’s national shipbuilding officer, said: “There is speculation about other projects but in reality the FSS is the only game in town.”
The Government-commissioned report on a national shipbuilding strategy from industry veteran Sir John Parker three years ago warned that without a “steady drumbeat of work” for UK yards, they faced a boom and bust cycle that would require expensive scaling up and down.
Mr Murdoch also called on Boris Johnson to deliver on his promises to support the sector. Last year the Prime Minister pledged to “bring shipbuilding home” and last month said the reopening of the Appledore yard, which had been closed for 18 months, would “drive forward our ambitions to become a shipbuilding superpower”.
The union chief added: “We need to see the rhetoric turned into reality.”