Government must guarantee that Fleet Solid Support jobs are British ones

The defence secretary has said that the bids for three fleet solid support ships which are to be built to supply our aircraft carriers, should be led by UK firms.

 

The competition for the contract is to be launched in Spring.

Garry Graham , Prospect deputy general secretary, responded to the news:

“The government’s apparently renewed commitment to UK shipbuilding is welcome but shipyards around the country will still have urgent questions for the Defence Secretary with regards to fleet solid support.

“The MoD has signalled that any bid for the project must be “UK-led” and that a “significant proportion of the build and assembly work” must be carried out in the UK but those two statements are still hugely open to interpretation. UK shipyards need all of this work guaranteed to take place here so we can properly safeguard jobs and skills around the country.

“The timing is also questionable. Wrangling over this project has been going on for years and now we have to wait until spring before the competition is even launched. Why the delay? With the economy in severe trouble due to COVID you’d think the government would be keen to give some certainty and a much needed jobs boost. Instead it continues to dither when it should be bold. Bring this competition forward now, and guarantee that the jobs created will be British ones.”