Speeches

Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-10-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to maximise the role that UK suppliers can play in the development of the Type 26 programme.

Mr Philip Dunne

In February 2015 the Government signed a £859 million Demonstration Phase contract for the Type 26 (T26) Global Combat Ship. Around 1,700 jobs in the UK will be sustained as a result with 600 of those jobs safeguarded in Scotland where T26 will be built.

The majority of sub-contractors to the T26 Global Combat Ship programme are selected by BAES through competition.

The use of competition remains the cornerstone of defence procurement and this approach has been successful in driving efficiency into the UK defence industry. UK suppliers have had an equal opportunity to bid for work on the T26 programme with selections based on cost and the ability of suppliers to meet the schedule and performance requirements.

To date BAES has placed eight design development agreements (DDAs) and six design and manufacture contracts with UK based companies. These are shown in the table below:

Design Development Agreements – UK based companies only

Company

Equipment supplying

Location

Cathelco

Hull preservation

Chesterfield

L3

Platform management system

Bristol

Marine Systems Technology Ltd

Doors, scuttles and hatches, X-Y crane

Middlewich

Rolls Royce

Steering Gear System

Derby

Rolls Royce

Stabilisers

Dunfermline

Salt Separations Ltd

Reverse osmosis plant

Rochdale

TOD

Sonar dome

Weymouth

Tyco Fire & Integrated Solutions

Fixed fire fighting system

Reading

Design & Manufacture Contracts – UK based companies only

Company

Equipment supplying

Location

Babcock

Air weapons handling system

Leicester

BAE Systems

Meteorological and oceanic (METOC) sensors UK

Dorchester

David Brown Gear Systems

Propulsion gearbox

Huddersfield

GE Energy

Electronic integration test facility, Propulsion motor and drive system

Warwickshire

Rohde and Schwarz UK Ltd

Communications

Fleet

Rolls Royce

Gas Turbines

Derby

We anticipate that more UK based sub-contracts will be appointed as the programme progresses.