Speaking at the Society of Maritime Industries Annual Conference, the Defence Secretary announced a refresh of the National Shipbuilding Strategy.
At the turn of the century, the UK built an astonishing 60 per cent of the world’s ships, your industry remains global leaders in Design and Innovation. You still bring in billions to our economy and spread wealth right across the country. And you still directly provide for the livelihoods of some 44,000 people from Appledore to the Clyde and many more in the supply chain.
Our UK shipyards currently lag behind our European rivals, as does our cost base, and this needs to be improved.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s led-study into UK productivity provided us with a foundation to build on. It gave us a better understanding of the challenges you face as an industry and a better understanding of how Government can work with industry to increase productivity.