Latest news with #munitions
The Independent
2 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Not providing public cash for arms ‘student union politics', says Healey
The Scottish Government's policy of not providing public funding for munitions has been branded 'student union politics' by the UK's Defence Secretary. The comments come as the Prime Minister is due to announce the outcome of a major defence review in a visit to Scotland on Monday. The Scottish Government refuses to provide funding to firms directly for the creation of arms, but does offer cash for other things, such as diversifying away from the munitions industry and apprenticeships. The policy has again come to the fore as a result of a wrangle over £2.5 million of funding required by Rolls-Royce to create a specialist welding centre in Glasgow, with the UK Government saying it would provide the cash if the Edinburgh administration did not. Asked about the policy on BBC Scotland's Sunday Show, Defence Secretary John Healey said: 'It's the first time I've come across (such a policy), but it really strikes me as student union politics. 'This is not a serious Government concerned about the opportunities for young people for the future, concerned about the skills base for Scotland, or indeed the industry and innovation in the future that means that Scotland has a big part to play in strengthening the British industrial base, as we will through more defence investment.' Rolls-Royce, he said, is 'central to much of the most important military equipment that keeps all of us safe' and the welding centre would not only be about work in munitions. Mr Healey added: 'It's about support for Scotland's shipyard pipeline as well as essential skills, new opportunities for young people. 'I can hardly believe this is the case that the Scottish nationalist Government are saying they won't step in to provide some of the funding to make sure this new welding skills centre can get up and running. 'And if the Scottish SNP Government won't step up to support skills and the future of jobs in Scotland, then we will.' Speaking later on the same programme, Scottish Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon said the welding centre was never eligible for funding thanks to the 'long-standing' policy. She added: 'I think the key difference here between ourselves and the UK Government is that when we have principles, we stick to them.' The Scottish Government, she went on to say, 'completely understands' the 'really unprecedented threats' the UK faces on the world stage, but pointed out that First Minister John Swinney welcomed the increased defence spending announced by the Prime Minister. 'But that doesn't mean that we can't also still maintain the policy positions that we've had for quite a long time and have been long-standing within our party, that we don't support the use of public finance for the manufacture of munitions and neither do we support that for nuclear weapons,' she said. Later on Sunday, former SNP MP Stewart McDonald urged his party to have a 'renewed defence debate that moves us beyond our old slogans and comfort zones'. 'The world has changed utterly over the past few years, and we must show voters we understand that and can change too,' he said in a post on X. 'We aren't just spectators to a changing security landscape, but contributors with the ability to shape events – not least when it comes to supporting Scotland's defence sector, which employs over 30,000 people and contributes around £1.5bn annually to our economy. 'It's a critical industry that we should not be ashamed of supporting and national policy should reflect that.' He added that public agencies in Scotland, including the Scottish National Investment Bank, should be able to spend on defence.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
'Student politics' row over SNP arms funding policy
The UK defence secretary has accused the Scottish government of "student union politics" over a policy of not providing public funding for munitions. John Healey was responding to reports that a specialist welding skills centre in Glasgow, being planned by Rolls Royce, could be under threat because it is not eligible for £2.5m of Scottish Enterprise funding. Scottish cabinet minister Mairi Gougeon said the Scottish government had a longstanding and principled policy of not providing public funding for munitions. The row comes ahead of a UK announcement on six new munitions factories, possibly including one in Scotland, as part of the strategic defence review. Healey said the defence sector supported more than 25,000 jobs in Scotland, and that there would be a "defence dividend" from increased spending. Appearing on BBC Scotland's Sunday Show, he was asked about reports in the Times newspaper that plans for the specialist skills centre to support submarine manufacture were at risk of being cancelled without Scottish Enterprise support. He said: "It really strikes me as student union politics. It's not a serious government concerned about the opportunities for young people in the future. "It's not concerned about the skills base of Scotland or indeed the industry and innovation in the future because Scotland does have a big part to play in strengthening the industrial base as we will through more defence investment." The UK government said Rolls Royce was planning to invest £11m in the welding project, and that it would step in to provide the £2.5m support grant if it was not funded by Scottish Enterprise. The Scottish government refuses to provide funding to firms directly for the creation of arms, but does offer cash for other things, such as diversifying away from the munitions industry and apprenticeships. Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon said it was important to take a principled position. She told the programme: "The project wasn't eligible for funding because of the long standing policy position that we have that we do not provide or support the use of public funding for the manufacture of munitions. "I think the key difference between ourselves and the UK government is that, when we have principles, we stick to them." She said the Scottish government recognised the unprecedented security threats, particularly in light of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. But she added: "That doesn't mean that we can't also maintain the policy positions that we have had for quite a long time and have been long standing within our party, that we don't support the use of public finance for the manufacture of munitions and neither do we support that for nuclear weapons."
BBC News
3 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
'Student politics' row over SNP arms funding policy
The UK defence secretary has accused the Scottish government of "student union politics" over a policy of not providing public funding for munitions. John Healey was responding to reports that a specialist welding skills centre in Glasgow, being planned by Rolls Royce, could be under threat because it is not eligible for £2.5m of Scottish Enterprise funding. Scottish cabinet minister Mairi Gougeon said the Scottish government had a longstanding and principled policy of not providing public funding for munitions. The row comes ahead of a UK announcement on six new munitions factories, possibly including one in Scotland, as part of the strategic defence review. Healey said the defence sector supported more than 25,000 jobs in Scotland, and that there would be a "defence dividend" from increased spending. Appearing on BBC Scotland's Sunday Show, he was asked about reports in the Times newspaper that plans for the specialist skills centre to support submarine manufacture were at risk of being cancelled without Scottish Enterprise said: "It really strikes me as student union politics. It's not a serious government concerned about the opportunities for young people in the future."It's not concerned about the skills base of Scotland or indeed the industry and innovation in the future because Scotland does have a big part to play in strengthening the industrial base as we will through more defence investment."The UK government said Rolls Royce was planning to invest £11m in the welding project, and that it would step in to provide the £2.5m support grant if it was not funded by Scottish Enterprise. 'Principled' policy The Scottish government refuses to provide funding to firms directly for the creation of arms, but does offer cash for other things, such as diversifying away from the munitions industry and Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon said it was important to take a principled told the programme: "The project wasn't eligible for funding because of the long standing policy position that we have that we do not provide or support the use of public funding for the manufacture of munitions. "I think the key difference between ourselves and the UK government is that, when we have principles, we stick to them."She said the Scottish government recognised the unprecedented security threats, particularly in light of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. But she added: "That doesn't mean that we can't also maintain the policy positions that we have had for quite a long time and have been long standing within our party, that we don't support the use of public finance for the manufacture of munitions and neither do we support that for nuclear weapons."
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Not providing public cash for arms ‘student union politics', says Healey
The Scottish Government's policy of not providing public funding for munitions has been branded 'student union politics' by the UK's Defence Secretary. The comments come as the Prime Minister is due to announce the outcome of a major defence review in a visit to Scotland on Monday. The Scottish Government refuses to provide funding to firms directly for the creation of arms, but does offer cash for other things, such as diversifying away from the munitions industry and apprenticeships. The policy has again come to the fore as a result of a wrangle over £2.5 million of funding required by Rolls-Royce to create a specialist welding centre in Glasgow, with the UK Government saying it would provide the cash if the Edinburgh administration did not. Asked about the policy on BBC Scotland's Sunday Show, Defence Secretary John Healey said: 'It's the first time I've come across (such a policy), but it really strikes me as student union politics. 'This is not a serious Government concerned about the opportunities for young people for the future, concerned about the skills base for Scotland, or indeed the industry and innovation in the future that means that Scotland has a big part to play in strengthening the British industrial base, as we will through more defence investment.' Rolls-Royce, he said, is 'central to much of the most important military equipment that keeps all of us safe' and the welding centre would not only be about work in munitions. Mr Healey added: 'It's about support for Scotland's shipyard pipeline as well as essential skills, new opportunities for young people. 'I can hardly believe this is the case that the Scottish nationalist Government are saying they won't step in to provide some of the funding to make sure this new welding skills centre can get up and running. 'And if the Scottish SNP Government won't step up to support skills and the future of jobs in Scotland, then we will.' Speaking later on the same programme, Scottish Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon said the welding centre was never eligible for funding thanks to the 'long-standing' policy. She added: 'I think the key difference here between ourselves and the UK Government is that when we have principles, we stick to them.' The Scottish Government, she went on to say, 'completely understands' the 'really unprecedented threats' the UK faces on the world stage, but pointed out that First Minister John Swinney welcomed the increased defence spending announced by the Prime Minister. 'But that doesn't mean that we can't also still maintain the policy positions that we've had for quite a long time and have been long-standing within our party, that we don't support the use of public finance for the manufacture of munitions and neither do we support that for nuclear weapons,' she said.
South China Morning Post
3 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
UK to go on munitions factory building spree to deter enemies
The UK will create an 'always on' munitions production capacity to allow it to scale-up its defence industry when needed, as it increasingly shifts to a war footing with Russia's assault on Ukraine showing little sign of ending. Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government will invest 1.5 billion pounds (US$2 billion) to build six munitions factories, designed to bolster its defence industry and stockpile weapons to meet greater demand, the Ministry of Defence said. The review will also focus on the UK's 'warfighting readiness' designed to deter enemies. The move comes ahead of the publication of a new defence strategy on Monday that will set out the biggest threats Britain faces and whether it has the resources to meet them. The UK's ordnance stockpiles have run dry following decades of underinvestment as well as the recent support for Ukraine. While it does manufacture much of its own munitions, a decision by the last Labour government meant that it outsourced its explosives manufacturing to the likes of the US and France. The UK, is in part, addressing its chronic reluctance to invest in its own defence industry for decades, which has seen the size of its own army fall to its smallest since the Napoleonic era. It recently announced that the new strategy will 'end the hollowing out' of the UK armed forces, which loses as many as 300 personnel a month, by investing an additional 1.5 billion pounds to improve military accommodation. 'We are strengthening the UK's industrial base to better deter our adversaries and make the UK secure at home and strong abroad,' John Healey, the defence secretary, said. The Ministry of Defence declined to say which defence companies would build the new factories.
