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Early day motion tabled by primary sponsor Colin Breed (Liberal Democrat), on Wednesday, 23 March 2005, in the House of Commons. It is signed by 10 members in total.

GOVERNMENT SUPPORT FOR DEVONPORT DOCKYARD AND NAVAL BASE

That this House notes with concern the widely held belief in the West Country that recent tenders for surface ship refit work have not been awarded by the Ministry of Defence to Devonport Dockyard even though its tenders may have been the most competitive; recognises the possible job losses at Devonport as a consequence of these decisions; believes that it is vital that the bidding process for future refit work is open and transparent so that public confidence can be restored; calls upon the Government to agree that, for a minimum period of three years, no further surface ship refit contracts shall be awarded unless accompanied by a National Audit Office certificate confirming that the final decision has been reached exclusively on the basis of the most competitive bid; and further calls for the continuation of the base porting of the Trafalgar class of submarines at Devonport Naval Base.

Amendments

The Early day motion has received 3 amendments.

996A1
Line 1, after `House' insert `welcomes the ??2 billion worth of contracts awarded to the Devonport dockyard management company DML including ??1.3 billion for submarines;'.
996A2
Line 6, leave out from `transparent' to `further' in line 10.
996A3
Line 11, at end add `welcomes the recent meeting with the Secretary of State for Defence requested by Plymouth Dockyard Union leaders also attended by the Leader and Chief Executive of Plymouth City Council and the Corporate Development Director of DML, the honourable Members for Plymouth Sutton, Plymouth Devonport, South West Devon and South East Cornwall to discuss concerns about retention of key surface ship skills in the near term; resolves to maintain this dialogue with a view to ensuring that continuing good use is made of the massive investment by HM Government in infrastructure and skills at the Dockyard and that there is a stable basis for its operation in the future; further resolves to seek discussions with trade union and community leaders in other dockyard communities faced with challenges arising from changes in naval procurement, shipbuilding and maintenance'.

Secondary information

Type
Early day motion
Reference
996 
996A1 
996A2 
996A3 
Session
2004-05
Subjects
Contracts Redundancy Repairs and maintenance Shipping Devonport Dockyard
Link
View this Early day motion on www.parliament.uk