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Defence Industrial Strategy

There are obviously some elements of the hon. Gentleman’s contribution that I greatly welcome. I think that the document is important and I have no doubt that we will return to it in the course of our debates. Perhaps, as it is a substantial document, we could chat through the usual channels about how best to handle that. Secondly, I believe that we should try to achieve as much consensus as possible in respect of the document. I have always taken that view on defence as a whole. Issues of national security should, as far as possible, be resolved on a non-party basis. That is not easy and it does not mean the absence of criticism, but the consensual approach should be welcomed. I note that the hon. Gentleman offers me the opportunity of going, as they would say in East Kilbride, ““mob-handed”” to meet the Chancellor with the Conservative party behind me. If I do not immediately accept his offer, I am sure that he will understand why. My old friend the Chancellor has overseen and watched from a distance. If the hon. Gentleman looks at the foreword to the document, he will see that one of the three faces pictured at the top is that of the Chief Secretary to the Treasury—and he is smiling. It can also be seen that the word ““no”” does not appear anywhere under his signature. As far as I can make out, that is a first. I can assure the hon. Gentleman that there has been a great deal of cross-Government participation. That is why, sitting alongside me on the Front Bench, is the Minister for Industry and the Regions, my right hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff, South and Penarth (Alun Michael) and—a little further down, but close to us in spirit—my right hon. Friend the Paymaster General, who is also smiling. Clearly, the Government have adopted a united approach on this matter. More seriously, the hon. Gentleman asked me whether the Chancellor has settled with me on the next three spending rounds. Of course he has not settled all that with me. We should remember that the rounds stretch through to 2015 and beyond, and it is obvious that no responsible Government would make commitments that far in advance. Over the past few years, there has been a real increase in defence spending which, as I am sure that the hon. Gentleman would in all fairness admit, was not always the case under the last Conservative Government. In fact, that period saw a 29 per cent. cut in real terms in defence spending. There is a great deal of unity on the part of the Government and I am glad that there is a great deal of consensus on the general direction of where we are going with our defence industrial strategy. It is a detailed publication and it is divided into three parts. The first provides a strategic overview; the second an analysis of specific sectors; and the third deals with implementation and how we have achieved implementation thus far. On maritime, the hon. Gentleman was good enough to read out the section that said that there would be no blanket requirement for hulls to be built onshore, but he unfortunately missed out the next part of the sentence, which says that there is a need to maintain a sustainable work load for a viable restructured industry in this country. Yesterday’s announcement that 60 per cent. of the work on the two biggest crafts—at 60,000 tonnes—ever to be built by the Navy will be allocated to British shipyards demonstrates clearly that we are trying to maintain a sustainable level of employment and skills, particularly at the high-end sector of the technological development of shipbuilding and refurbishment. We are seeking long-term clarity and attempting to introduce ships at what might be called a regular drumbeat in order to assist the maintenance of skills. If we need a peak capacity at the lower end of production—the sort of crafts that would not traditionally be regarded as warships—we reserve the right to go offshore, but yesterday’s announcement clearly shows that we intend to maintain a sustainable work load for a viable restructured industry. The hon. Gentleman asked several detailed questions about aircraft carriers and in-service dates, but he appears to have missed something important from yesterday’s announcement. By innovatively involving the companies that are to produce the new carriers—British Aerospace and the rest of the alliance—in the maintenance, updating and refitting of the existing aircraft carriers, we have effectively ensured continuity of capability. That is why the First Sea Lord, the Chief of the Naval Staff, said that yesterday’s announcement was the best Christmas present that the Navy could have been given. On Trident, I have little to add to what I have already said. It is a very important discussion, but we want to take time to reflect on it. With all due respect to the hon. Gentleman, we have clearly said, first, that we will retain the nuclear deterrent. We said that unambiguously six months ago in our manifesto. Secondly, the basis of retention is the assumption that, as long as potential enemies have nuclear weapons, we will retain them. Thirdly, we are not discussing whether to retain Trident, but whether in 15 to 20 years’ time we will need something to continue the nuclear deterrent. We have a little more time, therefore, to challenge ourselves and each other on the assumptions and practicalities of the issue. There is no need to take a peremptory decision on that in order to meet the time scale for the defence industrial strategy.