Getty ImagesA specialist welding facility to support shipbuilding, planned for a site beside the River Clyde, looks set to go ahead after the UK government confirmed £2.5m of extra funding.
The £11m project, led by Rolls Royce, aims to support the construction and maintenance of Royal Navy submarines.
The plans were left in doubt earlier this year when it emerged that funding from Scottish Enterprise would not be available because of the SNP’s ban on financing firms involved in munitions.
At the time, Labour accused the SNP of “student union politics”, and First Minister John Swinney has since announced the long-standing policy is to be scrapped.
The new welding centre will be operated by Rolls Royce in partnership with Strathclyde University and marine engineering firm Malin which is developing a new Scottish Marine Technology Park at Old Kirkpatrick, close to the Erskine Bridge.
Defence Secretary John Healey will confirm at Labour’s conference that the UK government will now provide £2.5m of funding which the project’s backers previously hoped might come from economic development agency Scottish Enterprise.
Healey said: “Where the SNP won’t back Scottish industry, young people or our national security, Labour will step in.
“With our record defence investment, and our record exports deals, Labour is making Scotland a shipbuilding superpower once again. We’ll deliver good, well-paid jobs and opportunities across the Clyde, Rosyth, Methil and beyond.”
MalinNaval shipbuilding in Scotland is enjoying a renaissance with the announcement last month of a £10bn export order for BAE Systems in Glasgow to build Type 26 frigates for the Norwegian Navy.
In the east of the country, Babcock is also confident of securing export orders for Type 31 frigates being built at Rosyth.
The threat to the planned specialist welding centre, first reported by The Times newspaper in May, led to a political row and questioning of the longstanding SNP policy of not providing funding for manufacturers involved in munitions.
Healey told Scotland’s The Sunday Show at that time the SNP was engaging in “student union politics” that could stifle innovation and deny young people opportunities.
Cabinet minister Mairi Gougeon hit back, saying the Scottish government was taking a principled position and that unlike the UK government “when we have principles, we stick to them”.
However, four months later First Minister John Swinney announced that the policy on munitions had been lifted in light of the “changed international landscape” with the exception of firms that supplied weaponry to Israel.
New policy
Scottish Enterprise confirmed it did not receive a formal application for funding but did have informal discussions with Malin about the plans.
At the time, Scottish government policy guidance did not support the manufacture of munitions, and Malin was advised that any funding could only be considered if it aligned with government policy.
A spokesperson for Scottish Enterprise said: “We continue to work with the Scottish government as we implement the new policy.”
The Scottish government said it had provided more than £90m in funding to companies operating in the aerospace, defence and shipbuilding sectors since 2006/07.
“We continue to support the defence sector, particularly regarding workforce development, which is fundamental to our national security and a strategic driver for Scotland’s economy,” a spokesperson added.
