Figures from the Ministry of Defence claim that the military procurement spend in Scotland has risen to £1.76 billion in 2018/19, “the fifth year running there has been an increase”.
According to the figures, this is up from £1.64 billion the previous year and an increase in per person spend to £320. And the number of Scottish industry jobs this supports has increased from 10,100 to 10,200, claim the MoD.
UK Government Minister for Scotland Douglas Ross said:
“These figures show that not only does defence play a crucial part in the security of the United Kingdom but it also contributes to Scotland’s prosperity in high-skilled employment and investment. The UK Government is ensuring this continues. We have announced that Babcock – including its key Rosyth yard – will build the MOD’s Type 31 Frigate keeping Scotland at the forefront of a renaissance in UK shipbuilding. The Type 26 programme has already secured 4,000 Scottish jobs and 20 years of work on the Clyde. Our nation has a proud military history, and also a bright future in Scotland and across the rest of the UK.”
The Ministry of Defence say that thousands of regular personnel and reserves are based in Scotland.
“A further 550 extra military personnel and their families will be based in Moray by 2024 and the numbers of personnel at Her Majesty’s Naval Base on the Clyde is also increasing. The MoD’s equipment plan is supporting Scottish business, jobs and skills far into the future; helping to make Scotland one of the most competitive places in the world to innovate, build business and deliver security.”
Scotland will see a further £1.5 billion of defence investment in infrastructure over a 10-year period on improved facilities at Faslane, Coulport and RAF Lossiemouth.
Defence investment in Scotland includes:
- HMNB Clyde will be home to all of UK’s submarines by 2020.
- RAF Lossiemouth is one of the RAF’s three fast jet operating bases, including Quick Response Alert (QRA) interceptors. It will soon be home to an additional Typhoon squadron.
- The first of 9 Boeing P-8 Maritime Patrol Aircraft will arrive in Scotland shortly.
- In total, RAF Lossiemouth will benefit from around £400 million of investment.
- Boeing and the UK Government are building a new £100 million operational support and training facility for Poseidon, creating more than 100 new jobs.
Oh good, another excuse to have a rant about the uppity Jocks……
All in response to Nicola’s speech no doubt. It does seem a tad unnecessary putting these articles up all the time.
Strap in, Andy, for more tirades from the usual suspects! LOL
Yes Alan, no doubt it will be ‘open season’ again.
You’ve got to love some of the “I love Scotland but…..” logic. ‘sigh’.
Uppity Jocks, are those the ones that live in the Highlands?
From a engineering capability and funding perspective makes sense for Scotland to remain in the UK. If it left I think it is almost obvious that most engineering would collapse very soon afterwards. I just don’t see engineering being viable in Scotland if they went for independence.
What engineering are you on about? You think Scotland’s going to stop producing oil and gas because it left the UK? Just so you know building one frigate every two years in Scotland is not that big a part of the economy.
Anybody else read this the otherday: British Defence Ministry reveals why a drone program now costs $427M extra LONDON — The British Defence Ministry’s top civilian has identified in a letter to lawmakers the reasons why a drone acquisition program has experienced a near 40 percent hike in costs. The Ministry of Defence decided to delay by two years the delivery of 16 General Atomic Protector RG Mk1 drones to replace the Royal Air Force’s MQ-9 Reaper fleet, the letter to Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee said. Stephen Lovegrove, the ministry’s permanent secretary, cited that decision as the main reason for… Read more »
Same old tricks then.
This has to stop.
Sadly I have a feeling that this will only get worse, if the MoD as well as other departments will have to cut 5% of their spending as reported.
We were briefed on acquisition today. I got so fed up with it I asked why we’re so s**t scared of up-front costs when we know dodging it will cost much more in the long run. I was, in barely polite terms, told to get back in my box. No one is questioning the politicians on it. Upper echelon service personnel and civil servants alike are just resigned to it.
Seen it mate, I don’t get invited anymore.
BV
We really need for government to start acting like a business would. Set a % each year for each Ministry’s OPEX budget, then a separate varying amount each year (as needs require) for CAPEX projects. Instead we seem to have a 2% max for MoD regardless of whether we have a lot of CAPEX coming up due to essential equipment replacement.
£325,000,000 could of repaired some type 45s or bought another type 31
Didn’t Sean Connery start this entire mess? haha
Nah! It’s the Evil one at work destroying relationships; friendships, marriages, UK political parties, nation states….the UK from the EU and Scotland from England, NI from GB. Join up the dots. He’s having a field day.
Think you’ll find The Evil One and his antisemitic brown-shirt Momentum thugs failed to win the recent general election. Actually “humiliated” would be a better description…
Paul P is right. Shocking that so many of our so-called leaders seem so eager to ruin our country & treat our people with contempt.
It’s not like all of these would go away. Not all UK gear is brought from the UK and so some would be brought from independent Scotland and also Scotland would buy some of Its own gear locally.
I am English and don’t want to see Scotland leave the union but if they do, I want them to do it on facts and no a whole load of half truths.
So Scotland that makes up nearly 9 % of the UK population and 30% of the land mass gets 10% of the procurement Budget, that’s news? Yet again more piss published on here to stop up ranting from small minded nationalist.
Cue the myriad or commentators demanding no ships built in Scotland and the annexation of Faslane.
Small minded Nationalists? Its easier to spell it as SNP. Cheers.
If Boris was a good poker player, all he needs to do is hold tight for a year or two and then give the SNP their referendum. I would confidently predict a second referendum would have much the same result as the last, why you might ask?.. Over the last few years, when we have had sensible ( non bun fighting) discussion on the subject, not one single person has managed to put a clear indipendance argument for Scotland forward. It simply cannot generate a GDP that will keep Scotland going without severe and long term austerity. Who but the… Read more »
John, There are very few SNP posters on this forum … you could have a sensible debate with “Dad’s Army”, although he seems to have dropped out of the forum recently, oh, and there’s a silly wee laddie called “Mike”………. but the majority of Scots on this forum appear to support Scotland in the UK (and of course, this site is hosted in Glasgow). If you want a nationalist perspective, you’d be better going onto the website of the “Nationalist” or “Sunday Herald” newspapers, you’ll certainly get a response from excitable SNP supporters! For myself, Scotland is certainly a viable… Read more »
Very good points Andy.
My point really being tightly financially focused, that no (even remotely) convincing economic argument has been made for independance that wouldn’t lead to economic hardship for decades.
Long term austerity.
Massive borrowing
Considerable tax rises across the board.
Hi John, In my experience, an SNP supporter will dispute Scottish independence would lead to such apocalyptic predictions. And they might argue your comments don’t sound unlike the UK since 2008! Essentially, they want access to all the tax revenues raised in Scotland (including corporation tax) to configure spending more closely to Scotland’s specific needs. For an oil-rich nation, we do have appalling areas of social deprivation in our cities – and comparisons are made with a similarly sized oil producing country like Norway. Nationalists will argue Scottish problems are best solved in Scotland, not in Westminster, and devolution is… Read more »
Again, good points Alan… It’s a matter of perception I suppose, economically of course, you wouldn’t want to hitch the wagon to the oil and gas industry, as it’s on the way out, 20 to 30 years from now it will be a thing of the past. My take on this comes from Scottish friends who like the majority of us, haven’t heard a convincing economic case, the numbers just don’t add up. The economic black hole would also be compounded by the need to settle Scotland’s share of the National debt. With regards to BREXIT, the UK (as a… Read more »
Hi John, Despite what is being claimed in public, some SNP supporters do not favour an independent Scotland joining the EU – conceivably it may simply join EFTA/EEA. EU membership (and the Euro) could simply be positioned as a long-term “aspiration”. That certainly was the view of SNP grandee, Jim Sillars, during an event I attended a couple of years ago. (I like to know what they’re really up too! LOL). Like your friends, I’ve not heard a convincing economic argument either. But worryingly, in a Referendum (including 2016), there’s no jury to adjudicate on the validity of the competing… Read more »
John, I’ve said to others that I’d like to see BoJo give the SNP their referendum NOW, have a vote in a couple months (about the time Wee Eck’s court case is in the media). I’m not convinced the numbers are there and Wee Jimmy knows it but has to pander to her more ranty party members. Having said that, my missus did raise the point that apathy might play into their hands, a lot of folk are heartfelt sick of votes and referendums if you’re passionate about leaving you’ll turn up and vote no matter what. I have been… Read more »
When we had the 2016 ref it was the WHOLE of the UK voting to leave or stay in the EU
Like i said the whole country voting on something about a UNION
So as Scotland participated in that vote on leaving said union so the rest of the people in the UK should have a say in the potential break-up of this union we are still a part of and not just one part of the union
No, Barry – I disagree, if Scotland wants to leave the UK, it will be down to people living in Scotland to decide (and I write that as a unionist).
In the same way: when the UK took the decision to Brexit from the European Union, the other countries of the EU weren’t given a vote in that decision!
It’s called self-determination.
Point taken
Thanks, Barry.
This aircraft has lots of computers on board and they evolve extremely quickly so how often are they changed? Do they have dedicated stations or are they just laptops that can be swapped at will?