Formal Minutes
Wednesday 11 June 2008
Members present:
Mr Mohammad Sarwar, in the Chair
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Mr Ian Davidson
Mr Jim Devine
Mr Jim McGovern |
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Mr Angus MacNeil
David Mundell
Mr Ben Wallace |
Employment and Skills for the Defence Industry in Scotland
Draft Report (Employment and Skills for the Defence Industry in Scotland), proposed by the Chairman, brought up and read.
Ordered, That the draft Report be read a second time, paragraph by paragraph.
Paragraph 1 read, amended and agreed to.
Paragraph 2 read and agreed to.
Paragraph 3 read.
Amendment proposed, in line 24, after 'the CVF programme' to insert 'There is ongoing discussion within Scotland and the UK about the possibility of constitutional change. We recognise there are strong views on this matter, but the costs and benefits of the Union, and the questions of whether Scotland should remain part of it, are outside the scope of this inquiry as established under its remit. This report therefore refrains from speculation about any effect the establishment of an independent Scottish state might have on the provision of defence jobs within Scotland's territorial boundaries.'—(Mr Angus MacNeil.)
Question put, That the Amendment be made.
The Committee divided.
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Ayes, 1
Mr Angus MacNeil
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Noes, 5
Mr Ian Davidson
Mr Jim Devine
Mr Jim McGovern
David Mundell
Mr Ben Wallace
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Paragraph agreed to.
Paragraphs 4 to 7 read and agreed to.
Paragraph 8 read as follows:
'A survey by SBAC Scotland found that in 2006 the aerospace, defence and naval industries in Scotland employed 16,203 people of whom 45% worked in the naval sector, 27% in the defence sector and 28% in the aerospace sector. Although the aerospace figure excludes defence work Warrick Malcolm told us that companies involved in civilian aerospace may also carry out defence work. He said:
I think if you look at the example of BA Systems regional aircraft their sales will be partly in aerospace and some of it will be defence [...] They are using it [...] to try to manage some of the peaks and troughs of this work. Certainly they would say yes, that they do need some of the MoD work and the defence work to help manage that in the natural cycle of the business.[95]
The survey also found that 32% of jobs in these sectors were graduate level or equivalent and the average wage in the sector was £29,380 compared to a Scottish national average of £21,944.[96] Baroness Taylor told us that there are 18,500 service and MoD civilian jobs located in Scotland and a further 12,500 jobs generated by the MoD presence in Scotland.'
Amendment proposed, in line 15, before 'The survey' to add 'We recognise that much of the non-defence work is dependant upon a base-load income from defence work to share costs and ensure viability.'—(Mr Ian Davidson.)
Question put, That the Amendment be made.
The Committee divided
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Ayes, 5
Mr Ian Davidson
Mr Jim Devine
Mr Jim McGovern
David Mundell
Mr Ben Wallace
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Noes, 1
Mr Angus MacNeil |
Paragraph, as amended, agreed to.
Paragraphs 9 to 25 read and agreed to.
Paragraph 26 read.
Amendment proposed, in line 3, at the end, to add 'and urge the MoD to sign a contract as soon as possible'.—(Mr Ben Wallace.)
Question put, That the Amendment be made.
The Committee divided
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Ayes, 5
Mr Ian Davidson
Mr Jim Devine
Mr Jim McGovern
David Mundell
Mr Ben Wallace
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Noes, 1
Mr Angus MacNeil |
Paragraph 26, as amended, agreed to.
Paragraphs 27 to 34 read and agreed to.
Paragraphs 35 to 88 read, amended and agreed to.
Summary amended and agreed to.
Resolved, That the Report, as amended, be the Sixth Report of the Committee to the House.
Ordered, That the Chairman make the Report to the House.
Ordered, That embargoed copies of the Report be made available, in accordance with the provisions of Standing Order No. 134.
Written evidence was ordered to be reported to the House for printing with the Report.
[Adjourned till Tuesday 24 June at 4.30pm
95 Q 228 Back
96 SBAC, Aerospace, defence and naval industry survey 2007, page 12, figure 7 Back
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