Jackie Baillie: The Scottish Government’s position on public funding for defence is incoherent

The Scottish Government’s position on funding for defence industry programmes through its enterprise agencies is “frankly incoherent”, Jackie Baillie has said.  

Her comments come after Scottish Enterprise reportedly refused £2.5m- worth of funding to Rolls-Royce Submarines for a specialist welding skills centre, putting jobs at risk. 

In response, the UK Government announced at the weekend it would make up the funding shortfall if the Scottish Government continued to refuse to back the scheme. 

Speaking at Holyrood, business minister Richard Lochhead said the government’s longstanding policy is that neither it nor its agencies “should use public money to support the manufacture of munitions”.   

Labour’s deputy leader told the chamber in response to the decision to deny funding that the government’s policy on state-funded aid for defence is “all over the place and applied selectively”.  

Giving an example, Baillie said: “The Scottish Government owns and funds work at Ferguson Marine. It is doing subcontract work for BAE Systems on the Royal Navy’s Type 26 frigate programme.  

“There are munitions on the frigate. Why is that acceptable but funding Rolls-Royce in partnership with the Malin Group to establish a welding school is not?” 

Lochhead was keen to reiterate that the “Scottish Government values the role of the defence sector” and the “jobs it sustains”, adding that since the SNP came into government it had provided £45m support to the sector through its enterprise agencies. 

Conservative MSP Stephen Kerr accused the SNP government of being “not just incoherent” but also “grossly hypocritical”.  

He also said it is “undermining the sector” by “standing up and saying the Scottish Government will support the defence sector”.  

Referencing a letter Kerr received from the first minister in April, which said the government “would review the Scottish Enterprise policy to ensure continued support for Scotland’s defence sector”, he asked if that review had yet taken place. 

Lochhead did not answer that question directly but told Kerr it was “complete nonsense” to suggest that the Scottish Government was not supporting the industry.