by Bill Heaney
Dumbarton’s Labour MSP has welcomed defence spending which will benefit local communities.
Working families across the country are set to benefit from opportunities created through the new Defence Industrial Strategy.
The UK Government’s Secretary of State for Defence, John Healey, pictured left with PM Keir Starmer, has announced that an additional £250 million will be ploughed in to train young people for defence careers.
MSP Jackie Baillie has welcomed the move, which she says will benefit communities in the local area.
Under the plan, the Defence Industrial Strategy will see the creation of opportunities, including highly-skilled engineering positions and apprenticeships for young people.
It comes as part of the UK Labour Government’s aim to make the UK the best place in the world to start or grow a defence firm.
The funding is also set to boost Defence Growth Deals, to foster innovation and create jobs in areas with untapped potential.
Five initial Defence Growth Deals will be created across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
Defence Growth Deals will identify areas with high growth potential, and bring together industry, local and national government and academia to realise that potential.
Each Defence Growth Deal will combine defence and wider government investment to harness local sub-sector strengths, drive innovation, and deliver tailored support where needed, such as in skills, housing, and planning, to boost local economies, attract private investment, and ensure long-term sustainability.
Initial analysis indicates there could be a need for an additional 50,000 defence jobs by 2034/35 – thanks to increases in defence spending.
Jackie Baillie, right, also Scottish Labour’s Deputy Leader, welcomed the investment, saying: “This investment from the UK Government can only be good news for our communities.
“Faslane and Coulport already provide much employment for our communities in Dumbarton, Alexandria, Helensburgh and Lomond, and this investment will further those links.
“It is good news that this investment will boost education and training in the area and cement links with Faslane and Coulport.
“I welcome the UK Government’s renewed commitment to defence spending and to our nuclear facilities at Faslane and Coulport.”
Defence Growth Deals will help capitalise on the skilled employment potential for communities across the UK.
The five planned deals will be backed by a total of £250 million of defence spending over the next five years, underpinned by the UK Government’s historic increase in defence spending to 2.6 per cent of GDP by 2027 and the ambition to hit 3 per cent in the next Parliament.
Defence Secretary, John Healey MP, added: “The Defence Industrial Strategy will make defence an engine for growth across the UK, backing British jobs, British industry and British innovators.
“Defence Growth Deals offer a new partnership with UK Defence to build on industrial and innovation strengths that regions already hold.
“Together we aim to drive an increase in defence skills, SMEs and jobs across all four nations.
“We want to make the UK the best place in the world to start and grow a defence company and will put Britain at the leading edge of innovation.”
Defence spending if spent in the rest of the public sector would create 75% more jobs in the NHS, Education, Homecare and many more vital services.