A delay to the start of a £4bn project to build two new Royal Navy aircraft carriers would be good news for Scots shipyards, according to a Labour MP.
A delay to a £4bn project to build two new Royal Navy aircraft carriers is good news for Scots shipyards, according to a Labour MP.
The Defence Secretary is due to issue a ministerial statement, amid speculation that their entry into service could be delayed as the MoD tries to cut costs.
The defence secretary said the vessels were likely to enter service one or two years later than expected, following a review of MoD spending.
Ian Davidson, who represents Glasgow South West, said if the order was spun out, the yards would be in work longer.
Glasgow South West MP Ian Davidson said spinning out the order would mean that the yards would be in work for longer.
Union officials said it was vital there was no delay in the work's start date.
Work on the £4bn project is due to begin next spring.
Work on the aircraft carriers - HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales - had been due to begin next spring.
The vessels, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales, were originally due to enter service in 2014 and 2016.
They were scheduled to enter service in 2014 and 2016 but reports suggest Defence Secretary John Hutton could delay this by two years.
While the completion date will be pushed back, Defence Secretary John Hutton said there would be no delays in starting the work.
The announcement will affect shipyards in Appledore, in north Devon, Portsmouth, Barrow-in-Furness, Glasgow and Rosyth.
Contracts worth about £3.2bn were signed in July and the work was expected to create or underpin a total of 10,000 jobs at yards in Appledore in north Devon, Portsmouth, Barrow-in-Furness, Glasgow and Rosyth.
Contracts worth about £3.2bn were signed in July and the work was expected to create or underpin a total of 10,000 jobs at the yards.
'Good news'
By the end of the afternoon I would expect Jamie Webster and the other shop stewards to be holding hands and skipping together down Govan Road Ian Davidson MP
Mr Hutton said the carriers' timetable was being brought more closely in line with the introduction of the Joint Combat Aircraft which they will carry.
But Mr Hutton told MPs this week there would be a new announcement on defence spending.
Mr Davidson said the announcement was positive for the yards.
Mr Davidson said he had been reassured by discussions with the defence secretary.
"The good news is that the biggest naval order since the Second World War will remain in place," he said.
"The good news is that the biggest naval order since the Second World War will remain in place," he said.
"The better news in my view is that the order is going to be spun out, which means that the yards will be in work longer.
"The better news in my view is that the order is going to be spun out, which means that the yards will be in work longer.
"What's likely to happen is that there will be less sub-contract work and more done in-house."
"What's likely to happen is that there will be less sub-contract work and more done in-house."
He said he had been critical of the programme previously put forward, because all the UK shipbuilding facilities "were likely to be full and it was probable that some work would have to go abroad".
Union officials had said it was vital there was no delay in the work's start date.
'Sack people'
"Now, if we spin this out, a lot of work will be done in sequence rather than simultaneously - which means that more work will be done in the UK and in Scottish yards," he said.
"There is no suggestion that the companies that will build the carriers will have to sack people and then take them back on again.
"Measures will be put into place which means the work will be maintained in the yards and workers will have an assurance that their jobs will be secure."
Jamie Webster, the GMB union convenor at the Govan shipyard, said: "If the programme is being stretched over a longer period of time because of budget reasons, I wouldn't be surprised at that, and it would not pose a problem.
"But it's important that there's not a delay in the starting date - if there was, that delay would have to be minimal.
"If we're not starting the ship at the same time as we should, which is next March, that's something that we'll have to look very carefully at with the company, bearing in mind that the steel's already being delivered to Govan and that it fits in with their current programme."
'Greatly diminished'
He added: "If the announcement says that the work will be stretched out I don't see it hindering us, we'll just re-adjust our programme.
"It might prevent some recruitment which we intended in the future."
Mr Davidson insisted there was a greater degree of job security for Scottish shipyard workers than for staff in any other industry in the UK.
"If the carriers are spun out, that the gap between the end of this order and the next order is likely to be greatly diminished," he said.
"That makes it much more likely that we're going to be able to offer continuity of work well into 2020 and beyond.
"How many people in Britain today can have a guarantee of work beyond 2020?"
"By the end of the afternoon I would expect Jamie Webster and the other shop stewards to be holding hands and skipping together down Govan Road."
