Meeting of the Parliament 18 June 2025
I welcome the opportunity to speak to the motion. I will try to cover quite a lot of ground in a limited time, but I will begin by stating plainly that Scotland’s defence sector is of strategic importance to our economy, our communities and our shared security, and that is uppermost in our minds these days.
The sector supports more than 14,000 jobs, contributes £3.3 billion annually to our economy and plays a critical role in naval shipbuilding, aerospace and advanced technologies such as quantum and artificial intelligence. The innovation that is generated in those industries is vital not only for defence but for Scotland’s wider industrial base. That is why the Scottish Government, through our enterprise agencies, has provided more than £90 million in support to companies in the aerospace, defence, marine and space sectors since 2006. In recent years, we have supported major research and development projects in Rosyth, helped to secure hundreds of skilled jobs through training grants and enabled diversification into civilian and green technologies.
The Government stands behind the contribution that the defence sector makes to our economy and our national security. We also hold principled positions on how limited devolved public money is used. We have worked constructively with companies, such as BAE Systems, with deep roots in Scotland and major contributions to make. Our clear and long-standing policy is that scarce devolved public funds should not be used to directly support the manufacture of munitions. We are targeting Scotland’s public support—