Chamber
Plenary, 04 Sep 2003
04 Sep 2003 · S2 · Plenary
Item of business
Defence Aviation Repair Agency
Presiding Officer, thank you for calling me early in this debate. As I intimated to you, I have to leave to go to another engagement. I apologise in advance to members and the minister for leaving the debate early. I shall read the Official Report with great interest and study the minister's response.
I commend Roseanna Cunningham for her motion and for securing this debate even in her presently handicapped circumstances. We wish her a speedy recovery.
I had the pleasure of visiting DARA Almondbank about two weeks ago, when the Minister of State for the Armed Forces was there. I had the opportunity to tour the facilities and to meet members of the work force. I was impressed by their dedication and the quality of the skills that was apparent.
The work that is carried out by DARA at Almondbank is unique. It has the only test rig for Chinook helicopters outside Philadelphia. If DARA were to close, heaven forbid, it would be almost impossible for the MOD to have the work carried out elsewhere.
Almondbank might seem a strange place to have a defence aviation repair facility. Originally, all the facilities were based in Coventry. I understand that the reason why the facility moved to Almondbank was that, during the second world war, Coventry was subject to such bombing by the axis powers that the facilities were outsourced to different parts of the UK. The reason why Almondbank was chosen was that it was felt that, tucked away in a quiet corner of Perthshire, it would be safe from German bombers. The Perthshire economy has benefited considerably.
As we have heard, DARA is now a vital part of the Perth and Kinross economy and it employs 325 people. It is not only the headline figures that are important because many of the jobs at DARA are highly skilled engineering positions. If those jobs were lost to the Perthshire economy, they would be difficult to replace. The quality of those jobs is particularly important given the dependence of the Perthshire economy on the service sector, with its low-paid jobs in tourism and hospitality, for example. There is no doubt that the closure of DARA would have a devastating impact on the Perthshire economy. There would be a loss of some £28.8 million per year, as the Mackay Consultants report showed. According to the same report, if one were to multiply the loss of jobs by a standard multiplier of 1.6, 521 jobs would be lost in total, which would mean an increase in unemployment in Perth and Kinross by a third. That is a substantial figure.
When I was at DARA, I heard the Minister of State for the Armed Forces, Adam Ingram, speak to the work force. He was full of praise for the work force, who welcomed his warm words. However, warm words are not enough; there must be a firm commitment from the MOD to retain the jobs at DARA. The members of the work force to whom I spoke felt reassured by the minister's remarks. They were aware that, to an extent, the future lay in their hands. They were confident that, given the quality of the work done at Almondbank, on no objective assessment was there any argument for taking that work away.
However, politicians are funny creatures, as we know. We need the Scottish Executive to make the point that the jobs must be retained in the Perthshire economy. We know that defence is a reserved matter but, as Roseanna Cunningham said, this is an economic issue. Economic and enterprise powers are in the hands of the Scottish Parliament, so it is a matter for the Scottish Executive to address with the Ministry of Defence.
I welcome Roseanna Cunningham's motion and I look forward to reading the minister's response.
I commend Roseanna Cunningham for her motion and for securing this debate even in her presently handicapped circumstances. We wish her a speedy recovery.
I had the pleasure of visiting DARA Almondbank about two weeks ago, when the Minister of State for the Armed Forces was there. I had the opportunity to tour the facilities and to meet members of the work force. I was impressed by their dedication and the quality of the skills that was apparent.
The work that is carried out by DARA at Almondbank is unique. It has the only test rig for Chinook helicopters outside Philadelphia. If DARA were to close, heaven forbid, it would be almost impossible for the MOD to have the work carried out elsewhere.
Almondbank might seem a strange place to have a defence aviation repair facility. Originally, all the facilities were based in Coventry. I understand that the reason why the facility moved to Almondbank was that, during the second world war, Coventry was subject to such bombing by the axis powers that the facilities were outsourced to different parts of the UK. The reason why Almondbank was chosen was that it was felt that, tucked away in a quiet corner of Perthshire, it would be safe from German bombers. The Perthshire economy has benefited considerably.
As we have heard, DARA is now a vital part of the Perth and Kinross economy and it employs 325 people. It is not only the headline figures that are important because many of the jobs at DARA are highly skilled engineering positions. If those jobs were lost to the Perthshire economy, they would be difficult to replace. The quality of those jobs is particularly important given the dependence of the Perthshire economy on the service sector, with its low-paid jobs in tourism and hospitality, for example. There is no doubt that the closure of DARA would have a devastating impact on the Perthshire economy. There would be a loss of some £28.8 million per year, as the Mackay Consultants report showed. According to the same report, if one were to multiply the loss of jobs by a standard multiplier of 1.6, 521 jobs would be lost in total, which would mean an increase in unemployment in Perth and Kinross by a third. That is a substantial figure.
When I was at DARA, I heard the Minister of State for the Armed Forces, Adam Ingram, speak to the work force. He was full of praise for the work force, who welcomed his warm words. However, warm words are not enough; there must be a firm commitment from the MOD to retain the jobs at DARA. The members of the work force to whom I spoke felt reassured by the minister's remarks. They were aware that, to an extent, the future lay in their hands. They were confident that, given the quality of the work done at Almondbank, on no objective assessment was there any argument for taking that work away.
However, politicians are funny creatures, as we know. We need the Scottish Executive to make the point that the jobs must be retained in the Perthshire economy. We know that defence is a reserved matter but, as Roseanna Cunningham said, this is an economic issue. Economic and enterprise powers are in the hands of the Scottish Parliament, so it is a matter for the Scottish Executive to address with the Ministry of Defence.
I welcome Roseanna Cunningham's motion and I look forward to reading the minister's response.
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Trish Godman):
Lab
The final item of business today is a members' business debate on motion S2M-264, in the name of Roseanna Cunningham. The debate will be concluded without an...
Motion debated,
That the Parliament notes the continued speculation about the impact of the Ministry of Defence's ‘End to End Review' on the future of the Defence Aviation R...
Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP):
SNP
The text of the motion makes it clear why I requested the debate. The Defence Aviation Repair Agency at Almondbank is one of the most important employers in ...
Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con):
Con
Presiding Officer, thank you for calling me early in this debate. As I intimated to you, I have to leave to go to another engagement. I apologise in advance ...
Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab):
Lab
I recognise that members will be wondering what I am doing in the chamber, given that the subject of the debate is not a constituency issue. Indeed, I could ...
Roseanna Cunningham:
SNP
As long as we are in the UK and part of the UK structure, Scotland should get some of the economic benefit from the share of our taxes that go to defence spe...
Jackie Baillie:
Lab
We receive a huge benefit through defence spending in Scotland. For example, there is Faslane, which is the nuclear deterrent base for the whole of the UK—ne...
Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP):
SNP
Jackie Baillie is being disingenuous. She knows perfectly well that the Scottish defence forces in an independent Scotland would retain roughly the same numb...
Mr Keith Raffan (Mid Scotland and Fife) (LD):
LD
I join colleagues in congratulating Roseanna Cunningham on obtaining this important debate. DARA seems to follow me around. DARA Sealand is but a few miles o...
Mr John Swinney (North Tayside) (SNP):
SNP
Having listened to Mr Raffan saying that there is cross-party unity and to the comments made by Jackie Baillie, I wonder whether I have been listening to the...
Jackie Baillie:
Lab
Will Mr Swinney give way?
Mr Swinney:
SNP
I think that I shall hold off for a second before accepting interventions. I shall get started on Jackie Baillie later in my speech, and I shall allow her to...
Jackie Baillie:
Lab
Will the member take an intervention?
Mr Swinney:
SNP
I might as well hear all that the member has to say before I continue.
Jackie Baillie:
Lab
Absolutely—I am giving the member ample opportunity to respond.The member will acknowledge that I gave my absolute support to the 325 DARA employees and to R...
The Deputy Presiding Officer:
Lab
John Swinney has two minutes.
Mr Swinney:
SNP
I thank the Presiding Officer for giving me those two minutes.Stewart Stevenson said that the SNP's defence policy has always been predicated on the presumpt...
The Deputy Minister for Finance and Public Services (Tavish Scott):
LD
I do not always learn something new in debates in the chamber, but I have been genuinely interested by Roseanna Cunningham's persuasive case and the cases th...
Mr Raffan:
LD
I am glad that the minister has given an assurance that the Executive will campaign vigorously to preserve those jobs. Ms Cunningham and Mr Swinney rightly d...
Tavish Scott:
LD
I take Mr Raffan's point. I will address that issue shortly.The Executive has been assured by the MOD that there is no secret agenda in the end-to-end review...
Roseanna Cunningham:
SNP
I thank the minister for his remarks.The difficulty is that the proposals that are apparently contained within the end-to-end review would effectively remove...
Tavish Scott:
LD
I take Roseanna Cunningham's points. We seek to do things in different ways. Sometimes the public presentation may not be as formidable as some would like. I...
Meeting closed at 17:52.