§ 29. Mr. DavidsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps she has taken in the last month to help the British shipbuilding industry. [83632]
§ Alan JohnsonNo new initiatives have been taken in the last calendar month. Nevertheless, Ministers continue to work closely with the shipbuilding and other marine manufacturing industries to enhance their own efforts to improve their competitiveness, productivity and employment.
On 6 November, I chaired the regular meeting of the Shipbuilding and Marine Industries Forum where representatives of the companies, unions and other principal stakeholders reviewed progress against targets and activities in the Implementation Plan. This plan is a series of joint and individual initiatives aimed at improving sales, employment and profitability and having the commitment of all the major interests, not just Government.
Throughout the month, progress continued on the Shipbuilders and Shiprepairers Association's four-year programme of "master classes" and academic studies to improve productivity (a project supported by a DTI grant of £2.8 million) as did a programme towards enhancing the marketing capabilities of merchant shipbuilders (again supported by a DTI grant of £175,000).
In addition, the Engineering and Marine Training Authority was well into its six-month study (assisted by grants from the DTI and the Department for Education and Skills) into the availability of the skilled manpower that will be needed for future merchant and naval shipbuilding projects, especially the Future Aircraft Carriers.
Finally, as part of our effort to tackle unfair competition in the shipbuilding market, the World Trade Organisation action against Korean unfair pricing, which we have strongly supported, was started.