§ 15. Mr. DavidsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what support she is providing to the shipbuilding industry. [149745]
§ Jacqui SmithThe Department gave a £2.8 million grant to the Shipbuilders and Shiprepairers Association for a four-year programme of productivity improvements and research and development benefiting shipyards, which concluded on 31 December 2003. Separately, my Department is funding the Science, Engineering and Marine Training Agency (SEMTA) to undertake a range of studies into training needs and provision in the shipbuilding industry, with the aim of ensuring that the UK shipbuilding and marine engineering sector has sufficient numbers of properly skilled people to meet the Ministry of Defence's substantial naval procurement programme.