Leader of the Council The Courts English Street CARLISLE Cumbria CA3 8NA Fax 01228 607403 Tel 01228 227394 Email [email protected] Our Ref: ETM/KCS Date: 5th October 2010 The Rt Hon David Cameron MP Prime Minister House of Commons London SW1A 0AA Dear As the Conservative Leader of Cumbria County Council, I appreciate and endorse the actions that the coalition government must take to reduce the national deficit. It is also entirely apposite to undertake a comprehensive defence review and that you consider such matters in the light of the overall UK budget and the UK’s defence commitments both at home and abroad. I am also aware that you appreciate how important both submarine and surface vessel building is to Barrow, to south Cumbria and, indeed, to the defence of the nation. County Councillors from across Cumbria, and of all political persuasions, have unanimously agreed to give full support to plans to secure a prosperous future for Barrow and the Furness area. Barrow has suffered in the past because of its comparative isolation. It is ironic, perhaps, that cutting-edge manufacturing and the latest forms of energy are underpinning the modest turnaround in the area’s fortunes; this marks Barrow out from other regenerating towns that have relied on financial services and the retail sector to underpin their economies. Barrow shipyard is one of the largest in the United Kingdom (having constructed well over 800 vessels in its history). The port of Barrow itself is heavily involved with the transportation of natural gases and other forms of energy from local sites such as Sellafield, Barrow Offshore Windfarm, Ormonde Wind Farm, Rampside Gas Terminal and Roosecote Power Station. Barrow is also becoming increasingly popular as a port of call for cruise liners visiting south west Cumbria and the Lake District. With government support, there is no doubt that the Furness area has done remarkably well for itself in recent years; yet parts of the town remain among the most deprived in England. Barrow has carved out an important niche for itself. Currently, over 5,000 highly skilled people are based at the Barrow shipyard delivering a unique manufacturing and design capability that enables the UK to lead Europe in warship construction and submarine build. It is the workforce in the shipyard and the way the employees have readily adopted new production techniques, plus the leadership in the yard in securing a first-class senior management team and the cooperation of the unions, that has contributed most to Building pride in Cumbria Barrow’s well-earned reputation for quality and reliability. It is a workforce of which we can be justifiably proud. I must stress, therefore, the importance of sustaining and retaining the skills and capacity inherent in the NW’s naval shipbuilding industry especially in the Barrow and Furness areas. Any Strategic Defence Security Review (SDSR) must recognise, I suggest, that the strength of the nation’s defence industrial base and the skills within it are as important as the armed forces in the protection of our national security. Unless there is a considered and strategic approach to defence procurement, that industrial base is likely to be lost and it would take many years to reclaim it. My council has adopted a major and ambitious aim, namely: the minimisation of: • financial poverty, the poverty of ambition, and the poverty of opportunity. In tackling the socioeconomic problems we must give people hope and stimulate aspirations. I know it is understood that the defence industry provides high levels of employment in some of the less well-off parts of the United Kingdom. Parts of Cumbria, particularly in Barrow in Furness, are very dependent on the defence industry and the spending on defence procurement is a key means of increasing wealth and stimulating further wealth creation in such economically remote areas. The National Audit Office has previously highlighted that: • “the time delay between the construction of the Vanguard Class submarines and the beginning of the Astute programme meant that key skills and submarine building had been lost.” This also had a significant impact on the local economy and is one of the main reasons why Barrow has the third highest percentage of people claiming incapacity benefit in the country. It is recognised that the every job in the defence industry supports 1.6 jobs elsewhere in the supply chain and within the economy. I am sure it is also recognised that investment in defence can stimulate economic recovery and, of course, contribute to the coalition government’s policies for a business-led approach to economic regeneration. Much of the County and District Council’s regeneration activity in the Barrow area in recent years has been deployed to address the impact of reductions in the workforce at the BAe System’s Yard due to an inconsistent government approach to submarine procurement. I believe that there must be a rational and long term strategy for defence procurement that recognises the capacity within the UK’s defence industrial base, not least, that within the Barrow shipyard. This will guarantee that the critical skills, and the opportunities for much- needed apprenticeships, are not lost. It will further ensure that areas such as Barrow in Furness, where economies are so dependent on the defence industry, do not require huge levels of investment and national assistance in order to mitigate the impacts of job losses and the increased effects of worklessness with many or all of the attendant socioeconomic difficulties which would ensue. In short, we have inherent in Barrow and Cumbria the skills, the capacity and the capability to continue to make a significant contribution to the United Kingdom’s maritime defence strategy as we have done since the 1890s. It would be little short of a tragedy if such competence and resources were to be underutilised. I must urge you to ensure that the potential of the Barrow shipyard is both recognised and exploited in the current determination of the Defence Strategic Review. Yours sincerely, Eddie Martin The Leader Cumbria County Council C.c. The Rt Hon Liam Fox MP, Secretary of State for Defence Peter Luff MP, Minister for Defence, Equipment, Support and Technology Lord Astor, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Defence) The Rt. Hon Vince Cable MP, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills John Woodcock MP, Barrow Dick Oliver, Chairman BAe Ian King, Chief Executive BAe Tom Campbell, Chief Executive Barrow Borough Council Jack Richardson, Leader, Barrow Borough Council Terry Waiting, Chairman Keep our Future Afloat Enc. Keep our Future Afloat Brochure .