Scotland: A Good Global Citizen - a Scottish perspective on climate, defence, security and external affairs

Defence

Scotland is committed to working constructively with other countries to tackle global threats. The Scottish Government recognises that competition from adversaries will not always take the form of large scale conflicts and that technological developments have changed the character of warfare and of politics. New tools, techniques and tactics can be used to undermine political and social cohesion. The Scottish Government remains live to these risks and recognises the importance of having a defence capability that is able to respond.

The Scottish Government recognises the need for a defence capability that enables the Armed Forces to move at pace to match adversaries, to operate with agility in the digital age and to collaborate credibly with partners to neutralise threats. Scotland will continue to maximise its soft power approach, working with the UK Government and international allies and partners to achieve this aim.

Similarly, the Armed Forces remain key resilience partners in helping the Scottish Government tackle non-military threats. Through the provision of military aid to civil authorities and communities, they carry out urgent work of national importance which allows them to support the delivery of essential services or responding to emergencies.

The UK Government is increasing the Ministry of Defence budget by £24bn over the next four years, resulting in a budget of £46bn in 2021-22. The military and industrial footprint in Scotland has significant implications for the economy, local communities and military families stationed here, yet there have been no discussions with the Scottish Government on how decisions relating to the defence budget will affect Scotland.

The Scottish Government has repeatedly asked the UK Government to honour its commitment to base 12,500 regular Armed Forces personnel in Scotland by 2020, a commitment that it has failed to meet. With the confirmation of additional defence spending and a commitment to the modernisation of the armed forces, the Scottish Government ask the UK Government to revisit previously announced base closures in Scotland and work with us to carry out local economic impact assessments of these decisions, particularly given the damaging effect of no longer being in the EU and COVID-19.

The Scottish Government believes it is of paramount importance to ensure appropriate defence and security capabilities are maintained. This includes ensuring that companies operating in Scotland have the opportunity and support to compete for contracts. As the UK Government acknowledges itself, Scotland's military personnel and industrial base play a crucial role in keeping all of the people of the UK safe.

The Scottish Government will continue to maximise opportunities for growth within this sector to strengthen Scotland's economy and build on the skilled workforce of the future. For example, Team Tempest is a significant programme that will develop the sixth generation replacement for the current Eurofighter Typhoon fighter aircraft. Scotland has a world-class aerospace industry centred around the Aerospace Cluster at Glasgow Prestwick Airport and Scottish aerospace business can offer much to the project in the way of research and development expertise. With the civil aerospace sector still experiencing the detrimental and ongoing impact to new aircraft component manufacture and Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is imperative that Scottish companies are able to pivot into defence-related work, and so preserve sovereign aerospace capability.

The UK Government also committed to investing in cutting-edge technology, positioning the UK as a global leader in domains such as cyber and space and the formation of a new 'Space Command', capable of launching a first rocket from Scotland in 2022. Space is pivotal to defence and security operations, providing critical services, such as intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, precision navigation and timing, and communications. As the UK increasingly operates as a joint force, an advanced space capability is essential to support the other defence environments: air, land, sea and cyber. Responsive and reliable access to space through sovereign launch capabilities is anticipated to be a key enabler in ensuring the security of the UK.

Scotland is undoubtedly the home of UK space launch; of the seven planned spaceports across the UK, five are in Scotland. More small satellites are built in Glasgow than anywhere else in Europe and Edinburgh is the data-driven capital of Europe, hosting the largest centre for informatics in Europe and having more than 170 data sciences companies. Scotland clearly has a major role to play in the provision of UK capability.

Scotland also has significant naval shipbuilding expertise that provides a substantial contribution to the Scottish and UK economies. Scotland's shipbuilding industry has secured contracts worth around £6bn from the Ministry of Defence to build both Type 26 and 31 Frigates which are the next generation warship. Despite the UK Government backtracking on its original commitment for the Type 26 vessels, naval shipbuilding in Scotland has an order book for work running into the 2030s.

Shipyards at Govan, Scotstoun and Rosyth have proven time and again that they are able to deliver contracts of quality to generate prosperity for the whole of the UK. It is this expertise which make them ideally placed to deliver the plans to develop and manufacture the new Type 32 warship which was announced in November 2020. The UK Government should ensure that any future contracts for these warships includes work which benefits the Scottish economy and our shipyards on the Clyde and Forth.

The Scottish Government is firmly opposed to the possession, threat and use of nuclear weapons; we are committed to pursuing the safe and complete withdrawal of all nuclear weapons from Scotland. The UK Government's decision to increase the nuclear weapon stockpile is completely at odds with two thirds of the international community who signed the United Nation's Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. We share the United Nation Association's concerns over the lack of engagement by the UK Government with initiatives led by non-nuclear weapon states working for worldwide nuclear disarmament. The continued retention of nuclear weapons is morally, strategically and economically wrong. Nuclear weapons have consistently failed to provide a meaningful deterrent to the threat of terrorist attacks, nor have they proved a deterrent to other nuclear-armed states carrying out atrocious acts on British soil. Rather than making repeated and damaging cuts to conventional military forces and capabilities and to the aid budget, the UK Government would do better to reverse its decision to replace Trident.

Scotland makes a significant contribution to UK defence and the Scottish Government will continue to protect Scottish interests and values in our engagement with the UK Government on defence matters.