Summary: Chancellor George Osborne has set out the government’s plans to build the ‘most modern Navy in the world’.
Speaking in Portsmouth, Mr Osborne announced a new national shipbuilding strategy with a new multimillion-pound warship being built every two years.
The new strategy will ensure that the Royal Navy continues to have the capability it needs to protect the UK’s interests, retaining its status as the most modern Navy in the world. The investment will provide significant employment opportunities in Portsmouth and Plymouth including new apprenticeships.
The Royal Navy is currently undergoing extensive modernisation with new equipment, ships and submarines, two Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers and the upcoming renewal of the Trident submarine programme.
The Chancellor also announced almost £100m of infrastructure development in new dock facilities at Portsmouth Naval Base to further support the arrival of the Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers.
The infrastructure work will encompass berthing and jetty improvements, new power supply and distribution as well as significant dredging works.
Mr Osborne said: “Ensuring a better and more secure future for Britain means equipping our Royal Navy for the challenges of the 21st century. It is only because we have a long term economic plan that we able to invest in our national security. Our ambition is to deliver the most modern Navy in the world which the government believes is a national necessity. It will maintain and create jobs and deliver a more secure future for Britain.”
