Fleet Solid Support ship contract

That this house believes that the Fleet Solid Support Ship is a warship; contends that UK warships should be designed, built and maintained in UK shipyards in order to strengthen sovereign defence capability and ensure national security considerations are met; welcomes the plethora of economic and social benefits that could be generated from the Team UK bid, including significant job creation, retention of valuable skills, increased returns to the Treasury through tax and National Insurance contributions, potential support of other industries such as the steel industry, and much-needed continuation of work for UK shipyards; acknowledges that no other country in the G7 conducts warship procurement through an international competition; and calls on the Government to support UK shipyards and UK defence supply chains by awarding the Fleet Solid Support Ship contract to Team UK, creating 1800 direct shipyard jobs across the UK and thousands more in the supply chain.