Scots defence firms ‘could miss chance for deals’
DEFENCE companies based in Scotland would not be eligible to compete for nearly twothirds of Ministry of Defence contracts if the country became independent, according to a UK Government report published today.
The Whitehall study says 63% to 64% of MoD procurement contracts in 2011 and 2012 were placed with UK companies on national security grounds. Last year, nearly £13 billion of the MoD’s £20bn procurement budget was spent with UK companies. The MoD used exemptions to EU trade rules to ensure orders went to British-based suppliers.
Today’s report, to be unveiled by Defence Secretary Phili p Hammond during a visit to a defence manufacturer in Edinburgh, insists the UK Government would continue to place orders with UK firms if Scotland became independent.
The report says: “In the event of independence, companies based in an inde- pendent Scottish state would no longer be eligible for contracts that the UK chose to place or compete domestically for national security reasons; and where they could continue to compete they would be pitching for business in a competitive international market.”
Mr Hammond is expected to say: “The Scottish people deserve to know what the impact of independence would be on the jobs and livelihoods of the many thou- sands of people in Scotland that are employed in the UK Armed Forces or in the defence industry that equips and supports them.”
Scottish Government veterans minister Keith Brown said Scotland had suffered from deeper cuts to defence spending than the rest of the UK. He said: “The most recent figures indicate only £2bn is being spent by the MoD in Scotland.”