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Marking the start of London’s International Shipping Week, the founding of the new National Shipbuilding Office is a significant milestone in the UK’s shipbuilding renaissance.

The Office will be responsible for driving forward one of the Prime Minister’s key domestic priorities across government, working in close collaboration with the sector industrial partners and supply chain.

Rear Admiral Rex Cox has been appointed as the Chief Executive of the new organisation. With over 30 years-experience in the Royal Navy, Rear Admiral Cox worked as the Defence policy advisor for Her Majesty’s Treasury from 2015 to 2018 and most recently served as the Head of Capability Planning in the Finance and Military Capability directorate of the MOD.

Shipbuilding Tsar and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said:

The creation of the National Shipbuilding Office and the appointment of Rear Admiral Rex Cox marks a further demonstration of this Government’s ambition to supercharge the UK’s shipbuilding industry across all four corners of the UK.

The newly formed Office will be the strategic centre that drives transformative change across the shipbuilding industry and wider maritime sector and supply chains.

The shipbuilding industry is integral to the future of Defence and the Royal Navy, as outlined in the recent Defence Command Paper. The MoD is investing £1.7 billion in the sector, which is further enhanced by the £24 billion increase in Defence spending over the next four years, as announced by the Prime Minister last November.

The shipbuilding sector contributes a huge amount to the UK and in 2020 the ship and boat building, repair and maintenance services contributed £2.4 billion to the UK economy supporting around 44,000 jobs. There were 1,665 registered business in this industry, 99% of which were Small and Medium Enterprises.

Defence continues to support the Shipbuilding sector with contracts placed for five Type 31 frigates in 2019. The UK’s Type 26 design is being exported to both Canada and Australia, creating and sustaining 5,000 jobs in the UK and around £6 billion of potential export contracts to benefit UK suppliers. The UK government also commissioned the RRS Sir David Attenborough, built in the UK by Cammell Laird, as one of the world’s most advanced research vessels.

Newly appointed National Shipbuilding Office Chief Executive Officer Rear Admiral Rex Cox said:

I am delighted to have been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer for the National Shipbuilding Office.

The Office has a mandate to drive transformative change across the UK’s shipbuilding enterprise, creating a strategic focus across Government to champion our shipbuilding ambitions and the amazing talent across our maritime sector.

The National Shipbuilding Office will report directly to the Shipbuilding Tsar and will oversee all of the UK government’s interests in UK shipbuilding, from coordinating the long-term pipeline of government vessels to ensuring skills priorities are aligned across the enterprise.

The launch of the National Shipbuilding Office is central to the National Shipbuilding Strategy Refresh which is due to be published later this year. The Refresh will encapsulate the broader shipbuilding enterprise, not just the naval sector. It will look at themes such as skills, exports, and technology, particularly the opportunities associated with clean maritime technology. The National Shipbuilding Office is central to this ambitious strategy and will take ownership of driving its delivery.

Councils who support people through the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) or Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) scheme will receive £20,520 per person, over 3 years, for resettlement and integration costs. This is based on the previous Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme, but over 3 rather than 5 years, with more money provided in the crucial early period to help people settle and become part of their new communities.

Local councils and health partners who resettle families will also receive up to £4,500 per child for education, £850 to cover English language provision for adults requiring this support and £2,600 to cover healthcare.

A further £20 million of flexible funding will be made available to support local authorities with higher cost bases with any additional costs in the provision of services. In addition, the previously announced Afghan Housing Costs Fund will increase from £5 million to £17 million and run for 2 extra years to help local authorities provide housing and give certainty that funding will be available in the future.

In a letter to all local authorities in England, Wales and Scotland and to Northern Ireland Executive representatives, the Home Secretary and Communities Secretary have asked more local authorities to now step up and offer places for people coming from Afghanistan. The funding offer is for councils across the UK.

Home Secretary Priti Patel said:

The UK is a proud democratic country, so it is unimaginable for many of us to live in fear of being ourselves or not having access to even the most basic rights. That is why we are providing a safe haven in the UK for people at risk, including women and girls and minority groups, so they can rebuild their lives safely in the UK.

The funding we’ve announced will help new arrivals to integrate into British society, while giving councils offering support the certainty they need.

Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said:

I am incredibly impressed by the positive response we’ve received from councils so far, with a large number already pledging their support.

However, we urgently need more offers of accommodation to welcome Afghan families who have remained firm allies of the UK, working with our troops and our country so bravely in recent years.

With this extra funding in place, I’m asking all councils who have not yet come forward to contact us with a firm offer of support to help these families secure the best possible start to their new lives.

Under the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme, the government has committed to resettling up to 20,000 Afghans, of which 5,000 will be resettled in the scheme’s first year. This is in addition to the ARAP scheme, which has already resettled thousands of Afghans who have worked with the UK government, and their families.

Today’s policy statement sets out that the ACRS will prioritise those who have assisted the UK efforts in Afghanistan and stood up for the values we share such as democracy, women’s rights, freedom of speech and the rule of law, as well as other vulnerable people, including women, girls and members of minority groups at risk (including ethnic and religious minorities and LGBT).

Some of those who arrived in the UK under the Op PITTING evacuation programme, which included individuals who were considered to be at particular risk, will be resettled under the ACRS. People who were notified by the government that they had been called forward or specifically authorised for evacuation, but were not able to board flights, will also be offered a place if they subsequently come to the UK.

Further to this, to help identify those most at risk and vulnerable, the government is working closely with the UN’s Refugee Agency, UNHCR, to identify and resettle refugees who have fled Afghanistan based on their protection and humanitarian need.

The government is also working with international partners and NGOs in the region to implement a referral process for people inside Afghanistan, where safe passage can be arranged, and for those that have recently fled to other countries in the region.

Other details released today include:

• while it is expected the vast majority of people resettled under the Scheme will be Afghan, nationals of other countries, for example in mixed nationality families, will be eligible
• spouses, partners and dependent children under 18 years of eligible individuals will be eligible for the route. Other family members may be resettled in exceptional circumstances
• unaccompanied children will be accepted where resettlement in the UK is in their best interest, for example if they cannot be reunited with family in the region

Afghan Resettlement Minister Victoria Atkins said:

I’m proud of the mammoth effort taking place across the whole of the UK to welcome people from Afghanistan. Our resettlement scheme will help to build a bright future for thousands of people who have helped us.

As part of ongoing, government-wide efforts to help Afghan arrivals to rebuild their lives, the Department for Work and Pensions is launching surgeries across the country, run by experienced work coaches with translators, to help those arriving with any questions they may have about employment or benefits. These surgeries, combined with access to benefits, will allow new arrivals to receive individual tailored support to help them become self-sufficient more quickly and find work as they get settled in the UK.

The government is also legislating this week to take forward our ‘Operation Warm Welcome’ commitments. This includes ensuring that all those arriving in both schemes are eligible for social housing and homelessness support after arriving and will be able to claim benefits such as Universal Credit from day one. This is matched by the immediate right to work upon entry.