Kirsten Oswald has attempted to secure a guarantee that no “further delays” or doubts will hit the Ministry of Defence’s Type 26 Frigate building programme on the Clyde.

The ship yards are currently working to fulfil contracts for the MoD for offshore patrol vessels, however concerns over the future of the project were raised after the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) highlighted issues with the delivery of the UK’s new aircraft carriers, which spiralled over budget.

At a Commons debate on defence spending, Oswald asked: “How will existing and anticipated threats to UK interests be taken into account as part of the strategic defence and security review and in future allocations of defence expenditure?” The minister for defence procurement, Philip Dunne, answered: “The SDSR will consider the broad range of threats we face, both now and in the future. The national security strategy is being reviewed and will draw on the latest version of the national security risk assessment. As my right hon. Friend the Chancellor made clear last week, this Government are committed to increasing the defence budget by 0.5 per cent in real terms and meeting the NATO pledge to spend 2 per cent of GDP on defence each and every year of this decade.” However despite plans to increase defence spending by 0.5 per cent, Oswald pressed for further re-assurance on the safety of jobs on the Clyde’s shipyards.

She continued: “I thank the Minister for his answer. When considering the SDSR, we are all aware of the highly skilled workforce on the Clyde who are waiting to build Type 26 frigates.” Oswald made reference to a national newspaper article which quoted a government spokesman as bringing “realism” to the programme.

She continued: “Can he explain what was meant by the article in The Sunday Times which stated that the Government would be “bringing realism” to this programme? What does that mean for the future of this vital project?

“Can he guarantee that there will be no further delays or doubts cast upon it?” Dunne replied that the government must hold contractors “to account”.

He said: “The workforce on the Clyde are currently manufacturing three offshore patrol vessels commissioned by the previous coalition Government.

“We want to make sure that before we enter the full manufacturing contracts, the contracts’ structures are robust and we can hold the contractors to account, unlike what happened with the aircraft carrier contracts, which blew up to more than double their original cost.”