South Yorkshire has been named as one of five areas which will be targeted for increased defence spending by the Government.
Defence Secretary John Healey has unveiled a new strategy to make defence an “engine for growth” across the Ƶ, promising thousands of jobs and stronger regional economies. The Defence Industrial Strategy will create five new Defence Growth Deals, including one for South Yorkshire, with £250m in funding over the next five years.
The Government said that South Yorkshire’s inclusion in the strategy came as it was a key region for the research, development and engineering of high-grade components and materials critical to the next generation of maritime, land and air capabilities. That included “specialist steel for gun barrels and nuclear submarines,” the Ministry of Defence said.
The Government said early analysis suggests there could be demand for up to 50,000 additional defence jobs by 2034/35 as spending increases. The other Defence Growth Deals will be in Plymouth, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Mr Healey said the plan would make the Ƶ the best place in the world to start and grow a defence company while putting Britain “at the leading edge of innovation”.
He said: “The Defence Industrial Strategy will make defence an engine for growth across the Ƶ, backing British jobs, British industry and British innovators. Defence Growth Deals offer a new partnership with Ƶ Defence to build on industrial and innovation strengths that regions already hold.
“Together we aim to drive an increase in defence skills, SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) and jobs across all four nations. We want to make the Ƶ the best place in the world to start and grow a defence firm and will put Britain at the leading edge of innovation.”
The deals would bring together businesses, local and national government, and academia to foster innovation and drive investment.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “This is a plan for good jobs paying decent wages in Cardiff, Belfast, Glasgow, Sheffield, Plymouth and beyond. Through Defence Growth Deals, we will unleash the power of local economies while securing our country - building an economy that works for working people, in every part of this country, just as our Plan for Change promised.”
South Yorkshire mayor Oliver Coppard said: "The Defence Growth Deal we've just been awarded isn't just a critical part of the Ƶ's new Defence Industrial Strategy. It's a vote of confidence in the work we do here in South Yorkshire, from quantum computing to material science.
"That deal with offer very real opportunities for companies across Barnsley, Rotherham, Sheffield and Doncaster. It will mean more secure, well paid jobs and it will power the growth that will make us all better off."
Ministers said the strategy would strengthen the Ƶ’s industrial base and ensure industry can respond rapidly to future challenges, drawing lessons from the war in Ukraine. It will aim to cut red tape for Ƶ firms to complete export deals and expand finance to support Ƶ defence firms seeking international orders.
The strategy - the last of eight sector plans published by the Government in recent months - comes after the Ƶ recently announced a deal to export at least five Type 26 frigates to Norway in a £10 billion boost to the economy, supporting over 4,000 British jobs for years to come.
