THE UK Government is set to announce £2.5 million in funding for a welding facility on the Clyde and accuse the SNP of not “backing Scottish industry”.
Defence Secretary John Healey will use his speech to the Labour conference in Liverpool on Monday to confirm the funding.
The Scottish Government previously refused to give £2.5m to the Rolls Royce facility due to its policy of not using public funds for projects which manufacture munitions.
In June, Healey accused the SNP of “student union politics” and not being a “serious government” due to their opposition to munitions manufacturing, pledging that Westminster would step in and provide the funding.
The Scottish Government has insisted that Scottish Enterprise did not recieve a direct funding application for the scheme.
And now, Healey will tell the conference: “Labour is proud of Scotland’s maritime heritage, and we are taking action to ensure its success long into the future.
“Where the SNP won’t back Scottish industry, young people or our national security, Labour will step in.
“With our record defence investment, and our record exports deals, Labour is making Scotland a shipbuilding superpower once again.
“We’ll deliver good, well-paid jobs and opportunities across the Clyde, Rosyth, Methil and beyond.”
Healey said he was “proud” to work with Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar and his party to “strengthen our national security in a more insecure world, while making defence an engine for growth across Scotland”.
He added that Labour could “turbocharge” these efforts if the party is elected to power in Scotland next May.
Sarwar said Scotland’s “world-class skills and proud shipbuilding tradition” have been “failed by the SNP”.
He said Labour is “proving that we are the only party that will back investment to protect our security and support high-paid jobs”.
He continued: “While the SNP turns its back on our national security and on Scottish workers, Labour is stepping up to safeguard jobs, strengthen our defences and invest in the next generation.
“This new welding facility is proof that when Scottish Labour and UK Labour work hand-in-hand, we can deliver the new direction and the new opportunities that Scotland needs.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Scottish Enterprise did not receive a formal application for funding from Malin.
“We have provided over £90 million in funding to companies operating in the aerospace, defence and shipbuilding sectors since 2006/07.
"We continue to support the defence sector, particularly regarding workforce development, which is fundamental to our national security and a strategic driver for Scotland's economy."
Healey previously said the UK Government and Rolls Royce have a "long-term partnership".
“Rolls-Royce is central to much of the most important military equipment that keeps us all safe and Rolls-Royce wants to set up a new welding skills center," he told the BBC.
“This isn't just to support their munitions businesses, It's about supporting Scotland’s shipyard pipeline as well essential skills, new opportunities for young people.
He added that the "Scottish Nationalist government" wouldn't provide the funding but the UK will.
In response to Healey’s comments, Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon defended the Scottish Government’s position that it does not fund the manufacture of munitions.
“I think the key difference here between ourselves and the UK Government is that when we have principles, we stick to them,” she said.
