Defence Secretary Wes Streeting has visited Babcock’s Rosyth facility, where the Royal Navy’s Type 31 frigates are under construction, on his first trip to Scotland since taking the post. At Rosyth, Streeting met workers and apprentices employed on the frigate programme. The Type 31 programme accounts for 2,500 skilled roles across Scotland and the wider UK supply chain, along with 400 apprenticeships created through partnerships with colleges in Fife and elsewhere. A new Defence Housing Service has been established to meet modern property standards and to accelerate delivery on surplus defence land. The five Type 31 frigates, known as the Inspiration class, are being built at Rosyth under a contract placed in 2019, with the design derived from Denmark’s Iver Huitfeldt class.