§ 22. Mr. Hirstasked the Secretary of State for Defence what is his latest estimate of the value of contracts which have been, or will be, placed with United Kingdom contractors under the Trident programme.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonAs my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence announced to the House on 27 January, 62 per cent. of the total of the latest Trident project estimate will be spent in the United Kingdom. This amounts to more than £5,700 million.
§ 37. Mr. Michael Brownasked the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received following his announcement of the revised cost of the Trident programme; and if he will make a statement.
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§ Mr. Archie HamiltonOne written representation has been received.
§ 48. Mr. Stevensasked the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the Trident fleet to be fully operational.
§ Mr. StanleyThe United Kingdom Trident force will be introduced progressively from the mid-1990s. For reasons of security, it is not our normal practice to publish detailed in-service dates.
§ 65. Mr. Cohenasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will declassify information on the number of warheads to be carried in Trident submarines.
§ Mr. StanleyI refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Burnley (Mr. Pike) on 20 February.
§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he used (a) the gross domestic product deflator and (b) a special defence price index to convert Trident spending into 1986–87 prices.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonAllowances for pay and prices in the Trident estimate are calculated by using indices for the appropriate defence industrial sectors. The GDP deflator is not, therefore, used.
§ Mr. Strangasked the Secretary of State for Defence what undertakings he has received from the United States Administration with regard to the United Kingdom's use of Trident in circumstances where the United States President has not authorised the firing of United States nuclear weapons; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. YoungerThe Trident D5 missile system is being made available to the United Kingdom under the terms and undertakings contained in the United States/United Kingdom Polaris sales agreement of 6 April 1963 (Cmnd 1995), which has been extended for this purpose. This envisages, in accordance with the Defence 1962 Nassau "Statement on Nuclear Defence Systems" that the British strategic nuclear deterrent will be used for the international defence of the Western Alliance in all circumstances except where the British Government may decide that supreme national interests are at stake. In all circumstances, decisions on the operational use of the British deterrent rest solely with the British Government.
§ Mr. Nellistasked the Secretary of State for Defence how many copies of the document "Trident and the Alternatives" have been produced; and what are the channels of distribution.
§ Mr. StanleyTo date, 1,000 copies of Defence Open Government Document No. 87/01 "Trident and the Alternatives" have been produced. Copies have been placed in the Library of both Houses and in the Vote Office, and are available on request either to my Department or to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.