HC Deb 02 July 1991 vol 194 cc157-8
Mr. Douglas

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the current number of ships and submarines in service with the Royal Navy.

Mr. Kenneth Carlisle

The Royal Navy currently has three aircraft carriers, an escort fleet of around 50 destroyers and frigates which is being reduced to around 40, two assault ships and other specialist amphibious shipping, and a substantial flotilla of smaller warships. In addition to the four Polaris boats, we currently have 14 nuclear-powered submarines and seven diesel electric submarines.

Mr. Douglas

Does the Minister accept that we are witnessing a continued decline in the number of naval vessels? Can he tell us how many naval bases we shall require and whether Rosyth will continue to be among their number?

As for submarines, will the Minister tell his hon. Friends and some Opposition Members who signed the sixth report of the Select Committee on Defence, that no one in Scotland wants a nuclear submarine, decommissioned or otherwise, as a museum piece? If they want it, why do they not stick it in the Thames?

Mr. Carlisle

The House should be reminded that, in 1989 and 1990, the Labour party conference voted to cut British defence spending by £9 billion a year, or over a third of the current defence budget. The brutal truth is that that would lead not to tenders for the order for three frigates—which we have just achieved—but to the destruction of most of the Navy and of hundreds of thousands of jobs in naval bases, industry and elsewhere.

Mr. Trotter

Does my hon. Friend accept that there will be a continuing need for first-line technology in the Royal Navy and that that will require an ongoing building programme? Does he take on board the fact that it is essential for the shipbuilding industry to have some idea of the number of ships likely to be ordered over the next five to 10 years?

Mr. Carlisle

I understand what my hon. Friend is saying. I am certain that Swan Hunter will produce an impressive tender for the three new frigates.

Mr. Boyes

Will the Minister consider the establishment levels required on ships and submarines and, in particular, the deployment of Wrens on submarines, so that the skills for which they have been trained can be fully utilised? Women must have equal opportunities; if they wish to serve on submarines, the necessary arrangements should be made without delay.

Mr. Carlisle

As I said last Thursday, we are studying that possibility.

Dame Janet Fookes

Many of us think that the fleet is already being cut to the bone without any further reductions. How many of the ships that are currently in service can go to sea at present and are not in the process of being refitted or repaired?

Mr. Carlisle

As I said, our policy is to order new ships to replace the older ones and thus to have a more effective Navy. I remind the House that, should Labour's plans ever be implemented, the effect on our equipment and defence budget would be catastrophic.