§ 11. Mr. TurnerTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many merchant vessels chartered by his Department to take part in Operation Purple Star were British-registered. [30893]
§ Mr. SoamesMadam Speaker—
§ Mr. Trickettrose—
§ Madam SpeakerOrder. The hon. Member for Hemsworth (Mr. Trickett) must resume his seat when another hon. Member is asking a question.
§ Mr. SoamesThe answer is none, Madam Speaker.
§ Mr. TurnerDoes the Minister agree that history reminds us of the heroic role played by the British merchant fleet in the life of this country? Does he agree further that that proud naval history is under threat because the Government have betrayed the British merchant fleet by not engaging one British ship? They have commissioned the ships of virtually every other country in recent times.
§ Mr. SoamesI cannot agree with the hon. Gentleman's proposition. The Government have taken many positive steps to improve the competitiveness of British shipping and to encourage more shipowners to fly the red ensign. They include generous funding for training, liberalisation of officer nationality requirements, changes in registration laws and the introduction of roll-over relief on capital allowances.
Only 37 British—flagged ro-ros—the roll on/roll off ships to which the hon. Gentleman refers—are militarily useful, and all of them are currently on extended charter. I am quite sure that the hon. Gentleman is not suggesting that we should disrupt their charters in time of peace simply for the sake of buying British. We believe that we have a very satisfactory system for chartering ships through the Baltic exchange. We will continue to use that to gain best value for money for the taxpayer and the best possible use for our armed forces.
§ Mr. DevlinOne civilian ship that we do not have to charter in time of war is the royal yacht, Britannia. I urge my hon. Friend to consider commissioning a fast, modern replacement ship which Her Majesty could use, which could be utilised in our trade promotion work around the world and which could be built in the north-east of England.
§ Mr. SoamesMy hon. Friend tempts me down a path that I am reluctant to tread. No decisions have yet been made about the future of Britannia. However, the hon. Gentleman clearly has a formidable case to make regarding the north-east of England and I am sure that the House has noted his comments.