§ 6. Ms Rachel Squire (Dunfermline, West)What progress has been made in his Department's plans to procure two new aircraft carriers. [90204]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Mr. John Spellar)Bids have been received from two industrial teams for the next phase of the programme, which will develop overall design proposals. The bids are currently being evaluated and contract placement is planned for this autumn. The procurement strategy thereafter sees bids for the demonstration and manufacture phase scheduled for 2003; contract placement will then take place in 2004, following ministerial decision. As part of that, on 16 August, Mr. Ali Baghaei will be appointed as the integrated project team leader for the project. We have made it clear to the teams that the ships will be built in British yards. We will be in a position to make a further statement on the project in the autumn.
§ Ms SquireI very much welcome my hon. Friend's statement that future carriers will be built in a British yard. Will he confirm that Kvaerner Govan will be able to compete, along with other UK yards, for the work to build those carriers? Does he agree that, until those carriers are built, it is vital that we maintain the present condition of our aircraft carriers? Will he join me in praising the high standard of workmanship of the work force at Rosyth royal dockyard, who are currently carrying out a refit on HMS Ark Royal? Is that not a clear lesson that it is in the interests of the people of Scotland to remain part of the United Kingdom if they want to secure a future for their yards?
§ Mr. SpellarI thank my hon. Friend for that well-made last point. I join her in welcoming the announcement last week on the future of Kvaerner Govan and the tremendous work that is being undertaken by the work force, the companies and our colleagues in the Scottish Office. She rightly drew attention to the fact that Kvaerner Govan is one of the potential yards for the future carrier. However, I must mention that there are other contenders—Harland and Wolff, Barrow, Cammell Laird at Birkenhead and Swan Hunter.
I join my hon. Friend in her tribute to the work at Rosyth on the refit of Ark Royal. That demonstrates, once again, the considerable shipbuilding and ship-repairing skills of this country; they will provide a strong future for the industry and for the Royal Navy.
§ Mr. Edward Garnier (Harborough)The Minister will recall that, under the strategic defence review, the Government announced that the Invincible class carriers would be replaced with two new carriers in 2012 and 2015. Is that still the Government's intention? What sort of aircraft is it intended to fly from those carriers?
§ Mr. SpellarYes, I can confirm that that is still our intention and that it is consistent with the dates I announced previously. There are several potential 779 contenders for the aircraft: the joint strike fighter, an updated Harrier, a Rafale, a navalised Eurofighter or an F18. All of them are currently being evaluated for a future decision.
§ Mr. Syd Rapson (Portsmouth, North)You will be aware, Madam Speaker, that I represent part of Portsmouth where we have a great interest in the two new aircraft carriers—not in building them, but in maintenance and berthing. Is my hon. Friend the Minister aware of the excellent facilities in Portsmouth? He will know of the firm FSL—Fleet Support Ltd.—which he managed to formulate by a shrewd decision early last year involving Vosper Thornycroft and GEC. We are very capable of looking after the carriers in the long term and we wish good luck to the company that gets to build them.
§ Mr. SpellarPerhaps, Madam Speaker, you would like to add to your duties that of chief auctioneer receiving bids on this matter. My hon. Friend the Member for Dunfermline, West (Ms Squire) and my hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth, North (Mr. Rapson) rightly draw attention to the excellent facilities and the supremely skilled work forces in both their local facilities and others around the country. We are lucky to have them, and they will all be evaluated in future for construction, maintenance and refit purposes.