Royal Navy: Vessels Under Construction (Hansard, 21 March 1989)

§ The Minister of State for Defence Procurement (Lord Trefgarne)
My Lords, following the acceptance last Friday of HMS "Sandown", the first of the Royal Navy's new class of single-role minehunter, 14 major surface ships and eight submarines are currently on order, with a value at today's prices of approximately £4 billion.

§ Baroness Strange
My Lords, I thank my noble friend the Minister for his encouraging reply. Can he inform us how many of those ships are being built in Scotland? Can he also tell us how many men are currently employed in building those ships?

§ Lord Trefgarne
My Lords, I need notice to answer the last supplementary question put by my noble friend. However, from the list in front of me I believe I am right in saying that all the ships to which I have referred, save nine, are being constructed in Scotland.

§ Lord Irving of Dartford
My Lords, is the noble Lord aware that a number of experienced people who watch these matters very carefully—for example, the editor of Jane's Fighting Ships, the Defence Committee in another place and a number of defence correspondents—are very concerned at the Government's failure to meet the target of about 50 vessels that we have committed to NATO? Is the Minister aware that this rate of laying down ships is not enough to maintain that 50? Indeed, at one stage last year the figure was as low as 31. Is the Minister aware that this underfunding and overstretching of our defence programme is due to the Government's preoccupation with nuclear weapons, particularly 579 with Trident, and that it is the Royal Navy and NATO that are suffering the consequences?

§ Lord Trefgarne
My Lords, as usual, I am afraid that there are one or two misconceptions in the noble Lord's supplementary question. Far from 31 vessels being available from the commitment of about 50, the number today is 49.

§ Lord Ironside
My Lords, can the Minister say what the construction programme is for Royal Fleet Auxiliaries? The Royal Navy fleet depends very much on these support vessels. In particular, is there any plan for the construction of the aircraft support ship?

§ Lord Trefgarne
My Lords, the aviation support ship is a programme for which we have recently invited proposals from a number of shipbuilding firms. We look forward to receiving the proposals later this year and to placing an order some time next year.

§ Lord Dormand of Easington
My Lords, are the contracts for the construction of Royal Navy vessels always awarded on the lowest tender?

§ Lord Trefgarne
My Lords, they are almost always awarded on the lowest tender. But there were one or two cases recently, with which I dare say the noble Lord will be familiar, where that was not so.

§ Lord Mayhew
My Lords, can the noble Lord say how far this building programme is designed to fit in with the American maritime strategy and how far this strategy is supported by Britain and NATO?

§ Lord Trefgarne
My Lords, I am not quite sure what aspect of the United States defence strategy the noble Lord is referring to. For example, the destroyer and frigate force which we are committed to maintain to the size of about 50 vessels, as the noble Lord will be aware, is largely assigned to NATO for its purposes in the eastern Atlantic.

Lord Morris
My Lords, when the sole ice patrol vessel of the Royal Navy—namely, the 33 year-old HMS "Endurance"—comes to the end of its useful life, will my noble friend consider building its replacement in a British yard?

§ Lord Trefgarne
My Lords, generally speaking, all the ships manufactured for the Royal Navy are built in British yards. As my noble friend has pointed out, many of them are built in Scottish yards. That is not to say that we do not wish to seek the best value for money in everything that we purchase for the armed forces, including the Royal Navy. In appropriate cases we are ready to consider proposals from other yards.