§ Rear-Admiral Morgan Gilesasked the Secretary of State for Defence what consultations he had, other than with the Navy Board, when considering his policy about the future of the aircraft carrier.
§ Mr. HealeyI had appropriate consultations with Service and civilian advisers and with many of my Ministerial colleagues.
§ Rear-Admiral Morgan Gilesasked the Secretary of State for Defence what were the results of his study of the cost-effectiveness of aircraft carriers; what information he has, following his defence consultations with the United States Government, on the results of similar studies in the United States of America; and if he will publish a comparison of this information.
§ Mr. HealeyAs the Defence White Paper explains, we believe that the tasks for which we might require aircraft 303W carriers in the later 1970s can be more cheaply performed in other ways. In reaching this conclusion we took into account information available from similar studies in the United States of America, which were carried out against a different background of military requirements and force levels.
§ Mr. Wingfield Digbyasked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he was aware of the decision of the United States Government to order three new nuclear-powered aircraft carriers before he cancelled the new British carrier; and what conversations on the future of carriers he had during his recent trip to Washington.
§ Mr. HealeyI was aware of all relevant factors. My conversations in Washington ranged widely over defence matters of mutual interest.