Dr. Bennettasked the Secretary of State for Defence what he estimates to be the extent of the additional work required of Portsmouth Dockyard, consequent upon the premature decommissioning and scrapping of H.M.S. "Victorious"; how many additional man-weeks the decommissioning will require in the near future; and how many man-weeks will now not be required once H.M.S. "Victorious" has been disposed of.
§ Mr. Foley:The work consequent upon de-storing and de-equipping H.M.S. "Victorious" is expected to occupy about 1,000 man-weeks in Portsmouth Dockyard between December, 1967 and June, 1968. Effort of this order would have been required whenever H.M.S. "Victorious" was disposed of. 4,000 man-weeks were saved by the decision not to complete the refit.