§ Mr. Viggersasked the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what Royal Naval orders are currently in hand or in contemplation for Swan Hunter's shipyard;
(2) whether he will take into account the industrial record of the shipyards with which he will place the order for the third through-deck cruiser;
(3) whether he has any current intention to place further orders with Swan Hunter's shipyard;
(4) whether he proposed to divert any Royal Naval order to Swan Hunter's shipyard to compensate for the recent loss of overseas civil orders.
§ Dr. GilbertSwan Hunters are currently building one ASW Cruiser and four Type 42 Destroyers for the Royal Navy.
Against the background of our war-shipbuilding policy, which I described to the hon. Member on 11th November 1976—[Vol. 919, c. 270.]—the main factors affecting our decision to place orders with individual yards are a satisfactory price and completion date, the capacity and past performance of the yard and the contractual terms that are offered. These considerations will determine our decisions on future orders. We have no plans for any immediate construction orders for major warships.
§ Mr. Viggersasked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he is in a 545W position to announce the allocation of the order for the third through-deck cruiser.
§ Dr. GilbertI have nothing to add to the replies that I gave to the hon. Member for Chertsey and Walton (Mr. Pattie) on 8th November.—[Vol. 938, c.469.]