§ Sir Frederick Burdenasked the Secretary of State for for Defence why it is no longer his policy that the repair and refit of Royal Navy ships must be carried out in the Royal naval dockyards; and what work of that type he envisages can be carried out safely and expeditiously in private shipyards.
§ Mr. BlakerIt remains our policy to repair and refit Royal Navy ships in the Royal dockyards. The only minor exceptions are HMS "Wakeful", a submarine tender based on the Clyde, "Vigilant" and "Alert", two patrol craft operating from Belfast and five minesweepers based in Hong Kong. All these vessels are refitted locally by contract, for reasons of convenience and cost effectiveness.