§ Mr. McQuarrieasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he has discussed with the proposed future operators of the Gibraltar dockyard whether the cost of refitting royal fleet auxiliaries will be less than the present cost where the work is under the supervision of his Department; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. LeeOur discussions on this subject have so far been in outline terms only. Until the work content of the refits we propose to allocate to the commercial yard becomes known, it is not possible to make an informed estimate of their cost. Our understandings with the firm provide for the agreement of fair and reasonable prices for individual refits; such prices would, of course, be confidential between the firm and ourselves.
§ Mr. McQuarrieasked the Secretary of State fix Defence what is the final cost of a refit to a royal fleet auxiliary in the Gibraltar dockyard compared with the final cost for the same operation in a United Kingdom dockyard, either naval or commercial.
§ Mr. LeePast refit costs do not provide a basis for comparison. Because equipment requirements and material state vary from ship to ship, each refit represents a different package of work. Even if that were not so, variations in costing and pricing practice would make comparisons of past costs very difficult.