§ Mr. AllasonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many new ships the Royal Navy will order in the current year.
§ Mr. SainsburyI refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Members for Newcastle-upon-Tyne East (Mr. Brown) and for Wallsend (Mr. Garrett) 29 November 1988 at column217 regarding frigate orders. The Government also expect to place an order for SSBN-07 later this year.
In addition, although orders are not envisaged for this year, tenders have also been invited for an aviation support ship and we are in the process of evaluating the results of competitive feasibility studies for a possible replacement for the assault ships Fearless and Intrepid.