Trident Refitting (Hansard, 17 January 1996)

§ Mr. Stewart
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the public expenditure implications of the Trident missile submarine refit at Devonport beyond those specified in the successful tender documents submitted by Devonport Management Ltd. [9380]

§ Mr. Arbuthnot
Negotiations on the design and build of facilities for refitting Vanguard class submarines at Devonport are proceeding and it would not be appropriate to speculate about details, including cost, while negotiations are under way.
578W

§ Ms Rachel Squire
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what action he intends to take to ensure the highest safety standards are enforced in the future refitting of Trident submarines. [9358]

§ Mr. Arbuthnot
Refitting facilities for nuclear powered submarines are being designed and will be constructed to meet all necessary safety standards and are being monitored and regulated by both civilian and MOD authorities. The future operators of the nuclear powered submarine refitting facility will be required to demonstrate to these authorities the appropriate levels of safety standards in order to obtain a nuclear site licence and the necessary consent to operate the facility.

§ Ms Squire
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the progress of the negotiations with Devonport Management Ltd. over Trident refitting. [9357]

§ Mr. Arbuthnot
Negotiations on the design and build of the facilities for refitting Vanguard class and ultimately all nuclear powered submarines at Devonport are proceeding with the consortium forming Devonport Management Ltd. A decision on contract award is expected in the first part of this year.

§ Ms Squire
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions there have been formal and informal contacts with Rosyth royal dockyard on the Trident refit programme since July 1993; and who initiated each contact. [9355]

§ Mr. Arbuthnot
Between July and September 1993, my Department corresponded regularly with the Rosyth royal dockyard management company about the decision to construct nuclear submarine refitting facilities at Devonport. Since then, there have been no formal discussions or negotiations with the company about the location at which Vanguard class submarines will be refitted. During the last year, the company wrote on two occasions indicating that Rosyth would be capable of accommodating Vanguard class refits should the Government wish to reconsider their decision. I wrote to the company in August to the effect that the Government have no such plans. No record is held of the number of informal contacts that Ministers or officials have had with representatives of the Rosyth royal dockyard management company since July 1993 nor of the topics of discussion.