Trident (Hansard, 18 November 1998)

§ Mr. Alan Simpson
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department will spend on the construction of the refit facilities at Devonport. [60022]

§ Mr. George Robertson
The estimated cost of the project management, design, construction and commissioning of the refitting facilities for Trident and other nuclear submarines, at Devonport, is £417 million, as reported in the National Audit Office Report on the Sales of the Royal Dockyards, dated 3 June 1998. A copy of this report has been placed in the Library of the House.

§ Mr. Alan Simpson
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much of the $107 million listed in the financial addendum to the US/UK Memorandum of Understanding concerning the Joint US/UK Trident D-5 Missile Production Program is included in the authorised US fiscal year 1999 UK Trident procurement in the USA. [60024]

§ Mr. George Robertson
Of the $107 million, $100.6 million was included in our US fiscal year 1999 budget authorisation. The remaining $6.4 million was included in our US fiscal year 1998 authorisation.
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§ Mr. Alan Simpson
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much is paid annually to the US Government to guarantee the servicing of the UK Trident missile stock; and if this money is part of the estimated Trident running costs. [60023]

§ Mr. George Robertson
US and UK Trident missiles are held as mingled stock; there are no UK missiles as such. We contribute to the overall cost of the US Navy's Strategic Weapons Facility Atlantic at Kings Bay, Georgia, where missiles are stored, assembled and serviced. These contributions are based on the UK's share of the overall missile inventory and will vary from year to year, our planned contribution in financial year 1998–99 amounts to some £7.5 million. These costs include both acquisition and operating costs.