§ Mr. Peter DuncanTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the disposal of minesweeper Pagham. [99782]
§ Mr. IngramThe ex-HMS Pagham was formally gifted by the Ministry of Defence to the Stranraer Sea Cadet Unit on 1 May 1999 having been on loan to the unit since 1978. This decision was made in light of an assessment of the likely receipts from the sale of the vessel on the open market and other relevant factors, including the expenditure incurred by the Stranraer unit on maintaining and improving the vessel during the loan period. Other forms of disposal were not considered to be cost effective. The MOD no longer has any responsibility for the vessel.