§ 79. Mr. Brooksasked the Secretary of State for Defence by what criteria and procedures he will henceforth determine the contract prices of nuclear submarines to be built at Vickers' yard, Barrow-in-Furness.
§ Mr. John MorrisA fair and reasonable price will be agreed before each contract is placed on the basis of complete equality of information between the firm and the Ministry of Defence. The contract will include provisions to encourage the firm to achieve the maximum possible cost savings during construction and will provide that the benefits of these savings should be equitably shared between the firm and the Ministry.
§ 80. Mr. Brooksasked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT details of the delays which have occurred in the nuclear submarine building programmes at Cammell Laird, Birkenhead, and Vickers, Barrow-in-Furness, respectively; what explanations he has obtained of such delays; and what additional costs to the Defence Vote have arisen as a result of the delays in each yard.
§ Mr. John MorrisCammell Lairds have produced one Polaris submarine which was 11 months late, of which two months was due to a design problem, and the rest largely because of the time taken to build up the management and labour force. Vickers have produced two Polaris submarines virtually on time.
Of the three Fleet submarines produced to date by Vickers, one was 18 months late due to a material problem and because it became necessary to replace the installed emergency cooler with one of improved design; and one was 4 months late due to the diversion of effort to Polaris submarines.
Cammell Lairds also have one Polaris submarine and one Fleet submarine under construction. Vickers have a further 317W three Fleet submarines under construction.
It would be contrary to practice to publish details of costs attributable to delays.