§ Mr. Trotterasked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the extent of the delays to each of the seven naval vessels listed in his answer to the hon. Member for Tynemouth on 26th November.
§ Mr. JuddOver the past year the ships listed in my hon. Friend's answer of 26th November 1974 have been delayed by periods varying from three to nine months. It is not possible to say now how much of these delays is directly attributable to the cuts in defence expenditure made in December 1973 and March 1974. There have been several contributory causes, including shortages of labour in the shipbuilding firms concerned and shortages of materials and components, in addition to the cuts in defence expenditure.