§ Mr. Onslowasked the Secretary of State for Defence when last a RFA was refitted in one of Her Majesty's dockyards.
§ Mr. JuddSince the minor programme of refitting RFAs in Her Majesty's dockyards was started some six months ago, three such refits have been completed. Two more are currently in hand.
§ Mr. Onslowasked the Secretary of State for Defence what RFAs have been refitted by outside contractors in each of the past five years; how long each refit took; how much it cost; and how many man-hours were involved in each case.
§ Mr. JuddThe information is not available in the form requested. The 57W main details of refits by outside contractors are as follows:
RFA's refitted Average length of refits in running days Total cost of refits £'000 1970 29 44 2,605 1971 26 45 3,781 1972 32 34 3,887 1973 29 45 4,156 1974 28 52 5,423 (to date)