§ Mr. Trotterasked the Secretary of State for Defence what ships and of what type and age will remain in the standby squadron after the sale or scrapping of the cruiser and seven frigates; and what ships it is now proposed should be transferred to the squadron.
§ Mr. SpeedOn present plans, two Rothesay class frigates, HMS "Berwick" and "Falmouth", both of which were launched in 1959, will remain in the standby squadron; the Leander class frigate HMS "Juno", which was launched in 1965 and is at present in the squadron, is expected to begin conversion to a new role later this year. Although a number of ships are expected to join the squadron over the next few years, details of future plans remain confidential.