§ Mr. Moateasked the Secretary of State for Defence if his figures on the size of SSN fleet contained in "The United Kingdom Defence Programme, The Way Forward", Cmnd. 8288, included HMS "Dreadnought", and when he expects to announce details of her planned refuelling and refit.
§ Mr. BlakerAs we have explained, we aim to achieve the planned rise in the numbers of nuclear submarines—SSN—announced in Cmnd. 8288 by the end of the decade. HMS "Dreadnought" is not included in this figure, since, as our oldest SSN, she is expected to have paid off by then. Her planned work programme and refuelling are still under consideration and I am not yet in a position to make a statement.