HC Deb 19 October 1981 vol 10 cc72-3W
Mr. Hooley

asked the Secretary of State for Defence

  1. (1) what will be the hull diameter of the new British submarine designed to carry the Trident missile;
  2. (2) when a decision will be made as to whether to purchase the C–4, extended C–4 or D–5 Trident missile;
  3. (3) when a decision will be made about the number of Trident missiles which the new British nuclear submarine will carry;
  4. (4) whether the new nuclear steam raising plant (PWR2) designed by Rolls-Royce will be used in the new nuclear submarines to carry the Trident missile; and if so, what will be the extra cost over the existing plant used in the Trafalgar class submarine;
  5. (5) what is his latest estimate of the additional cost of refurbishing the Cammell Laird shipyard for building nuclear submarines;
  6. (6) what is his latest estimate of the cost of improving building facilities at Vickers shipyard to cope with the Trident submarine programme.
  7. (7) what will be the displacement of the new British submarine to carry the Trident nuclear missiles;
  8. (8) what extra expenditure will be required at Coulport to provide secure storage of Trident C-4 or D-5 missiles;
  9. (9) what will be the extra cost of a new warhead assembly building at the Royal ordnance factory, Burghfield, needed for the Trident missile programme.
Mr. Nott:

As I made clear to the Defence Committee of the House on 4 March, we are still studying the final configuration of the United Kingdom Trident force and the details of the programme which will bring it into operation. The recent announcement by the United States that it is entering full development of the Trident II (D5) missile with a view to deploying it in its ballistic missile-carrying submarines is an important factor which we shall clearly have to take into account in our continuing studies. I shall make an announcement of our final decisions in due course.

Mr. Hooley

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what will be the extra cost for a new building at the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment at Aldermaston for plutonium processing in connection with the Trident missile programme.

Mr. Pattie:

As my hon. Friend the then Under-Secretary of State for the Army informed the House on 13 January 1981—[Vol. 996, c.562 ]—a new building will be constructed at the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment at Aldermaston to replace existing facilities for processing nuclear material as part of our policy of improving the existing capital facilities there, and in order to maintain the effectiveness of the British nuclear deterrent. The project is in its preliminary planning stage and firm costs estimates are not yet available. However, it has been the practice of successive Governments not to disclose detailed costs related to the defence nuclear programme.