§ Mr. Sayeedasked the Secretary of State for Defence what procedures there are for ensuring that weapon and other systems are matched with a full complement of spare parts on board Her Majesty's warships and that spares are taken on board as soon as a new system is fitted to an operational vessel and removed as soon as a system is removed.
§ Mr. LeeNew weapons and equipments are procured with batches of spares estimated to be necessary for initial requirements. The estimates are based on the best technical advice available. Subsequent purchases of spares are increasingly based on experience of usage. The spares to be carried on board Her Majesty's ships to support the various equipments fitted are assessed for each class of ship on building and periodically reassessed to take account of changes in equipment fit. Computers are used in assessing the optium quantities to be embarked and stores computers are being systematically introduced into the warship themselves.