§ Mr. Gordon Brownasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate the number of man weeks involved in the private sector refits since 1979 of HMS Oracle, HMS Orpheus, HMS Torquay and HMS Fearless.
§ Mr. LeeThe direct labour man hours charged to each vessel by the refitting contractor were as follows:
Man hours HMS Oracle 876,803 HMS Orpheus 1,185,371 HMS Torquay 285,000 HMS Fearless 1,009,241 Because of the varying methods by which work is brought to account by different firms, it would not be possible without considerable effort, including detailed consultation with the respective contractors, to present the above information on a man week basis.