§ Mr. Colvinasked the Secretary of State for Defence what expenditure has already been incurred by his Department on the Trident missile programme.
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§ Mr. Colvinasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the estimated annual expenditure on the Trident missile programme from the date the contract was signed until the date of deployment of the final submarine.
§ Mr. LeeIt is not our practice to make available details of year-by-year expenditure on projects. However, Trident will on average account for about 3 per cent. of the defence budget over the period of its procurement and 6 per cent. of the defence equipment budget.
§ Mr. Colvinasked the Secretary of State for Defence, under the arrangements concerning the supply of Trident missiles and associated systems, what penalty charges would be payable by the United Kingdom to the United States Government or the United States contractors if the United Kingdom cancelled any part of the agreement to buy the Trident missile.
§ Mr. LeeThe Trident arrangements do not provide for penalty or cancellation charges as between the United Kingdom and the United States Governments. Such charges would however be payable in the usual way to the United States contractors and suppliers.