§ 31. Sir David Priceasked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he is satisfied that his current replacement and new ordering programme is large enough to ensure that the Royal Navy has a minimum of 50 frigates and destroyers in the front line, as envisaged in the 1984 White Paper (Cmnd. 9227).
§ Mr. LeeI can confirm that ordering arrangements for new ships will be related to the Government's aim to maintain a force level of about 50 front line destroyers and frigates in the longer term as stated in Cmnd. 9227.