§ 18. Mr. Strangasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate the financial savings at 1987–88 prices which would arise from the immediate cancellation of Trident in terms of planned future expenditure forgone, net of costs already incurred or committed, together with default penalties; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonThe savings arising from the cancellation of Trident would depend upon the costs of cancellation and these in turn would be based upon contractors properly incurred liabilities at termination. These costs should be less than the total amount committed, which currently stands at about £3 billion out of a current total estimate at 1986–87 prices of a little under £9.3 billion. There are no punitive cancellation charges involved.
The project will be recosted at 1987–88 prices towards the end of this year when the estimate is revised.
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§ 35. Mr. Fallonasked the Secretary of State for Defence how much of the Trident programme is being spent in the northern region.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonEstimates of the cost of the Trident programme are not available on a regional basis.