§ Mr. Nicholas BrownTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will set out the timetable for the procurement of the landing platform helicopter vessel and list any foreseeable factors which might affect the timing of his placing of the construction contract.
§ Mr. AitkenEvaluation of the tenders for the new landing platform helicopter vessel, received in October, will be complete this summer. It is planned to place the order in the autumn.
Any order would be dependent upon the outcome of our evaluation of tenders and the competing demands within the defence programme at the time.