Trident (Hansard, 27 October 1994)

§ Mr. Flynn
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much of the projected capital cost of the Trident programme has been(a) spent to date and (b) committed to date.

§ Mr. Freeman
As at the end of June 1994, £7,401 million had been spent and £8,623 million committed on the Trident programme.

§ Mr. Flynn
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his Department's latest estimate of the outstanding capital cost of the Trident programme that will remain to be spent and committed by(a) April 1996 and (b) April 1997.

§ Mr. Freeman
At current prices and exchange rates, estimated outstanding capital spend and commitment on the Trident programme at April 1996 will be £1,416 million and £686 million respectively. It is not our practice to provide detailed forecasts of project costs more than two years in advance. By April 1997, however, we expect outstanding spend to be in the region of £1 billion and commitment to be somewhat in excess of £400 million at today's economic conditions.

§ Mr. Flynn
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his Department's latest estimate of the in-service date for the(a) second, (b) third and (c) fourth Trident submarines.

§ Mr. Freeman
The second Trident submarine is due to enter service towards the end of 1995 or early in 1996, the third in the late 1990s and the fourth around the turn of the century.

§ Mr. Flynn
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the total expenditure to date on the purchase of the Trident D5 missiles from the United States.

§ Mr. Freeman
Some £596 million has been spent by the United Kingdom on the purchase of Trident D5 missiles from the United States.

§ Mr. Flynn
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Trident D5 missiles(a) have been purchased to date and (b) remain to be purchased.

§ Mr. Freeman
The United Kingdom has purchased 44 Trident D5 missiles to date. Final decisions have yet to be taken on how many more missiles will be purchased.