§ Mr. SimpsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give a breakdown of the estimated lifetime decommissioning costs of(a) Trident and (b) Polaris. [30624]
§ Mr. FreemanAs part of an exercise to determine the lifetime operating and support costs, the comprehensive costs of both decommissioning and eventual disposal of the Trident submarines were estimated—at 1992–93 prices—at £150 million. No revision of this estimate has been made pending greater experience of Trident operations. Although no similar estimates are available for the Polaris submarines, the approximate decommissioning cost—covering defuelling, decommissioning and lay-up preparations—of HMS Revenge, the one Polaris 681W submarine fully to have undergone this process, was £18.7 million. The cost does not include the costs of final disposal.
§ Mr. SimpsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his latest estimate of the costs of the Trident works programme at Faslane and Coalport. [30645]
§ Mr. FreemanThe latest estimate of the cost of the Trident works programme, including projects at the Clyde submarine base, Faslane, and the royal naval armament depot, Coulport, is £1.956 billion.
§ Mr. SimpsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence to what extent(a) inflation and (b) the exchange rate have been taken into account in estimating the current costs of the Trident programme. [30622]
§ Mr. FreemanThe current estimate of the cost of the Trident programme, where past expenditure is included at the prices and exchange rates incurred, with future spend expressed at today's prices and exchange rates, is £9,770 million. With past expenditure revalued to current levels, the current Trident cost estimate is £11,682 million, which also takes into account inflation and exchange rate variations since the original 1981 estimate.
§ Mr. SimpsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what disciplinary action(a) has been taken and (b) is proposed to be taken against individuals as a result of cost overruns of the Trident works programme; and if he will make a statement. [30623]
§ Mr. FreemanThe original 1984 estimates for the Trident works programme were based on the best advice available at the time. The subsequent increase in costs is much regretted, but neither the Ministry of Defence's own internal review nor the Comptroller and Auditor-General's report suggested any culpability by individuals which would warrant disciplinary action.
§ Mr. SimpsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the estimated original cost of all the works at AWE Aldermaston for the Trident programme; and what are the present estimated costs of these works. [30643]
§ Mr. FreemanThe information is not readily available in the format requested. However, the current estimated total of the major programme of capital works at AWE Aldermaston which includes work in support of Trident is £1.2 billion compared to the original estimate of £974 million at 1987 economic conditions.