§ Sir George YoungTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made with the planned replacement in the summer of River class patrol ships with Hunt class vessels in support of security operations in Northern Ireland. [10561]
§ Dr. ReidThe conversion of Hunt class mine counter-measures vessels to replace the River class patrol vessels currently used in support of security operations in 75W Northern Ireland was announced in the 1996 "Statement on the Defence Estimates". At the time, it was estimated that the replacement programme would begin in the summer of 1997. Since the announcement, however, it has become clear that the time scale required for the conversion programme was underestimated and the replacement of River class vessels with Hunts is now planned to commence early next year.
§ Sir George YoungTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what role the British forces will have in the proposed decommissioning of arms in Northern Ireland. [10560]
§ Dr. ReidIt is not possible to say at this stage what decommissioning scheme might be agreed and therefore it is not possible to identify precisely what the role of British forces might be. However, the armed forces are prepared to provide technical advice and assistance as required to the proposed independent international commission to facilitate decommissioning. Work on establishing the commission is continuing.