§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the impact of the time scale for the mine countermeasures vessels upgrading to(a) Royal Navy capabilities and (b) the long-term cost of the upgrade. [84506]
§ Mr. SpellarThe revised time scale for the sonar upgrade to the HUNT class mine countermeasures vessels will delay the planned improvement of the vessels minehunting performance. Although the delay will have an impact on operational capabilities, we assess that it is manageable in the context of current commitments. The Department's assessment of the impact of the delay on the long-term cost of the upgrade constitutes internal discussion and advice to Ministers, and the disclosure of such advice could prejudice the competitive position of the Department in negotiations with contractors and reveal commercially confidential data. I am therefore withholding this information under exemptions 2,7 and 13 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.