HC Deb 10 June 2002 vol 386 cc737-8W
Mr. Rosindell

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received from the Canadian Government on the state of purchased former RN submarines; what the cost was of estimated repairs; what the recommended cost was of maintaining these submarines in mothballs; what the actual cost was; what assessment he has made of the operational readiness of other mothballed assets; and if he will make a statement. [58771]

Dr. Moonie

Ministry of Defence officials have not received any representations from the Canadian Government about the condition of the two ex Upholder Class submarines handed over to Canada, and as such have no information about the cost of repairs. Mothballing is not a term that is recognised. Assets are held following decommissioning for possible sale to other friendly and allied Governments. These assets are not operationally ready and they are not declared in our declared force levels. To maintain these assets prior to sale, the minimum amount of maintenance is performed on them to keep them seaworthy and safe.

The cost of maintaining the Upholder Class submarines before their reactivation is commercially sensitive and I am withholding the information in accordance with Exemption 13 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

Mr. Rosindell

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to preserve serving(a) aircraft carriers and (b) landing craft platforms for the nation; and if he will establish such as the basis for a museum. [58774]

Dr. Moonie

The Ministry of Defence has no plans to preserve any of the current serving aircraft carriers as a museum when they are taken out of service. Similarly there are no such plans for the Landing Platform Dock (Assault) ships HMS Intrepid and HMS Fearless which were withdrawn from service in July 2001 and March 2002 respectively. As normal practice, ex-service assets are disposed of to maximise the receipt to the taxpayer. While the Ministry of Defence is supportive of work carried out by military museums, the preservation of ships is mainly carried out by charitable trusts.