HC Deb 04 November 2002 vol 392 c68W
Mr. Gerald Howarth

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on his policy of refit intervals for Royal Navy warships. [78659]

Mr. Ingram

The policy of refit intervals seeks to achieve a satisfactory balance between resources and operational requirements. In general terms, such refits will occur after eight to 12 years for submarines, up to 10 years for major surface ships and one to eight years for minor surface ships.