§ Mr. JenkinTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what costs were incurred as a result of his ministerial direction regarding the Strategic Sealift programme. [82567]
§ Dr. Moonie[holding answer 25 November 2002]No net costs resulted from the ministerial direction. There were some associated management and legal charges, which would not otherwise have been incurred, offset by savings in the terms of the service contract. The shipbuilding contracts themselves had already been negotiated by the service provider and the Ministry of Defence assumed responsibility for contract payments. These will be recovered from the service provider when the ships are completed.