§ Mr. WoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much the transportation of HMS Nottingham is expected to cost; and when the board of inquiry report into the incident which caused the damage is to be published. [89558]
402W
§ Mr. IngramThe cost of transporting HMS Nottingham from Australia to the United Kingdom on a Heavy Lift Ship is expected to be about £3 million.
There are no plans to publish the Board of Inquiry (BOI) report into the incident in which HMS Nottingham was damaged. A BOI is an internal fact-finding investigation into the circumstances surrounding a particular incident, undertaken by the Services for internal use. Boards are convened to discover whether there were any procedural or other Service-related irregularities, or difficulties which could be identified and overcome. The main purpose is to establish the facts concerning an incident as quickly as possible and to make recommendations aimed at preventing a recurrence. The principle of confidentiality applied to BOI proceedings is designed to encourage witnesses to provide forthright evidence.