§ Mr. WrayTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made in establishing the Maritime Afloat Reach and Sustainability Project; what will new design ships will be procured; what capabilities this will bring; and if he will make a statement on how they will improve flexibility and responsiveness. [128120]
§ Mr. IngramThe Military Afloat Reach and Sustain (MARS) project is now reaching the end of its Concept Phase, in which the Support Requirement is defined and a plan for procuring it in the most cost-effective and efficient way is established. It is anticipated that the project will progress to its Assessment phase before the end of this year. During the Assessment phase the
January February March April May June July August September1 Total RN/RM Scotland: Aberdeen 5 4 8 0 9 5 8 2 0 41 Dundee 10 10 21 10 14 19 7 4 0 95 Edinburgh 11 12 25 6 11 15 8 9 0 97 Glasgow 11 10 19 4 11 19 12 4 0 90 Inverness 4 5 7 0 2 2 4 0 0 24 England 459 423 469 150 355 428 282 164 0 2,730 Wales 29 26 21 6 21 26 16 10 0 155 Northern Ireland 9 9 8 6 9 5 3 10 0 59 Army Scotland: Aberdeen 20 14 3 4 4 1 6 11 11 74 Dundee 69 20 15 19 13 7 20 40 37 240 Edinburgh 51 19 13 14 16 8 14 28 26 189 Glasgow 153 86 49 49 44 21 58 68 95 623 Inverness 20 12 5 10 8 2 8 10 17 92 England 2,178 925 817 714 767 687 779 1,045 1,382 9,294 Wales 178 80 61 70 66 50 38 66 105 714 Northern Ireland 53 19 24 13 12 12 8 28 11 180 RAF Scotland: Aberdeen 0 2 5 4 3 1 4 5 4 28 Dundee 6 8 10 13 6 7 3 8 3 64 Edinburgh 7 7 9 4 9 1 9 5 3 54 Glasgow 10 18 9 14 9 9 12 10 4 95 Inverness 2 5 7 9 5 2 5 2 3 40 England 140 332 305 273 250 172 279 201 83 2,035 Wales 13 28 29 44 36 12 42 20 17 241 Northern Ireland 1 5 9 4 2 2 6 3 1 33 1Figures give the position as at 12 September 2003. No figures available for RN/RM.