§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answers to the hon. Member for Mid-Sussex (Mr. Soames) of 25 March 2004,Official Report, column 949W, and 14 April 2004, Official Report, column 16W, on warships, what reasons the refit of HMS Triumph was not programmed to begin on the expiry of the reactor certificate. [167942]
§ Mr. IngramThe submarine refit programme is driven by the need to maintain the required number of submarines available to the fleet, while taking account of the requirement for submarines to refuel periodically. This programme is delivered in the most cost effective manner through a single stream rebelling capability at Devonport for Swiftsure and Trafalgar Class submarines (SSNs), of which HMS Triumph is one. Therefore, on occasion, a submarine may be berthed alongside for a period of time prior to the start of its refit. This is the case with HMS Triumph, whose refit will begin in summer 2005, once the SSN refitting and refuelling dock is vacated by HMS Talent. This programme accords with the Ministry of Defence's long term plan, which will continue to deliver sufficient submarines at high readiness to maintain defence outputs.
1532W