§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Bach)My right honourable friend the Minister of State for Defence (Mr Adam Ingram) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
63WSFrom mid-July 2004, the United Kingdom's routine destroyer or frigate (DD/FF) contribution to the standing element of the NATO Response Force (NRF) will be a single ship. This replaces our previous commitment of two—one to Standing Force Atlantic and one to the Standing Force Mediterranean. We have also given greater priority to enduring additional commitments in the Arabian Gulf.
When, from July 2004 until June 2005, the UK fulfils the role of high readiness force commander (maritime), we will provide a broad range of maritime capability to the NRF. When this duty passes to another nation, the UK will revert to our routine commitment of one DD/FF.