Lord Davies of Stamford
Main Page: Lord Davies of Stamford (Labour - Life peer)
The Earl of Courtown
My Lords, I know that my colleagues and other Ministers have been working as hard as they can to give support to these various projects. I should add that 95,000 tonnes of British steel have gone into the construction of the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier. The Government are doing everything they can to help the industry to secure a long-term viable future and are supporting Tata to find a buyer for its entire UK operations. The steel industry is vital to the United Kingdom.
Lord Davies of Stamford (Lab)
What is the cost of the upgrades, special maintenance and refits to the Type 23 class, which will be required to keep them in service much longer than was originally anticipated because the Type 26 will not be available on time? In other words, what are the incremental costs of the Government’s failure to deliver the Type 26?
The Earl of Courtown
My Lords, the commitment by the Conservative Government to spend 2% of GDP on defence covers the extra costs involved in upgrading Type 23.