Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what actions are his department taking to accelerate the procurement of the Type 31.

Progress is being made on the Type 31 (T31) programme, with a substantial investment made in Babcock's facilities at Rosyth. This includes digitising the shipyard, new manufacturing facilities and a new purpose-built Assembly Hall that enables two T31s to be built simultaneously. In addition, there has been the generation of a Shore Integration facility at Portsdown Technology Park, to mitigate risks to the integration of the combat system.

The Ministry of Defence continues to work closely with Babcock, the prime contractor, to ensure the T31 programme meets all user requirements to deliver a maritime security capability at a value for money price, in a timescale that is competitive with other international warship procurement programmes.