Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the original planned date was for cutting steel to begin for the first Type 26 Global Combat Ship; to what date this planned date has been moved; whether the cause of that change was (a) limited capacity of BAE Systems and its sub-contractors to meet the original schedule or (b) a decision to remove a significant sum from the annual T26 budget; and if he will make a statement.

No firm date has yet been set for cutting steel which will mark the start of the manufacture phase of the Type 26 Global Combat Ship (T26 GCS) programme.

For equipment procurement programmes the cost and schedule is set at the main investment decision, and we have not yet reached that decision point.

The approval, in March 2016, of the Extended Demonstration Phase is consistent with the incremental approach to approvals we have adopted for the T26 GCS programme.

During the Demonstration Phase, we will continue to work with industry to re-baseline the programme in order to implement the changes resulting from the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, the investment in Shore Testing Facilities, extending investment in our wider supply chain as well as further developing the detailed design of the ship ahead of the main investment decision and the start of manufacture.