Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans his Department has to procure general purpose frigates, and if he will make a statement.

Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 set out the Ministry of Defence plans to replace the eight Type 23 frigates that are optimised for Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) on a one for one basis with eight Type 26 Global Combat Ships, fitted with the full range of equipment required to fulfil the ASW role.

The Review also concluded that the remainder of the Royal Navy's future frigate requirement would be better met by a new class of lighter, flexible, general purpose frigates (GPFF) than by the five general purpose Type 26 ships previously planned.The GPFF programme is currently in its pre-concept phase.