Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will place the order for the remaining five Type 26 frigates; how long each ship will take to build; at what intervals they will be delivered; and whether BAE Systems will be expected to reduce the price for each subsequent ship as the programme develops.

The procurement of the Batch 2 Type 26 Frigates will be subject to a separate approval and contract, which is expected to be awarded in the early 2020s. Dates for the construction of each ship, and its price, will be set during commercial negotiations with BAE Systems.

It is anticipated that our batch buy procurement strategy will enable lessons learned to be implemented in the building of later ships resulting in lower unit cost and achieving overall better value for money.