Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Goldie on 26 January (HL5599), whether the first Type 26 (1) passed Main Gate in 2015, (2) was ordered July 2017, (3) will enter operational service 2027; and whether they expect the last of the eight ships in that class will enter service in 2041.

In November 2015 the Strategic Defence and Security Review confirmed that eight Type 26 frigates would be manufactured. In 2016 the Demonstration Phase for the Type 26 frigates was extended to June 2017. A contract for the manufacture of the first batch of three Type 26 frigates was awarded to BAE Systems in June 2017.

All three ships of the first batch of Type 26 frigates are currently in build in Govan, with the first Type 26 frigate (HMS GLASGOW) expected to be in service with the Royal Navy in 2027.

The procurement of the Batch 2 (Ships 4-8) Type 26 frigates was confirmed in 2021 and will be subject to a separate approval and contract, which is expected to be awarded early in the 2020s. The dates for the construction of each ship, and its price, will be set during commercial negotiations with BAES. The in-service dates for the Batch 2 ships will be determined and approved when the programme achieves its main investment decision point.