Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent estimate he has made of the (a) whole-life programme cost of the Trident successor programme, (b) capital costs associated with (i) submarine acquisition, (ii) Trident missile renewal and (iii) basing facilities, (c) operating costs of the (A) successor fleet and (B) associated capability to protect and sustain that fleet, (d) future costs associated with the Atomic Weapons Establishment maintaining an on-going nuclear warhead design capability and (e) decommissioning costs for that programme; whether these estimates account for recent increases in inflation; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence co-ordinates a range of interdependent programmes to support, maintain and renew the United Kingdom's independent nuclear deterrent as well as the decommissioning and disposal activities for defence nuclear capabilities when they leave service. The cost of these programmes and activity is spread across many budgetary areas of the Department and has not previously been reported separately. From financial year 2023-24 we will report the majority of nuclear spend as a separate line in the Department's Supply Estimates.
Oral Evidence Jun. 05 2023
Inquiry: Defence in ScotlandFound: If we had to move the base for nuclear-powered and nuclear- armed submarines to a different geography—one
Mentions:
1: Ben Wallace (CON - Wyre and Preston North) accompanied Prime Minister Albanese to Barrow-in-Furness, where the next generation of AUKUS nuclear submarines - Speech Link
2: Henry Smith (CON - Crawley) I welcome the Australian Government’s decision to design their submarines on the SSN-AUKUS model, and - Speech Link
3: Ben Wallace (CON - Wyre and Preston North) Building complicated machines such as submarines has the benefit of a long and broad supply chain. - Speech Link
4: Ben Wallace (CON - Wyre and Preston North) Britain has been at this game—nuclear submarines—for 70 years, and it is not something that one commits - Speech Link
5: Neale Hanvey (Alba - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath) What recent estimate his Department has made of the (a) timescale and (b) cost of the renewal of Trident - Speech Link
Apr. 28 2023
Source Page: UK underlines commitment to NATO Nuclear DeterrenceFound: Currently provided by the UK’s Vanguard Class submarines, while the new Dreadnought Class are in build
Apr. 28 2023
Source Page: UK underlines commitment to NATO Nuclear DeterrenceFound: Currently provided by the UK’s Vanguard Class submarines, while the new Dreadnought Class are in build
Found: The UK’s nuclear deterrent has three main elements: • Four Vanguard -class submarines (SSBN) , armed
Apr. 06 2023
Source Page: Submarine Delivery Agency (SDA): Corporate plan financial years 2022 to 2025Found: International partnershipsDelivery of Strategic Weapons Systems, Trident programme coordination and
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of how much and what proportion of the £10 billion contingency provided by HM Treasury for the Dreadnought programme will have been spent by 31 December 2023.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
Up to March 2023, the Ministry of Defence has drawn-down £2 billion, 20 per cent, of the HM Treasury-held Dreadnought contingency. Contingency drawdown for financial year 2023-24 has not yet been agreed.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the amount that will be spent on Trident renewal in financial years 2023-40.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
The Dreadnought Class submarine build programme remains on track to deliver within the estimated budget, announced in the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review, of £31 billion with an additional £10 billion contingency. It is too early to provide cost estimates for the Replacement Warhead programme as much will depend on the eventual design requirements, and work is underway to agree cost estimates and funding arrangements.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much of the £5 billion funding for his Department announced on 13 March 2023 will be allocated to the Dreadnought programme.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
Of the £5 billion announced by the Prime Minister, £3 billion in additional funding will be invested across the defence nuclear enterprise.
The Department is currently working through the allocation of this funding, but the existing funding mechanism for Dreadnought is already well established.