Asked by: Neale Hanvey (Alba Party - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent estimate he has made of the cost of replacing each Vanguard class submarine under the Trident nuclear programme.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Replacing the Vanguard Class, the Dreadnought submarine programme remains on track to deliver to schedule and within the original £31 billion plus £10 billion contingency budget made in the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the projected whole life costs for the Dreadnought programme were in (a) 2022 and (b) 2023.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
I refer the right hon. Member to my letter to him dated 25 October 2023.
A copy of the letter was placed in the Library of the House.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when his Department plans to announce the in-service date forecast for the Dreadnought project.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The planned in-service dates for Royal Navy submarines are withheld as disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness, or security of the Armed Forces.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the projected whole life costs of the Dreadnought programme (a) were originally and (b) are as of 12 September 2023.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
I will write to the right hon. Member with the detail requested once it has been collated, and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what sum from the contingency fund set aside to support the Dreadnought programme had been spent at the most recent date for which data are available.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my predecessor (Alex Chalk) on 22 March 2023 to Question 168002 to the right hon. Member for Wentworth and Dearne (John Healey).
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, where he plans to store the first Vanguard-class submarine awaiting decommissioning; and in what timescale.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Plans for the storage of the Vanguard Class submarines when they begin to leave service from the early 2030s are currently under review.
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.
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.