Written question asked by Nick Harvey (Liberal Democrat) on Thursday, 7 December 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 11 December 2006. It was answered by Lord Browne of Ladyton (Labour) on Tuesday, 19 December 2006 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Nuclear Weapons

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans his Department has for ensuring an adequate supply of tritium to maintain the UK's nuclear weapons’ capability until 2055; and what the projected cost is of these plans.

Answer: As stated in paragraph 7-4 of the White Paper (Cm 6994), we will be undertaking a detailed review of the life of the existing warhead stockpile, and a decision on whether to replace or refurbish the warhead is likely to be necessary in the next Parliament. This will include reviewing supplies of Tritium. The outcome of this work will not be available for some time. The possible costs in this area are included in the estimated costs set out at paragraph 5-11 of the White Paper. At this very early stage of the procurement process, we are not in a position to break these estimates down in the way requested.

Secondary information