Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Lord Judd (Labour). It was answered by Lord Drayson (Labour) on Thursday, 9 July 2009.

Armed Forces: Trident

Question: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their latest assessment of the timetables for and costs of replacing Trident nuclear weapons and commissioning new aircraft carriers.

Answer: My Lords, I am sure that the whole House will wish to join me in offering our sincerest condolences to the family and friends of Lieutenant Colonel Rupert Thorneloe, Trooper Joshua Hammond, Private Robert Laws, Lance Corporal David Dennis, Lance Corporal Dane Elson, Captain Benjamin Babington-Browne and the soldier from the Light Dragoons killed in Helmand province on Tuesday 7 July. All were killed on operations this week in Afghanistan. We also offer our condolences to the family and friends of Flight Lieutenant Kenneth Thompson and Flight Lieutenant Nigel Morton, who were killed when their Tornado F3 crashed on Thursday 2 July in Scotland while on a routine training flight. This Government are committed to the current nuclear deterrent and to the development of the replacement system, as set out in the 2006 White Paper. We estimate that this replacement will cost between £15 billion and £20 billion at 2006-07 prices and we expect the first successor submarine to enter service in 2024. As part of the 2008 equipment examination, we decided to delay the carriers by one to two years, recognising that this would add cost. Our latest, yet-to-be-approved, estimated cost is £4.6 billion. We expect the in-service dates to be towards the end of 2015 and 2018 respectively.

Secondary information

Type: Oral question
Reference: 712 c759-60
Session: 2008-09
Oral question type: Lead
Chamber / Committee: House of Lords chamber
Related items: Armed Forces: Aircraft Carriers
Monday, 2 November 2009
Written questions
House of Lords
Subjects: Costs Nuclear weapons Procurement Aircraft carriers Trident
Link: View this Oral question on www.publications.parliament.uk