Oral question asked in the House of Commons, by Julian Huppert (Liberal Democrat). It was answered by Liam Fox (Conservative) on Monday, 8 November 2010 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Trident Replacement

Question: What his most recent estimate is of his Department's likely expenditure on Trident replacement in this Parliament.

Answer: The 2006 White Paper ““The Future of the UK's Nuclear Deterrent”” set out the initial estimated total procurement cost of the replacement nuclear deterrent as £15 billion to £20 billion in 2006-07 prices. The likely expenditure is dependent on the decision on initial gate, which is yet to be taken. I propose, however, to update Parliament on progress, including costs, after the initial gate decision through the publication of a report.

Secondary information