Written question asked by Michael Dugher (Labour) on Tuesday, 12 July 2011, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 14 July 2011. It was answered by Peter Luff (Conservative) on Monday, 18 July 2011 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Type 42 Destroyer

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the total cost to the public purse is of maintaining the Type 42 Destroyer fleet over its intended service life.

Answer: The cost of maintaining the Type 42 Destroyer fleet of fourteen ships over its service life, from 1978 to 2013, is estimated to be £709 million.This estimate does not include running costs, naval base expenditure or disposal costs. Costs between 1978 and 1998 have been estimated using historical data on a pro-rata basis, as a more accurate estimate could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Costs from 1999 onwards are the final contract values for support maintenance. There are no further planned support periods after March 2011, so no costs were forecast after this date.

Secondary information