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Written question asked by Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative) on Monday, 17 November 2025, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 20 November 2025 (named day). It was answered by Luke Pollard (Labour) on Friday, 21 November 2025 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 139 of the Ministry of Defence Annual Report and Accounts 2024-25, how was the retirement of the Albion and Bulwark landing platforms calculated at a constructive loss of £428,459,000.

Answer

The decision to decommission both HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark was announced in November 2024. In the period from 2022 to 2024, a total of £72.1 million has been spent on refitting HMS Bulwark. Neither HMS Albion nor HMS Bulwark were due to go to sea ahead of their out-of-service dates in 2033 and 2034. Their disposal shows that we are delivering for defence by divesting ourselves of old capabilities to make way for the future. These ships were effectively mothballed by the previous Government.

As part of disposal procedures, we have calculated the write-down costs, in line with Managing Public Money and Ministry of Defence accounting policies. The constructive loss of £428,459,000 reflects the write-down of remaining value of HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark and their associated capital works, spares and consumables following the decision to bring forward their out-of-service dates.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
91710
Session
2024-26
Related items
Report and Accounts of Ministry of Defence
Tuesday, 4 November 2025
House of Commons papers
House of Commons
HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark
Wednesday, 7 January 2026
Written questions
House of Commons
Subjects
Decommissioning Costs HMS Albion HMS Bulwark
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk