Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 23, paragraph 61 of the National Shipbuilding Strategy, what assessments contributed to the setting of a maximum £250 million per ship price for the Type 31e frigate.

The National Shipbuilding Strategy makes clear that we judge that the capabilities the Royal Navy requires can be accommodated within this price, and our market research indicates that beyond this price the vessels would not be attractive to the sector of the export market we are targeting. We have conducted and shared market analysis with industry that reflects the Government's perspective of the international defence market place, and an assessment of the probability of success in securing customers.