Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page, 88, section 21, Defence Science and Technology Laboratory Annual Report and Accounts 2016-2017, when he expects the final £48.3 million for Project Helios to be approved.

The £48 million funding is in addition to the funding of Project Helios. The Chemical Weapons Defence Centre (CWDC) has been designed to be built as an adjacent linked building as part of the final construction of Helios. This was done to gain maximum efficiency of construction costs and reduce overall running costs. The final phase of Project Helios has already been approved by the Ministry of Defence (MOD). The CWDC and the final build under Project Helios have been subject to review within the MOD, the Cabinet Office and HM Treasury prior to their approval.