Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Prime Minister of 28 March 2018 that his Department will have access to £600 million for the Dreadnought program this coming financial year, how these additional funds will be spent; and for what reasons access to additional funds was required.

As the Prime Minister announced in Parliament on 28 March (Official Report, column 756), the Ministry of Defence has been given access to £600 million in 2018-19 from the £10 billion contingency for the Dreadnought programme announced in the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review. This will allow us to drive out cost and risk later in the programme and ensures best value for the taxpayer. This will ensure the Dreadnought programme remains on track to be delivered on time and within its overall £31 billion forecast.