Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 120 of his Department’s Annual Report and Accounts 2022 to 2023, HC 1468, how the constructive loss related to Fort Austin and Rosalie withdrawal from service arose.

RFA Fort Austin and RFA Fort Rosalie were decommissioned in 2021 as a savings measure. A constructive loss is not a cash loss and does not cost the department. The constructive loss refers to this early retirement, which allowed resources to be invested into new capabilities rather than the increasing costs of maintaining an aging vessel.