Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what weighting will be given to National Security Objective 3 during the bid selection process for future Royal Fleet Auxiliary Fleet Solid Support Ships.

The selection criteria for future Royal Fleet Auxiliary Fleet Solid Support Ships are currently under development and it would therefore be inappropriate to comment in detail at this time. In all cases procurers have to assess whether any of the diverse issues set out in National Security Objective 3 are relevant to their procurement. Weighting of all relevant factors is applied on case-by-case basis, but must not prejudice fair competition.