Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the potential economic benefits of a higher proportion of work on new Fleet Solid Support Ships being completed in the UK as part of assessing value for money in that procurement.

The Fleet Solid Support (FSS) ship competition will be launched in the spring. It is anticipated that the competition will require that the winning bidder must be a UK registered company or consortia and a significant proportion of the build and assembly work must be carried out in the UK. We will seek to deliver UK social value in recognition of the opportunities for prosperity and levelling-up that the programme presents.

No decisions have yet been taken as to how or where the FSS ships will be maintained. Such decisions will be made at an appropriate time before the ships enter service.