Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 16 July 2018 to Question 162497 on Patrol Vessels, and with reference to his Department's policy of not classifying offshore patrol vessels as warships for shipbuilding purposes, as outlined in the Answer of 9 July 2018 to Question 160710, whether possible future Royal Navy orders for offshore patrol vessels will be subject to international competition.

Yes. The National Shipbuilding Strategy (page 33) set out that Offshore Patrol Vessels should be subject to open international competition, provided that there are no compelling national security reasons to constrain a particular procurement to national providers.