Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the potential operational implications are of retiring HMS Northumberland in March 2025.

The retiring of HMS NORTHUMBERLAND in March 2025 will have no impact on current operations. During her planned refit period, significant structural damage was discovered. This would have taken a major amount of time and financial resource to rectify and offered very limited operational return upon completion. As a result, her refit was judged to be uneconomical. HMS NORTHUMBERLAND and her sister Type 23 frigates will be succeeded by eight Type 26 Anti-Submarine Warfare and five Type 31 General Purpose Frigates. These are already in build and the first will be in service before the end of the decade.