Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent estimate his Department has made of the cost of building the five new Type 31 class frigates; whether those costs have increased since the contract was signed; and if he will make a statement.

Since the signature of the Type 31 manufacture contract in November 2019 the Ministry of Defence has agreed with Babcock an increase in the overall price of the contract of some £40 million as a result of the impact of COVID and supply chain volatility. This amounts to only circa 3% of the production cost of the ships. The average production cost remains £250 million per ship.