Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 6 July 2022 to Question 31751 on Warships: Procurement, how much his Department spent on plans to convert a Bay class support ship before those plans were changed.

The life extension of RFA ARGUS was the measure taken in preference of the capability upgrade to the Landing Ship Docking (Auxiliary) (LSDA) class. Therefore, apart from the routine work performed by Ministry of Defence Agencies to assess the work required, no money was spent on plans to upgrade the LSDA. The project to replace and/or upgrade the equipment required for the life extension will be £75,000.