Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will list each refit of the Type 23 frigate class over the last ten years by (a) name of ship, (b) contractor carrying out the refit, (c) estimated time to complete the retrofit and (d) actual time to complete the retrofit.

The requested information is provided in the table below.

Details of the planned duration of each refit period before work commenced could be provided only at a disproportionate cost. The data required would have to be collated from a number of sources, some of which are no longer readily accessible. In addition, some of the data required remains commercially sensitive.

It should be noted that the duration of any refit period is highly dependent on multiple factors including the planned scope of the work, shaped by the age and operating profile of the vessel; the extent of emergent work, which cannot be forecast before the refit commences; and by external factors such as Covid shutdowns.