Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he expects the contracts to be signed for the three offshore patrol vessels to be built for the Royal Navy.
Negotiations with BAE Systems for the contract to build the three new Offshore Patrol Vessels, announced in November 2013, are ongoing. Subject to main-gate approval, we intend to award a build contract to enable construction of these vessels to begin in autumn 2014.