Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the year-on-year future spending on the development phase of the replacement for Trident.

As stated in the UK Future Nuclear Deterrent 2014 Update to Parliament, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) is more than halfway through a five year, £3.3 billion, Assessment Phase for the Successor submarine programme.

To the end of financial year 2013-14, a total of £1,243 million has been spent on this Assessment Phase. The MOD expects to commit around a further £2 billion before a Main Gate investment decision in 2016.

Estimated spending for individual years is being withheld as it relates to the formulation of Government policy and release would prejudice commercial interests.