Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he expects the (a) construction of the next generation of Royal Fleet Auxiliary’s Fleet Solid Support vessels to begin and (b) delivery of those ships.

In respect of the details about the schedule for the Fleet Solid Support ships, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 26 January 2022 to Question 108625 to the hon. Member for Birkenhead (Mick Whitley).

Individual ship construction and in-service dates will not be determined until the Full Business Case is submitted and will be reliant on the delivery schedule agreed with the winning bidder when the manufacture contract is awarded.