Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the agreement for Navantia UK to acquire Harland and Wolf will result in (a) delays and (b) cost increases for the Fleet Solid Support Ship contract.

The Government has worked closely with Navantia UK on the future of the Fleet Solid Support (FSS) programme and agreed with them the minimum changes to the contract necessary - on commercial terms - to ensure the programme's continued delivery, with a minimum of delay.

The FSS team are working with Navantia UK to complete the contract change and we are unable to comment on the details due to commercial sensitivities. Extensive work is being undertaken to understand the full impact on the programme including the impact on the in-service dates, which is still being assessed and will be mitigated as far as possible.