Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of (a) how often and (b) for how long the Type 26 Frigates will undergo maintenance after they have entered service.

In respect of both the Type 26 and Type 31 Frigate programmes, it is too early to say how often the ships will undergo routine maintenance. This will be decided as part of the negotiations with industry for support solutions.