Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the (a) initial estimate and (b) actual cost was for the HMS Queen Elizabeth.

As reported in successive Major Projects Reports, the original approved cost of the Queen Elizabeth Class (QEC) Aircraft Carrier programme was £3.9 billion, including the capitalised costs of the Assessment and Demonstration Phases. The approvals and cost management have been based on the QEC Class for a two-ship programme, and it is therefore not practicable to apportion costs to the individual Aircraft Carriers.

The current approved cost of the QEC Aircraft Carrier programme is £6.2 billion, as announced by my right hon. Friend the then Secretary of State for Defence the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) on 6 November 2013 (Official Report, column 251-254). Whilst there are cost pressures, and final costs cannot be agreed until the programme finishes around 2019. The MOD continues to work closely with the Aircraft Carrier Alliance to drive the programme to remain within the current approved cost.