Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an estimate of the number of people who will be employed at (a) Appledore and (b) Harland and Wolff Belfast at the peak of the fleet solid support ship contract.
I refer the right. hon Member to the answer I gave on 21 November 2022 to Question number 88807 to the right hon. Member for Warley (John Spellar).
The Fleet Solid Support ship contract will create a significant number of new jobs, including around 1,200 high quality manufacturing jobs. The precise distribution of these jobs between UK sites through the duration of the contract is a matter for Harland & Wolff.