Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 139 of the Ministry of Defence Annual Report and Accounts 2024-25, how was the retirement of the Albion and Bulwark landing platforms calculated at a constructive loss of £428,459,000.

The decision to decommission both HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark was announced in November 2024. In the period from 2022 to 2024, a total of £72.1 million has been spent on refitting HMS Bulwark. Neither HMS Albion nor HMS Bulwark were due to go to sea ahead of their out-of-service dates in 2033 and 2034. Their disposal shows that we are delivering for defence by divesting ourselves of old capabilities to make way for the future. These ships were effectively mothballed by the previous Government.

As part of disposal procedures, we have calculated the write-down costs, in line with Managing Public Money and Ministry of Defence accounting policies. The constructive loss of £428,459,000 reflects the write-down of remaining value of HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark and their associated capital works, spares and consumables following the decision to bring forward their out-of-service dates.