Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Goldie on 11 May (HL3566 and HL3735), whether COVID-19 safety measures have caused any delay to ASTUTE hulls 5, 6 and 7; and what were the expected planned approximate dates for the commissioning of ASTUTE hulls 5,6 and 7.

We are working closely with our industry partners to minimise the impact of COVID-19 on our submarine programmes. The planned in-service dates of submarines are withheld as disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

The individual commissioning dates of the remaining three Astute class submarines are yet to be determined.