Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they intend to commence the necessary remedial work on the propulsion systems of the fleet of Type 45 destroyers; what estimate they have made of how long that work will take; and what estimate they have made of the cost of the unit and the total cost of that remedial work.

A number of measures to improve the reliability of the Type 45 Power and Propulsion systems have been identified. A programme was established in 2014 to implement these changes and continues to deliver positive results. In addition, and as announced in Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, we are planning to improve system resilience by adding upgraded diesel generators to provide further electrical generation capacity. Alternative technical options and a variety of delivery models are currently being explored with competing industrial partners.

To reveal our current estimates of the cost and timetable for implementation of the Diesel Generator upgrade would be prejudicial to the commercial interests of the Department.