Select committee: Defence Committee
Conclusion 2
Third Report - “We’re going to need a bigger Navy”
Published 14 Dec 2021
Paragraph 45
Addressed to Ministry of Defence
Defence Committee The Navy: purpose and procurement All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
The Government has ambitious plans for the Royal Navy. The Integrated Review has given the Navy a significantly increased, and potentially the leading, role in the UK’s security posture. It is likely to be the Government’s tool of choice to deliver its strategy of persistent engagement and competition below the threshold of warfare. As a result, the Navy must be able to deliver constabulary and presence operations for peace time maritime security, while still able to perform high-end warfighting functions effectively, including upholding NATO taskings and other international agreements.
From: Defence Committee, Third Report - “We’re going to need a bigger Navy” (HC 168), paragraph 45, 14 December 2021
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 25 February 2022 (deadline 14 February 2022).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government welcomes the Defence Committee's report and sets out the Integrated Review commitments it says address the Royal Navy's role, fleet and shipbuilding, while declining to guarantee a pipeline of work for UK yards.
- On fleet size, the MOD says it is "confident it can realise the ambitious plans outlined in the IR", including up to five Type 32 frigates alongside five Type 31s, so that by 2030 frigates and destroyers "will increase beyond the current 18".
- On reporting, the department "will provide a single annual update to the Defence Committee" covering surface fleet availability and shipbuilding plans. On submarine availability it says it does not comment, as this "would, or would be likely to, prejudice" security.
- On Fleet Solid Support ships, the final manufacture contract "will be awarded to a UK business, either solely or as part of a consortium", with all three ships integrated in UK shipyards. The Contract Notice requires all three to be in service by 2032.
- On Carrier Strike, the government says it remains "on course" for Full Operating Capability in December 2023 and intends to "routinely deploy a CSG annually", with each deployment to be "bespoke" in composition and objectives.