Select committee: Defence Committee
Recommendation 15
Third Report - “We’re going to need a bigger Navy”
Published 14 Dec 2021
Paragraph 111
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 ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
Building interoperability with nations in the Indo-Pacific will be vital for delivering any tilt to the region. This must include coordinating with European partners and working to rebuild the military relationship with France. The Navy must continue to regularly exercise with partners in the region after the conclusion of CSG21, which will help to deter adversaries and demonstrate that the UK’s commitment to the region goes beyond rhetoric. This should include regular exercises with European and NATO partners, including consideration of developing a programme of exercises under AUKUS. The Department should develop a strategy for how it will collaborate with both regional partners and NATO allies in the Pacific within the next year. The Department should confirm in its response whether the Royal Navy will continue to contribute to Op ATALANTA.
From: Defence Committee, Third Report - “We’re going to need a bigger Navy” (HC 168), paragraph 111, 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.