Select committee: Defence Committee
Conclusion 17
Third Report - “We’re going to need a bigger Navy”
Published 14 Dec 2021
Paragraph 126
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)
We welcome the Secretary of State’s focus on improving vessel availability as it is crucial for the effective operation of the fleet. We recognise that the Navy has already taken measures to address it but are concerned that any improvements come from increased use of low-end warships, rather than improvements in the availability of Type 23 frigates and Type 45 destroyers. The availability of these vessels will be particularly important in the next decade to ensure the Navy’s ambitious plans for the fleet can be delivered without capability gaps. However, availability issues are unlikely to improve significantly, and could potentially deteriorate further, until new frigates are introduced, and the Type 45 Power Improvement Project (PIP) is complete. It is only prudent for the Navy, when it is setting strategic and operational goals over the period, to take a more realistically pessimistic view of UK capabilities than is currently the case.
From: Defence Committee, Third Report - “We’re going to need a bigger Navy” (HC 168), paragraph 126, 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.