Steven Paterson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steven Paterson on 2016-10-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many nuclear-powered submarines are waiting for decommissioning work to be (a) commenced and (b) completed.

Harriett Baldwin

There are 12 submarines in laid-up storage in Her Majesty’s Naval Base Devonport and seven at Rosyth Dockyard. Under the Submarine Dismantling Project (SDP) one submarine will commence ‘Initial Dismantling’ at Rosyth later in 2016, subject to regulatory permissions, to refine the process.

While laid-up, the submarines are subject to regular maintenance and checks by both the Ministry of Defence and regulators, and pose no additional risk to workers or members of the public.