asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether the further fleet submarine order planned for 1977 referred to in paragraph 304 of Command Paper No. 6735 is the same vessel as was referred to in page 50 of the previous years' Defence White Paper as planned to be ordered in 1976; and, if so, why the order has been delayed and by how long.

It had been planned to order the first of the improved Swiftsure Class of fleet submarines at the end of last year. In the event, mainly because of problems of labour shortages and capacity problems in shipyards, it became necessary to defer the order. The timing of the order is under consideration.