To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list in the Official Report those frigates and destroyers in the Royal Navy fitted with Hypox deck flooring; and if he will separately distinguish the percentage of the total deck area covered in those vessels so fitted.

Hypox was introduced into service in 1988 as an internal deck covering primarily for passages and wet spaces, which together comprise some 25 per cent. of the internal deck area of warships. It is used as appropriate as an alternative to linoleum and painted deck finishes. It is fitted on an opportunity basis, for example during refits, when existing deck surfaces are beyond repair. Material of this type is being fitted progressively in new frigates.The actual amount fitted thus varies considerably from ship to ship and details of the amounts in individual ships are not available.