To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the assessment phase for the Future Rapid Effects System Scout vehicle to conclude. (264960)

The assessment phase of a project is the period during which a range of options to meet the requirement are examined and tested. The phase will not end until the evidence is sufficiently mature to allow a decision to be made on the option to be taken forward. It is not possible to be precise in advance about when this point will be reached but I hope it can conclude before the end of this year.