To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) when his Department will commence formal discussions with Plymouth City Council on the decommissioning of nuclear submarines at Devonport Royal Dockyard; (277287)

A decision on the location of the dismantling site has not yet been made. A Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) for the Submarine Dismantling Project will consider location options for both the dismantling site and the interim storage of the resulting Intermediate Level Waste. Engagement with local councils on both dismantling and storage sites will take place as part of the public consultation period for the SEA. This is planned to begin towards the end of 2009 and to complete in spring 2010.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the planned dates of decommissioning are of (a) each of the Royal Navy’s Trafalgar class submarines and (b) its Swiftsure submarine. (275532)

Against current planning assumptions, which are regularly reviewed, the out of service dates for the remaining Swiftsure and Trafalgar Class submarines are shown in the following table.