Nuclear Submarines

Nick Harvey
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans his Department has for ensuring an adequate supply of highly enriched uranium to fuel four replacement ballistic missile submarines; and what the projected cost is of these plans.

Des Browne
We are considering options to ensure the supply of highly enriched uranium to fuel replacement ballistic missile submarines. The broad-order cost of such a requirement is reflected in the overall estimate of £15 billion-20 billion indicated in the White Paper (CM 6994) published on 4 December. At this very early stage in the procurement process, we are not in a position to break down these estimates in the way requested.