Estonia: Defence Sales

Mr. Hancock
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much the Estonian government paid for the three British Sandown-class minehunters; and what Treasury guidelines were followed in this case.

Mr. Quentin Davies
The sale price for the three Sandown class ships to Estonia was £32 million (the gross return to MOD). The net return to MOD, however, will be adjusted by costs for regeneration of the vessels and training of crew prior to delivery. Regeneration is being carried out under incentivised arrangements and thus the final costs will not be known until completion of the work. In accordance with HM Treasury delegations, a business case was prepared and scrutinised by the appropriate authorities.

Mr. Hancock
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much was spent on the three Sandown-class minehunters in the year prior to their sale to Estonia; and whether their sale was conditional on this work being carried out on them.

Mr. Quentin Davies
No work was undertaken, other than normal decommissioning activities, on these three vessels, in the year prior to the signature of the sales agreement in September 2006. Therefore no additional costs were incurred.