Written Question:

Mr. Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many frigates and destroyers were identified in the 1998 Strategic Defence Review as being required by the Royal Navy to fulfil their tasks; how many are in service; and how many are expected to be in service in 2012. [214172]

Member Answering Question: The Rt Hon Bob Ainsworth MP, Minister of State (Armed Forces) [holding answer 26 June 2008]:

Answer: The 1998 Strategic Defence Review identified a requirement for 32 destroyers and frigates. This was changed to 25 in the 2004 White Paper “Delivering Security in a Changing World, Future Capabilities (Cm 6269)”, and this remains the number presently in service. On current plans, the number of destroyers and frigates in service in 2012 will fluctuate as the Type 42 destroyers are replaced by the new Type 45s, though we would expect there to be between 21 and 23 ships in service during the course of that year.