My Lords, the Royal Navy has a fleet of nine submarines currently in service. It operates four Vanguard class nuclear-powered and nuclear-armed submarines in Operation Relentless, the continuous at-sea deterrent, which has been successfully maintained for over 56 years. The Vanguard class will be sequentially replaced by four Dreadnought class submarines, which will enter service in the 2030s. Additionally, five Astute class nuclear-powered and conventionally armed submarines are in service, with two more under construction.
My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister. Is it not the case that the four submarines to which my Question refers are the essence of our nuclear defence delivery systems? Is he satisfied that they are maintained and operated to the required standard?
A key point for all of us in this House, our nation and our alliances is that it is a continuous at-sea deterrent, and I reassure everyone that we maintain that. The noble Lord is right that it has been the foundation of our alliance’s peace and security for decades under all Governments, and long may it continue.
My Lords, can the Minister say how many of these submarines are operational at any one time? Many have been out of service quite frequently. Given the constraints, are we sure that we can maintain the programme that he has outlined and deliver AUKUS on time and on budget?
I am confident about that. I will not go into the number of submarines that are operational for obvious reasons, but the noble Lord will have heard the First Sea Lord outlining the submarine recovery plan a couple of months ago, which was about doing more to ensure that our docking and maintenance facilities are of the standard that we want. That will also help us ensure that we get the availability that we want.
My Lords, the 2025 SDSR committed to £15 billion of investment in the sovereign warhead programme by the end of this Parliament. Can the Minister indicate what progress has been made in implementing that investment programme?
I need to be careful about the monetary figures, but I can reassure the noble Baroness that the programme is going ahead according to schedule and will deliver what we need for our deterrent programme.
My Lords, will the Minister care to remind the House how much the nuclear programme is suffering from the enormously damaging freeze on it between 2010 and 2016, the period of the coalition, when the then Prime Minister gave in to demands from the Liberal Democrats?
There have been challenges for the programme over a number of years, and my noble friend has outlined one of them. I reassure him and those who read our proceedings, including our adversaries, that we are investing in it. We have the Vanguard continuous at-sea deterrent at the moment. It will be replaced by the Dreadnought programme, backed by £41 billion, including £31 billion for the actual build and a £10 billion reserve. We expect the first Dreadnought submarines to be in service in the early 2030s. That is what we and our adversaries need to read.
My Lords, I declare my interest as a serving member of His Majesty’s Armed Forces. My concern is not so much about the submarines but the people. I pay tribute to our service personnel serving in the silent service. I had the privilege of spending three days on HMS “Trenchant” under the ice a few years ago, and three days was definitely enough for me. We have harmony guidelines that seek to find the balance between time at sea and time at home with their families. That is vital for retention. Can the Minister ensure that those harmony guidelines are being met?
We certainly take seriously the harmony guidelines, which look at the welfare not only of the serving crew—the noble Lord is right to remind us to recognise their service in what, for many of us, would be unthinkable circumstances—but of their families. The harmony guidelines are about the culture on board as well as how we support the families whose loved ones are away for considerable periods. The noble Lord is right to remind us of that, and they remain a priority for the Government.
My Lords, does the Minister agree that the Opposition, who call for more expenditure, need to demonstrate where that expenditure will come from? Otherwise, they are hollow claims that are not backed up by any resource.
There are debates about the defence budget, and it is a matter for the Opposition to explain some of the promises that they are making, as my noble friend pointed out—we will no doubt hear much on this in a later Question. I am pleased to celebrate that this Government are investing record amounts of money in the Ministry of Defence and our defence industry and capabilities.
My Lords, can the Minister update the House on the nuclear submarines out of service? Can he say what conclusions the submarine dismantling programme has come to, based on HMS “Swiftsure” at Rosyth? What are the current projected costs of the overall decommissioning and dismantling programme?