The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has promised there will be ‘minimal’ disruption to the dismantling of the decommissioned submarines at Rosyth, despite Covid-19.
The promise comes after a written question lodged by MP for Dunfermline and West Fife, Douglas Chapman, who asked if the pandemic had caused the project to be delayed.
It comes after years of stop-start commitments from the MoD with the submarines costing the UK taxpayer £30 million-a-year, just to keep them in storage at docks across the UK – despite them being decommissioned in the 1980s.
The project has already suffered from serious delays after targets to dismantle some subs by 2023 was missed and pushed back to 2026.
Mr Chapman said: “We cannot afford for millions of pounds to continue to be wasted on seeing these subs languish in the Forth, they must be cleared away as soon as possible.
“This will also present an opportunity for the UK Government to create employment in Dunfermline and West Fife and utilise the fantastic skills we have on show here.
“I will be keeping an eye on the progress of the dismantling process to make sure the MoD follow-up with their promise that disruption will be kept to a minimum.”
Defence minister Jeremy Quin said in a statement: “We are working closely with our industry partners to minimise the impact of Covid-19 on our submarine programmes.
“It is currently estimated that there is likely to be minimal impact on the overall timescale to dismantle the decommissioned nuclear submarines in Rosyth.”
