It was reported at the end of August that the MoD is expected to launch a design competition for a new class of light frigates for the Royal Navy.

Industry executives in the shipbuilding sector were briefed on the broad outline of the Type 31 programme on 7 September.

It is said to fit ‘with the intention’ in the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review to build a fleet of at least five such vessels.

The Type 31 procurement will be the centrepiece of the Government’s widely anticipated National Shipbuilding Strategy.

An independent report prepared for the Government in 2016 recommended a model whereby the ships would be block-built, with shipyards around the UK competing for the contract for each module.

The Financial Times reported on 28 August that this recommendation was likely to be carried through into the official strategy.

The Government hopes that this will provide a means of delivering economies through competitive tendering.

However, the report concludes that success will depend on the size of the MoD budget and requirement; the fear is that the Royal Navy will not have enough ships to achieve the economies of scale being sought.