Churchill advised the pause, but government accepted it

How much responsibility did Churchill bear for pausing battleship and carrier construction?

He gave the advice as First Lord, but the prime minister and government also owned the decision by accepting it.

The decision belongs to Churchill's tenure as First Lord of the Admiralty rather than his later premiership. He advised stopping or slowing construction at a moment when wartime priorities were being reordered. The prime minister and government accepted that advice, so responsibility was institutional as well as personal. The distinction prevents an Admiralty decision from being attributed to the wrong office and treats acceptance of the advice as part of the decision.