9. Mr. R. C. Mitchellasked the Minister of State for Defence what criteria he uses when placing orders for the construction of British warships in British shipyards.
§ Mr. Ian GilmourBritish warship orders are generally placed on the basis of the most advantageous tender, taking all relevant factors fully into account.
Mr. MitchellWill the hon. Gentleman assure the House that efficient firms outside the development areas—for example, Vosper Thornycroft in Southampton—will not be penalised when his Department places orders?
§ Mr. GilmourI give that assurance gladly. We have the highest regard for Vosper's. I think that the only time when the company felt that it was hard dealt with was over the accelerated shipbuilding order of 1971 which was designed specifically to help unemployment in depressed areas, which, luckily, Southampton is not.
§ Mr. FernyhoughSince the hon. Gentleman says that he always accepts the lowest tenders, can he say how many tenders there were for the £70 million project to which he referred in answer to an earlier Question?
§ Mr. GilmourI did not say that we always accepted the lowest tender. I said that we accepted the most advantageous tender. We do not necessarily believe that a cut-price tender is the best. We take a number of factors into account. As for the cruiser—I did not mention the figure of £70 million—there was only one tender. We placed the shipbuilding involved in that with Vickers.