HC Deb 26 June 1984 vol 62 cc796-7
6. Sir John Farr

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many all-British tenders have been received for the contract to supply the Royal Air Force with a new basic jet trainer.

Mr. Pattie

None. Invitations to tender were only issued on 18 June.

Sir John Farr

I thank my hon. Friend for that reply. Will he assure the House that when a decision is reached, all things being equal, the aircraft chosen for this all-important task will be that which provides most jobs for Britain and for people working in this country?

Mr. Pattie

I can certainly give my hon. Friend and the House an assurance that such considerations will be among the most significant of the factors that we shall take into account when arriving at our decision.

Mr. Duffy

Is the Minister aware that the test that my hon. Friends will apply to the placing of the contract for the RAF's new basic jet trainer will be the net British job content involved? Will the Minister be a little more sensitive, more protective and aggressive about home-based jobs when he comes to place the contract than he was when he placed the order for Harpoon?

Mr. Pattie

I shall not weary the House by listing the occasions on which we have achieved deals which have been advantageous to British industry and British job content. British job content is one of the many important factors that will be weighed with all the others.

Sir Hector Monro

Does my hon. Friend accept that the choice should be made on the basis of providing the best aircraft to train the best pilots for the Royal Air Force and that it should not be tied to sales to or purchases by foreign countries? Does my hon. Friend agree that Firecracker, British designed and built, holds great hope for the future?

Mr. Pattie

I agree that the fundamental question is whether the Royal Air Force receives the plane that will do the job that it requires. As the tender invitations only went out on 18 June, it would be dangerous to start particularising across the Floor of the House about precisely what percentage of which of the individual contenders is British.

Mr. John David Taylor

Does the Minister agree that more British jobs will be provided if the award is given to the jet trainer most likely to gain the most sales to other countries?

Mr. Pattie

That is another of the factors that we must take into account. Obviously, I am aware of what lies behind the right hon. Gentleman's question. We have great regard for the industrial capability of Short Brothers, following its success with the United States air force.

Mr. McNamara

Is the Minister aware that the Opposition will specifically look for an order on the British mainland that will meet the needs of the declining British aerospace industry and compensate for the lay-offs that have taken place? When will a decision be taken? To what extent will speculative agreements be taken into consideration, as opposed to positive orders on the table?

Mr. Pattie

I said in my original reply that the invitation for tenders to be submitted went out on 18 June. It is our intention that tenders should be returned by about the middle of September. We hope that a decision will not be unnecessarily prolonged after that.

I am not quite sure that I fully understood the second half of the hon. Gentleman's question. I assure him that during the evaluation of the tenders we shall be assessing only what we consider to be real and firm returns to the tender process.