HC Deb 15 July 1986 vol 101 cc843-4
12. Mr. Alex Carlile

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what defence procurement projects of a value greater than £10 million are at present running behind schedule.

Mr. Lee

The Ministry has a well-developed system which ensures that all projects running seriously behind schedule are brought to the notice of senior officials and, for major projects, Ministers. Information about major projects is also regularly made available to the Public Accounts and Defence Select Committees. The detailed information requested, however, would require a special survey and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Mr. Carlile

Bearing in mind the Government's decision to cut defence spending in real terms and the escalating cost of Trident — one national newspaper, normally friendly to the Government, recently called it the "cuckoo in the nest" — will the hon. Gentleman now come clean and tell us which of the smaller projects are likely to he abandoned?

Mr. Lee

I am surprised that the hon. and learned Gentleman is here. I should have thought that he would be campaigning in the by-election and endeavouring to explain the inconsistencies of, and to fill the gaps in, the alliance's defence policy. I should have thought that the hon. Gentleman was on dangerous ground in talking about Trident. It is by no means the "cuckoo in the nest". One must compare like with like. Over a 20-year period the cost of Trident was just under £10 billion, compared with the escalating cost of the British Army of the Rhine, which, over that same period, was no less than £46 billion.

Mr. Favell

While on the subject of long-running sagas, will my hon. Friend update the position of the Nimrod AEW programme? Will he tell the House that British Aerospace has had nothing whatsoever to do with that sorry saga and that it has performed well and delivered on time?

Mr. Lee

I acknowledge that we have had some horrors in our procurement programme. Seven bids were received on 7 July, from Airship Industries, Boeing, Grumman, Lockheed, GEC, MEL and Pilatus Britten Norman. A decision will be taken in the autumn. I am pleased to confirm that we were happy with the airframe part of Nimrod, which was constructed by British Aerospace.

Mr. Douglas

Notwithstanding his answer, will the Minister say whether the CI30 frame might be used—

An Hon. Member

Is this a question?

Mr. Douglas

If the hon. Gentleman would clean his ears out, he would have heard me say "will the Minister". Will the Minister say whether the C130 frame might he used with the electronic kit for the airborne early warning system?

Mr. Lee

I believe that there is a question on this matter later in the Order Paper. There are many permutations within the seven bids that have been received.