HC Deb 27 October 1992 vol 212 cc849-50
2. Mr. Adley

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the future of the defence research establishments.

The Minister of State for Defence Procurement (Mr. Jonathan Aitken)

As part of our continuing drive for improved value for money, the Defence Research Agency has made a series of proposals to rationalise its operations and reduce costs. They were set out in a consultative document published last month and we expect to reach decisions later this year.

Mr. Adley

I thank my hon. Friend for that answer and for his diligence and courtesy in taking so much trouble to listen to my constituents' point of view. Does he acknowledge that the DRA's bridge-building facility at Christchurch is unique? The breadth of assumptions in the document to which he referred raise grave doubts—which I share—that any savings will be made by moving the expensive and irreplaceable capital equipment at Christchurch elsewhere? Will my hon. Friend confirm that the consultation will be genuine, and that my constituents will be given a further opportunity to make their views known to him?

Mr. Aitken

I was glad to visit the Christchurch site with my hon. Friend earlier this year, and I pay tribute to the excellence of the professional skills that its staff have consistently shown. Unfortunately, the site is under-utilised and over-large, and considerable savings have been identified by the DRA's chief executive. I confirm that the consultation exercise is genuine and that I will be pleased to learn the views of my hon. Friend and of his constituents when they see me on 4 November.

Mr. Flynn

Is the Minister aware that the defence research establishment at Aberporth in Dyfed has been used to test fire the Chilean Government's Rayo multiple-launch rocket system? Chile has made it clear that it is willing to sell that weapon to any country in the world that can afford it. Does that not make a nonsense of non-proliferation and of our attempts to prevent deadly weapons falling into the hands of third world and unstable Governments?

Mr. Aitken

It is the British Defence Research Agency, not the Chilean Defence Research Agency, and I do not think that the hon. Gentleman's comments are correct.

Mr. Ian Bruce

I thank my hon. Friend the Minister for also seeing a delegation of my constituents about DRA jobs. Can my hon. Friend say what capital repayment terms or payback period he would expect from moving people around? He will know from his days in private industry that it looks for a two to three-year payback. The Treasury seems to look for something like a 20-year payback, and many of the agency's proposals envisage something like a 10-year payback.

Mr. Aitken

The payback arrangements are governed by the normal Treasury rules, which may provide for a period of up to 25 years. When my hon. Friend visits me with his delegation, I shall certainly listen to the points about repayment that I understand that he wishes to make.