HC Deb 11 February 1997 vol 290 cc123-4
2. Mrs. Anne Campbell

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what factors he takes into account when awarding major defence contracts. [13714]

The Minister of State for Defence Procurement (Mr. James Arbuthnot)

My Department takes account of all relevant factors before awarding contracts, including financial, operational and industrial factors. Our aim is to secure best value for money in the long term.

Mrs. Campbell

Does the award of the Royal Air Force TriStar maintenance contract, which went to a firm in the United Arab Emirates, result from the defence co-operation accord that the Secretary of State signed with the United Arab Emirates last year?

Mr. Arbuthnot

It did not.

Sir Anthony Grant

Although I am bitterly disappointed that the main contract went abroad, does my hon. Friend agree that it does no good to the work force of an excellent company such as Marshall, or anybody else, to spread doom and gloom? Is there, even at this stage, a hope that there may still be some chance of Marshall playing a part in the main contract?

Mr. Arbuthnot

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for the way in which he has approached the matter, which is in contrast to the approach of the hon. Member for Cambridge (Mrs. Campbell). Marshall is a very good company and I am pleased to be able to tell my hon. Friend that it has been named as a subcontractor to GAMCO in the TriStar maintenance contract.

Mr. Hutton

Does the Minister consider it an important part of the Government's procurement policy to ensure the retention of an industrial capability to design and construct nuclear-powered submarines in this country? If he does, will he explain how he thinks their policy is being helped or hindered by the three-year delay in placing an order for the replacement of Trafalgar class submarines?

Mr. Arbuthnot

It is of course necessary to negotiate the best possible price for the taxpayer for the batch 2 Trafalgar submarines, but I draw to the hon. Gentleman's attention the fact that, if it were not for a Conservative Government, we would not have any Trident submarines at all—and we certainly would not have the fourth Trident submarine that we have already ordered.

Sir John Cope

Will my hon. Friend confirm that the Government remain fully committed to the Eurofighter and its weapons systems? We know that Labour's defence review would lead to cuts—probably—in both the Eurofighter and its weapons systems, with disastrous consequences for British industry and jobs.

Mr. Arbuthnot

My right hon. Friend is right. It is breathtaking that the Labour party appears to promise both stability and change in the same breath. It tries to be all things to all men. Unless it is able to say that it will exempt the Eurofighter from its pretended strategic review, we cannot be sure that the Eurofighter would not go the same way as the TSR2.

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