HC Deb 05 June 2000 vol 351 cc3-5
2. Mr. Malcolm Savidge (Aberdeen, North)

What progress the Government have made in promoting defence diversification. [122640]

3. Laura Moffatt (Crawley)

What progress the Government have made in promoting defence diversification. [122641]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Dr. Lewis Moonie)

We set up the Defence Diversification Agency last year, with a permanent director appointed last summer. The agency is already making a substantial contribution to the transfer of technological know-how between the Ministry of Defence and small to medium-sized businesses. With seven offices already established across the country, and with a further seven to follow later this year, the agency has already handled about 300 company inquiries.

Mr. Savidge

Apart from the existing Defence Diversification Agency offices in Rosyth, are there any plans to open more offices in Scotland? To what extent is the agency's objective not merely to seek profitable civil spin-offs from military production but to expand our civil production base?

Dr. Moonie

I am very pleased to be able to inform my hon. Friend that it is our intention to open an office of the DDA in Glasgow before the end of the year, as part of the next phase.

Mr. Menzies Campbell (North-East Fife)

Surprise, surprise.

Dr. Moonie

Indeed.

Civil spin-offs are a major priority for defence diversification, with a view to securing as much additionality as possible from our defence military production and research.

Laura Moffatt

As my hon. Friend has already mentioned, small businesses are the most likely to be able to take advantage of technology transfer and to use the Defence Diversification Agency for research. That must certainly be the case in my constituency. What is he doing to target those businesses and ensure that they can take full advantage of the opportunities available?

Dr. Moonie

We have quite a few initiatives in progress that will be of direct benefit to small businesses. For example, a couple of weeks ago I was fortunate enough to speak at a seminar on opportunities in defence for small and medium-sized companies; we are encouraging secondments from the defence industry to the DDA; we conduct technological roadshows and exhibitions; and business support partnerships have been established, connecting to Business Links, Scottish Enterprise and similar agencies in Northern Ireland and Wales, working in partnership with existing business support networks and initiatives. We believe that an effective working partnership with intermediary business support networks is critical to the success of the Defence Diversification Agency.

Mr. Edward Leigh (Gainsborough)

So what is the answer to the question put by my hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr. Duncan Smith)? Is it true that no ships have been ordered and that sailors now shout "Bang!" instead of using live rounds? Is the idea of the Government's diversification programme to replace offensive weapons with offensive language?

Dr. Moonie

You will be well aware, Madam Speaker, that I never use offensive language, especially in the House.

I am very much afraid that I shall have to disappoint the hon. Gentleman. I can add nothing to the full reply that my hon. Friend the Minister for the Armed Forces gave some moments ago.

Mr. David Heath (Somerton and Frome)

Given the enormous importance of the defence industry to the west country and our disproportionate exposure to the sector, how many times have the Minister or his colleagues met representatives of the South-West regional development agency to discuss diversification?

Dr. Moonie

I have absolutely no idea what my hon. Friends have done, but I have not yet had the opportunity to hold such meetings. Were I to receive an invitation, I would be very happy to meet those people and discuss our plans.

Mr. Michael Fallon (Sevenoaks)

Can the Minister reassure the House that any proposals for diversification are better thought out than the plans to diversify the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency, which have caused so much uncertainty and hostility among those who work for it, such as the people at Fort Halstead in my constituency? How can the Government be so sure that exactly three quarters of the staff will be diversified to the private sector yet be so hazy on all the details?

Dr. Moonie

One of the problems with conducting a process openly is that it leads to certain doubts and discussions about what one's plans are and what the results are likely to be. This is a complex process. Of course, the figure of 75 per cent. is an approximate one, but we believe that that proportional split between those to be retained in the agency and those to be privatised is approximately correct, and we will introduce plans to put it into effect later this year.