§ Mr.McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what offset arrangements he is considering in connection with the purchasing of a foreign aircraft to replace the Jet Provost basic trainer for the Royal Air Force;
(2) what guidance about local content and manufacture his Department is giving to aerospace companies in the United Kingdom for building the new basic trainer for the Royal Air Force.
§ Mr.LeeIt has not yet been decided whether to refurbish or to replace the Jet Provost aircraft. We have, however, made it clear that in the latter case we intend to take full advantage of the existence of the available competiton to obtain the best possible value for money; and that we hope that a new aircraft would at least be built in the United Kingdom. In seeking tenders we should accordingly ask the manufacturers of the foreign aircraft on our short list to indicate the proportion of work they could arrange in the United Kingdoth and/or whether they have any proposals for offset.