§ Dr. David ClarkTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 7 December,Official report, column 176, if he will list each of the aspects of support that he will be looking at as part of the defence costs study; and if he will provide detailed information on their current functions and costs.
§ Mr. AitkenAt this stage, I have nothing to add to my previous answer.
§ Dr. David ClarkTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 7 December,Official Report, column 176, how long the defence costs study will take; and if he will publish a declassified copy of their work once it has been completed.
§ Mr. AitkenNo overall timetable has been set, since the time needed to look at different areas of defence support will vary considerably. Work is, however, being taken forward as quickly as possible. We will decide how best to make public the results of the study as soon as we have had the opportunity to consider them.
§ Dr. David ClarkTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 7 December,Official Report, column 176, what are (a) the current headquarters costs, (b) the current manpower costs and (c) current procurement practice; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. AitkenDetails of defence expenditure are given in the publication "UK Defence Statistics: 1993 Edition". Table 1.3 gives planned expenditure for 1993–94 in each of the management areas. The total figure for MOD headquarters and centrally managed expenditure is £1,886.3 million. Table 1.2 shows that anticipated expenditure on service and civilian personnel this year is £9,716 million. The fullest and most recent description of current procurement practice is in "Britain's Defence Procurement", a booklet published by my Department in July 1993. I am arranging for a copy to be placed in the Library of the House.
§ Dr. David ClarkTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 7 December,Official Report, column 176, how many staff will be employed on a full-time basis on the defence costs study.
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§ Mr. AitkenA secretariat with eight full-time members has been established to co-ordinate work on the study. The work itself will be carried out by a number of small study teams, each looking at different areas of support business. Some staff will work full-time on the study as members of these teams.