§ Mr. ByersTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what occasions in the last 10 years he or a Minister in his Department has given a direction to civil servants to award a contract against the advice of the civil service; what was the subject matter of the contract and its value; and when it was awarded.
§ Mr. AitkenI refer the hon. Member to the answers given by my hon. Friend the Minister for the Armed Forces on 10 March 1994,Official Report, column 401, and 22 March 1994, Official Report, column 174, which list the occasions when a formal direction has been given, five of which related to the award of a contract. The value of individual contracts is commercial-in-confidence information.