§ Ms Janet AndersonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if his Department monitors the observance of DEF 05/21 or equivalent NATO standards by his Department's suppliers from Europe and other overseas countries;
(2) what procedures his Department follows to ensure that DEF 05/21 or equivalent NATO standards are observed by his Department's suppliers from Europe and other overseas countries.
§ Mr. FreemanDefence standard 05/21 was superseded by NATO allied quality assurance publications—AQAPs—in 1985.
My Department checks that contractors, wherever they are based, have appropriate quality assurance procedures in place before we place a contract. In other NATO countries, this may be done under the NATO mutual co-operation agreements; the defence ministry in the country in question is asked to confirm that the company does work to the appropriate standard and that the defence ministry will carry out contract surveillance on my Department's behalf on request. However, the terms of our contracts do allow us to send MOD representatives into suppliers premises—and those of sub-contractors—if we deem it necessary. Similar arrangements exist in memoranda of understanding with a number of countries outside NATO.