§ Mr. FatchettTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list those occasions during the last 10 years in which, as part of an international participation agreement, his Department has made credit available for the establishment of joint venture companies, technology transfers and defence research and development contracts. [32416]
§ Mr. ArbuthnotOffshore suppliers of equipment to the MOD may meet their industrial participation, or offset, commitments in a number of ways, including transfer of technology, the award of defence research and development contracts and certain work arising from the establishment of joint venture companies. Such arrangements are commercially confidential, and we cannot disclose details.
§ Mr. FatchettTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the offset agreements with(a) the United States and (b) other manufacturers of defence equipment signed during the last 10 years; and if he will list the value in each case. [32417]
§ Mr. ArbuthnotA list of offset obligation agreements singed during the last 10 years follows. For reasons of commercial confidentiality, I am unable to list individual values.
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List of industrial participation obligations signedover the last 10 years Company (US unless stated) Equipment Boeing Corp. AWACS Boeing Hel Chinook Mid-Life Update CAE Electronics (Canada) Magnetic Anomoly Detector CAE Electronics (Canada) Merlin Training System Computing Devices Canada (CDC) (Canada) Challenger II (Fire Control System)
List of industrial participation obligations signedover the last 10 years Company (US unless stated) Equipment Cummins Power Pack for AS90 SP Howitzer E Systems Nimrod Update (Starwindow) General Dynamics Phalanx Close In Weapon System (CIWS) General Electric i. Goalkeeper II ii. Sonar 2093 General Instrument Radar Warning Receiver (RWR) Hughes Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missile (ASRAAM) Lockheed C-130J Martin Marietta Skynet Launch Vehicle McDonnell Douglas Follow-on buy of Ship Launch Harpoon Systems McDonnell Douglas Skynet (Expendable Launch Vehicle) Raytheon Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS) Rediffusion/Evans and Sutherland Nimrod MR MK2 Simulator SAAB (Sweden) Direct Fire Weapons Effects Simulator (DFWES) Sperry-Marine NATO Ships Inertial Navigation System (SINS) Texas Instruments Low Level Laser Guided Bomb (LLLGB) TRW Ocean Surveillance Information System (OSIS) Westinghouse AWACS E-3D Depot Level Maintenance Westinghouse AWACS Radar Software Support Rig
§ Mr. FatchettTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what studies his Department has undertaken of the employment effects of(a) offset agreements made as part of his Department's purchase of defence equipment and (b) offset agreements made by British companies as part of their agreement to sell to another country. [32456]
§ Mr. ArbuthnotThe Department's aim in negotiating offset agreements with offshore companies is to attract new, quality, defence work to United Kingdom defence industry. Such work brings employment benefits to the UK, but the Department has made no study of this particular aspect. When British companies are doing business overseas, it is for them to judge the level of offset they can offer, and we have undertaken no study of the employment effects of such arrangements.
§ Mr. FatchettTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the value of the obligation agreements with(a) CAE Electronics, (b) E-Systems, (c) Cummins, (d) Hughes Aircraft Co., (e) McDonnell Douglas, (f) Raytheon, (g) SAAB, (h) Texas Instruments, (i) Westinghouse and (j) TRW-OSIS. [32535]
§ Mr. ArbuthnotThe industrial participation obligation agreements which we have with offshore contractors are commercially confidential, and therefore I cannot disclose the individual values.