§ Mrs. RocheTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to ensure that his Department identifies the size of its suppliers by the number of their employees. [15605]
§ Mr. ArbuthnotI have no plans to do so. As my answer on 19 December 1995,Official Report, column 1108, indicated, size is not a discriminatory factor when we award a contract. Collecting data from our suppliers on the number of staff they employed would place an unnecessary regulatory burden on companies while serving no useful purpose from my Department's point of view.