§ Mr. Nigel EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about the competitiveness of the United Kingdom defence industry. [12102]
§ Mr. ArbuthnotDue in part to my Department's procurement policies in recent years, the United Kingdom's defence industry is highly competitive both at home and abroad. Including the UK share of collaborative work, more than 90 per cent. by value of our equipment contracts are placed with UK firms. Our provisional estimate is that UK companies won defence export orders of £5 million in 1995. This represents around 19 per cent. of the world market. Only the USA has a large market share.