§ Dr. David ClarkTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence when his Department last announced a major defence procurement order during a parliamentary recess; what is his Department's policy concerning the announcement of large procurement projects when Parliament is not sitting; and if he will make a statement. [39067]
§ Mr. ArbuthnotWe make announcements on major defence procurement orders at the earliest convenient time after decisions have been made. In practice, we usually make such announcements when Parliament is sitting.
§ Dr. ClarkTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of the total Trident missile purchase(a) will be deployed operationally, (b) will act as a processing margin and (c) will be used for test firings. [39179]
§ Mr. ArbuthnotOn the basis of present assumptions, some three quarters of our currently planned Trident missile purchase will be available for operational deployment; a fifth are planned to be used during post-build or post-refit firings; the remainder will act as a processing margin.