§ Ann ClwydTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the(a) Ministers and (b) civil servants who attended the Asian Aerospace 98 air show in Singapore, giving the costs of their attendance along with any other costs incurred by his Department in connection with the air show. [39246]
§ Mr. SpellarI attended Asian Aerospace 98 as a guest of the Singaporean Government, who paid all costs associated with my attendance. A further thirty one MOD personnel have been identified as attending. The cost incurred by the Ministry of Defence was some £217,500. This includes costs associated with travel, accommodation, construction of a small stand, general participation and a Royal Navy Lynx participating in the flying display.
It should be noted that overseas orders, which result from the activities of the Defence Export Services Organisation, DESO, including UK participation at such exhibitions, help to reduce the unit cost of equipment procured for the British Armed Forces-conservatively estimated at some £350 million saving per annum. DESO also helps to secure Commercial Exploitation Levies, forecast to be £56 million during the next financial year. The total benefits generated by DESO for the MOD therefore more than cover the total cost of all its operations.