§ Mr. Andrew GeorgeTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of spending on sewn and knitted products for service personnel is purchased from(a) UK-based companies, (b) EU-based companies and (c) non-EU-based companies. [36818]
§ Mr. SpellarThe bulk of procurement of sewn and knitted products for service personnel is carried out through the Defence Clothing and Textiles Agency and I have therefore asked the Chief Executive to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Mr. I Deas to Mr. Andrew George, dated 24 April 1998:
In the unavoidable absence of my Chief Executive I am replying to your Question to the Secretary of State for Defence about the proportion of spending on sewn and knitted products for service personnel purchased within UK-based, EU-based and non-EU-based companies, as this matter falls within the area of responsibility of the Defence Clothing & Textiles Agency.716WThis information is not readily available and would involve a disproportionate cost to identify a precise answer, as we would have to go through each individual contract manually. However, a quick analysis of contracts placed in financial year 1997/98 would indicate the following proportions: in UK 80%, elsewhere in EU 15% and non-EU 5%.
§ Mr. Andrew GeorgeTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the gross value of textile and knitwear contracts placed with Remploy was in(a) 1993–94 and (b) 1997–98. [36820]
§ Mr. SpellarThe bulk of the MOD contracts placed with Remploy for procurement of textile and knitted products are carried out through the Defence Clothing and Textiles Agency and I have therefore asked the Chief Executive to write to the hon. Member. In addition there may be some local purchase of items from Remploy for which we do not hold records centrally and which could be identified only at disproportionate cost.
Letter from Mr. J. Deas to Mr. Andrew George, dated 24 April 1998:
In the unavoidable absence of my Chief Executive I am replying to your Question to the Secretary of State for Defence about the gross value of textile and knitwear contracts placed with Remploy in 1993–94 and 1997–98, as this matter falls within the area of responsibility of the Defence Clothing and Textiles Agency (DCTA).Our records show contracts to the value of £18.8M in 1993–94 and £3.0M in 1997–98, VAT inclusive, placed with Remploy by the DCTA. These figures include all items procured by the DCTA, as the tri-Service Agency responsible for the majority of the clothing and textile items purchased by the MOD. However, we are not responsible for certain clothing and textile items, such as Aircrew clothing, for which we are informed that contracts were placed with Remploy to a value of £51,865 in 1993–94 and £439,105 in 1997–98.
§ Mr. Andrew GeorgeTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent in each of the last five years on the purchase of sewn and knitted products for service personnel. [36816]
§ Mr. SpellarThe bulk of the procurement of sewn and knitted products for service personnel is carried out through the Defence Clothing and Textiles Agency and I have therefore asked the Chief Executive to write to the hon. Member. In addition there is some expenditure by individual MOD budget areas on local purchase of clothing services, which includes non-centrally supplied items, footwear repair and supply of cleaning cloths. Records on the procurement of these items are not held centrally and to identify expenditure on them would involve disproportionate cost.
Letter from Mr. J. Deas to Mr. Andrew George, dated 24 April 1998:
In the unavoidable absence of my Chief Executive I am replying to your Question to the Secretary of State for Defence about how much his Department has spent in each of the last 5 years on the purchase of sewn and knitted products for service personnel, as this matter falls within the area of responsibility of the Defence Clothing & Textiles Agency (DCTA).The DCTA is a tri-Service organisation, formed in 1994, that procures clothing and textile items, which would mostly all fit into this category in one way or another, e.g. from shirts, trousers and jackets through to tentage and load carriage equipment. It may be that some items such as Aircrew clothing, procured outside of this Agency, would also fall within this category. The DCTA also procures General Stores and Defence Accommodation Stores.717WIn light of the above I wish to inform you of the nett sums, VAT inclusive, that this Agency has spent on all clothing and textile requirements since its inception (including the forecast final expenditure for the financial year just completed), as follows:
Year £ million 1997–98 1111 1996–97 111 1995–96 81 1994–95 101 1 Estimate as the exact figure is not yet known