§ Mr. Matthew TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Chief of Defence procurement instructions have been issued since 1 June 1998; and how many were unclassified. [82246]
§ Mr. SpellarThis is a matter for the Chief Executive of the Defence Procurement Agency. I have asked the Chief Executive to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Sir Robert Walmsley to Mr. Matthew Taylor, dated 27 July 1999:
I am replying to your question to the Secretary of State for Defence about Chief of Defence Procurement Instructions. This matter falls to me for answer within my responsibility as Chief of Defence Procurement and Chief Executive of the Defence Procurement Agency.Twenty-three Chief of Defence Procurement Instructions have been issued since 1' June 1998. All of them were unclassified, but a number contain information about the Defence Procurement Agency's procedures which could prejudice the effective conduct of the Agency and would, therefore, be withheld under exemption 7 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.No new Chief of Defence Procurement instructions have been issued since April. Although they remain extant they are being replaced by the Acquisition Management System which fulfils a similar function in respect of Smart Procurement procedures.