§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the jobs created by the new anti-armour technology contract will be established; whether these will be permanent; and if he will make a statement. [67418]
§ Dr. MoonieThe contractor for the Next Generation Light Anti-Armour Weapon programme, Saab Bofors Dynamics, estimates that a total of 520 jobs will be created or sustained in the United Kingdom as a result of this contract. The timing of the creation of these posts and their permanency is a matter for the contractor and as such I cannot comment specifically. However, work on the programme has now started and production for the UK is expected to be complete by 2010. This could be extended if the contractor wins further orders from other customers.