§ Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what communications his Department has had with the Chemring Group in respect of the manufacture of fragmentation land mines; and if he will list the contracts with their respective values his Department has had each year since 1997 with the Chemring Group. [57980]
§ Dr. MoonieThe Ministry of Defence has not had any communications with the Chemring Group in respect of the manufacture of fragmentation land mines.
The Chemring Group of companies includes five separate groupings (Air/Land/Sea Countermeasures, Marine Safety, Defence Pyrotechnics, PW (Australia) and Aerospace Wiring Harness). The number and annual value of contracts placed by the MOD with the Chemring Group since 1997 are as follows:
Number of contracts Approximate value (£ million) 1997 13 23.8 1998 14 95 1999 13 11.4 2000 8 2.4 2001 13 11.5 Total 61 58.6 The kinds of equipment these contracts relate to range from Countermeasures, Pyrotechnics, Obscurant Smokes, and Signalling/Distress Flares through to Simulators for Training.