§ Mr. LawsTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the scope for savings in the defence procurement budget as a consequence of increased European collaboration on defence procurement; and if he will make a statement. [96643]
§ Mr. IngramCollaboration in defence programmes can bring economic benefits by sharing non-recurring costs and through economies of scale in production and, further through the life cycle, by sharing in service support and upgrade costs. Collaboration is considered in all equipment programmes when developing the procurement strategies to best meet the needs of our Armed Forces, but it is not an easy option. Harmonising requirements, aligning funding and approvals processes and meeting workshare expectations amongst anything from two partners upwards is rarely straightforward. Thus tune, cost and performance risks can be magnified in collaborative programmes. Overall, however, the benefits more than outweigh the potential disadvantages.