§ Mr. Marplesasked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the number of different tyre sizes currently in use on vehicles run by his Department and the proportion of total tyres bought during the most recent convenient year, represented by the 10 most commonly used tyre sizes.
§ Mr. John MorrisApproximately 400. In the year 1968–69 about 35 per cent. were for the 10 most commonly used sizes.
§ Mr. Marplesasked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the present size of stocks of tyres held by his Department, expressed both in numbers of tyres and total money value of tyres.
§ Mr. John MorrisThe present stock of vehicle tyres of all types held centrally in this country amounts to some 135,000, valued at about £820,000.
§ Mr. Marplesasked the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to reduce the number of tyre sizes and tyres currently in use by his Department.
§ Mr. John MorrisSince 1966 the number of standard types of car tyre used by the Ministry of Defence has been reduced from 109 to 13 and for commercial vehicles from 150 to 40. Work is in hand on tyres for industrial and earth moving vehicles and for tractors and implements; I am confident that further reductions in the number of standard types of tyre will result from this work.
§ Mr. Martenasked the Secretary of State for Defence what are the criteria employed in the replacement of tyres used by his Department, expressed in terms of mileage, time or wear.
§ Mr. John MorrisThe only criterion employed in the replacement of tyres is wear, and all three Services take as their guide in this respect the Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) (Amendment) (No. 4) Regulations, 1967 issued by the Ministry of Transport.
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§ Mr. Marplesasked the Secretary of State for Defence what communications or agreements his Department has made with defence departments in other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation countries for the joint procurement of tyres.
§ Mr. John MorrisNone.
§ Mr. Marplesasked the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of tyres delivered under Ministry of Defence contracts are inspected before or after delivery by the Department.
§ Mr. John MorrisRoad vehicle tyres are not normally inspected before delivery. Inspection after delivery is at the discretion of the inspecting officer at the receiving depot.
§ Mr. Marplesasked the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of the types of tyres which he is buying conform to common North Atlantic Treaty Organisation specifications.
§ Mr. John MorrisVirtually all the road vehicle tyres bought for defence purposes carry N.A.T.O. code numbers identifying common types, treads, sizes and ply ratings.
§ Mr. Marplesasked the Secretary of State for Defence with how many contractors, and to what total value, does he have contracts for the supply of tyres for future periods exceeding three years from the beginning of the current financial year.
§ Mr. John MorrisNone.
§ Mr. Marplesasked the Secretary of State for Defence for how many years ahead does his Department have contracts for the supply of tyres.
§ Mr. John MorrisContracts are placed annually for estimated requirements for the following year.
§ Mr. Marplesasked the Secretary of State for Defence from how many different manufacturers his Department is buying tyres; and if he will give the total value of foreign made tyres bought by his Department during the most recent convenient year.
§ Mr. John MorrisThe Ministry of Defence is currently buying tyres from eight different manufacturers. During the506W current financial year about £165,000 is being spent on foreign-made tyres.
§ Mr. Marplesasked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the value of each Ministry of Defence running contract for the supply of tyres for the most recent year for which figures are available.
§ Mr. John MorrisIn the period October, 1967—September, 1968, the estimated value of each of the Ministry of Defence running contracts for tyres was £877,600, £323,000, £172,700, £122,600, £98,700, £31,900 and £2,300, respectively.
§ Mr. Marplesasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give the total expenditure of his Department on tyres during the most convenient recent year, together with the total number of tyres bought during that year; and if he will indicate the breakdown between those bought directly by his own Department and those bought on his behalf by other Departments, showing a breakdown of those other Departments.
§ Mr. John MorrisDuring the period 1st April, 1968, to 31st March, 1969, the total estimated value of purchases was £1,625,000; this represented approximately 200,000 tyres.
During this period no tyres were bought for the Ministry of Defence by other Departments.
§ Mr. Marplesasked the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department buys retreaded or remoulded tyres; and what proportion of the total tyres procured in the most recent convenient year these represented.
§ Mr. John MorrisNo.