HC Deb 24 May 1974 vol 874 cc281-2W
Mr. Trotter

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what contracts for the supply of defence equipment had been cancelled on or before 28th February 1974 as a result of the cuts in defence expenditure amounting to £178 million announced by the then Government on 17th December 1973.

Mr. Mason

Apart from the cancellation of the full development of QC 434 which was announced on 31st January— [Vol. 868, c. 143–4.]—the precise measures needed to produce the savings required on planned 1974–75 expenditure have not been identified for the reasons which I gave in the defence debate on 13th May.—[Vol. 873, c. 911–12.]

Mr. Faulds

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will report on the testing being carried out by the Ministry of Defence on the efficacy of the Israeli-manufacture Galil automatic weapon; and whether the Ministry has placed, or has plans to place, orders for any substantial quantities of the weapons.

Mr. Mason

As my hon. Friend said on 11th April—[Vol. 872, c. 198]—a small order has been placed for Galil rifles for evaluation purposes but no weapons have yet been delivered.