§ Mr. Fisherasked the Secretary of State for defence what dividends, in each year since 1974, were paid by the royal ordnance factories trading fund and what sums retained, in both cash and percentage terms.
§ Mr. PattieDividends and sums retained by the royal ordnance factories trading fund since 1 July 1974 have been as follows (figures rounded):
Dividends£ million per cent. Rotations£ million per cent. 1974–75* 0.5 32 1.1 68 1975–76 5.6 51 5.4 49 1976–77 5.3 14 32.3 86 1977–78 8.5 21 31.5 79 1978–79 11.5 30 26.7 70 1979–80 10.5 58 7.7 42 1980–81 6.0 — (5.1) — 1981–82 9.0 74 3.1 26 1982–83 25.0 29 62.7 71 * Nine months. For 1980–81 a dividend of £6 million was paid of which £5.1 million was not from accumulated reserves.
§ Mr. Fisherasked the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of production in terms of value in each of the royal ordnance factories is transferred to other royal ordnance factories for further stages of manufacturing or assembly; and if he will list these percentages by each factory.
§ Mr. PattieThe percentage of output by value which is transferred by individual royal ordnance factories to other factories varies from year to year depending on the volume and mix of production. Averages for the last two years were as follows:
Percentage of output transferred to other factories Factory per cent. Birtley 57 Bishopton 69 Blackburn 16 Bridgwater 72 Chorley 9 Enfield 2 Glascoed 3 Leeds 1 Nottingham 21 Patricroft 59 Radway Green 31 Featherstone Agency Factory 95 Powfoot Agency Factory 68
§ Mr. Fisherasked the Secretary of State for Defence how many people are employed in sales and marketing in each of the royal ordnance factories.
§ Mr. PattieThe numbers are as follows:
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Numbers ROF Birtley 10 ROF Bishopton 10 ROF Blackburn 1 ROF Bridgwater 6 ROF Chorley 10 RSAF Enfield 4 ROF Glascoed — ROF Leeds — ROF Nottingham — ROF Patricroft 2
Numbers ROF Radway Green 2 Total 45
§ Mr. Fisherasked the Secretary of State for Defence how many people are employed in quality control in each of the royal ordnance factories.
§ Mr. PattieThe numbers are as follows:
Numbers ROF Birtley 260 ROF Bishopton 200 ROF Blackburn 479 ROF Bridgwater 68 ROF Chorley 462 RSAF Enfield 140 ROF Glascoed 322 ROF Leeds 116 ROF Nottingham 99 ROF Patricroft 193 ROF Radway Green 371 Total 2,710
§ Mr. Fisherasked the Secretary of State for Defence how many people are employed in applied research, design and development in each of the royal ordnance factories.
§ Mr. PattieThe numbers are as follows:
Numbers ROF Birtley 117 ROF Bishopton 21 ROF Blackburn 144 ROF Bridgwater 25 ROF Chorley 41 RSAF Enfield 119 ROF Glascoed 104 ROF Leeds 165 ROF Nottingham 151 ROF Patricroft 200 ROF Radway Green 10 Total 1,097
§ Mr. Fisherasked the Secretary of State for Defence what has been the capital investment in plant and machinery in each of the royal ordnance factories in each of the last 10 years.
§ Mr. PattieIn the time available it has not been possible to provide the hon. Member with the information he requested. I will arrange for a full reply to be given in theOfficial Report as soon as possible.
§ Mr. Fisherasked the Secretary of State for Defence how many Ministry of Defence police are employed in guarding royal ordnance factories; and whether he will list them by factory.
§ Mr. PattieThe number of Ministry of Defence police on the strength of the 11 factories amounts to 235. For security reasons, it is not our practice to give detailed strengths for individual factories.
§ Mr. Fisherasked the Secretary of State for Defence how many overseas export contracts were won by the royal ordnance factories in each year since 1974; and whether he will list these contracts by factory.
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§ Mr. PattieOverseas sales by the royal ordnance factories trading fund in each year since 1974, in absolute and relative terms, were as follows:
Overseas Sales £ Million Percentage of Total Sales Per cent. 1974–75 (9 months) 38 46 1975–76 70 47 1976–77 109 52 1977–78 140 53 1978–79 151 53 1979–80 108 39 1980–81 98 35 1981–82 154 44 1982–83 192 43 Overseas sales contracts vary in size and distribution, from very small ones — for example, for spares — to major contracts for tanks and ordnance. The number of contracts is not therefore a meaningful statistic. It should also be noted that the figures prior to 1979–80 were distorted by tank exports to Iran, the size of which, in relation to total overseas sales, is unlikely to be repeated.
Overseas contracts are placed upon the royal ordnance factories collectively, and their performance is usually dependent upon the activities of several of the separate factories. It would therefore be misleading to relate sales contracts to particular factories.