§ Mr. Foulkesasked the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received following the award of the contract for the Royal Air Force trainer to Shorts; what is the substance of these representations; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. ButlerA number of representations have been received from British Aerospace. In particular, the company has expressed disappointment at losing the competition and said that it had believed that the final bid it submitted on 19 March for the PC-9 would have been cheaper for the Ministry than acceptance of the bid from Shorts for Tucano. This was definitely not so; the total acquisition cost would have been higher for the PC-9 than it was from the Tucano, as was also true of operating costs. British Aerospace has also asked both for the opportunity to be de-briefed on the trainer project which, following normal practice, has been granted and for a review of the ground rules governing such competitions.
§ Mr. Foulkesasked the Secretary of State for Defence whether any contract for the supply of the Royal Air Force trainer has yet been signed with Shorts.
§ Mr. ButlerYes. The contract was signed on 30 April 1985, following a letter of intent on 4 April 1985.
§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for Defence (1) whether, subsequent to the receipt of Short's bid for the Royal Air Force air basic trainer on 14 March, any member of his Department requested Shorts to make a revised offer;
(2) why, on 15 March, the controller of aircraft of his Department's procurement executive requested a revised bid from British Aerospace for the new basic trainer for the Royal Air Force.
§ Mr. Butler[pursuant to his reply, 3 May 1985, c. 262]: On 15 March controller aircraft rang Sir Raymond Lygo, managing director of British Aerospace, to confirm that Sir Raymond understood that the bid received by the relevant MOD contracts branch before noon the previous day was indeed its final offer. Sir Raymond indicated that he was not aware that this was so and shortly thereafter submitted a revised bid. At the same time controller aircraft rang Sir Philip Foreman, chairman of Short Brothers, who confirmed that its bid submitted before 14 March deadline was its final one.
§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will state the ranks and posts held of the members of the procurement executive who telephoned British Aerospace on 13 March to inform it of the deadline date for tender for the new basic trainer for the Royal Air Force; to whom he spoke; and if the call was logged by his Department.
§ Mr. Butler[pursuant to his reply, 3 May 1985, c. 262]: The telephone call was made by the principal director of contracts, air, to the group commercial director of British Aerospace. Telephone calls in the Ministry of Defence are not normally logged.
§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions in the past the procurement executive has telephoned tenders for his Department's contracts or contracts worth more than £100 million giving the deadline date for tendering; whether this 389W is the normal procedure within his Department; and on how many occasions such a telephone call has been confirmed by letter, telex or other written communication.
§ Mr. Butler[pursuant to his reply, 3 May 1985, c. 261–2]: The original deadline for the receipt of "best and final" bids had been set by telex at 31 January. The telephone call made to British Aerospace on 13 March dealt only with the end-point for post-tender improvements to those bids and followed on previous discussions with the two firms who had submitted the most attractive bids. Written communications are the normal and preferred practice within the Ministry of Defence; the telephone is used only when this is more suitable for giving or receiving information in the time available, and such information is confirmed in writing where necessary.
Committees of Privy Councillors Subject investigated Chairman Date appointed Date reported Cmnd. No. (i) 1955-May 1979 Security Marquess of Salisbury November 1955 March 1956 9715 The Interception of Communications Sir Norman Birkett June 1957 September 1957 283 Security in the Public Service Lord Radcliffe May 1961 November 1961 1681 'D' Notice Matters Lord Radcliffe February 1967 May 1967 3309 Interrogation of Terrorists Lord Parker of Waddington November 1971 January 1972 4901 Ministerial Memoirs Viscount Radcliffe April 1975 January 1976 6386 Recruitment of Mercenaries Lord Diplock February 1975 August 1975 6569 Cabinet Document Security Lord Houghton July 1977 October 1977 6677 (ii) May 1979-present Falkland Islands Review Lord Franks July 1982 January 1983 3787
Committees of Inquiry commissioned by the Prime Minister Subject investigated Chairman Date appointed Date reported Cmnd. No. (i) 1955–1968 Crown Lands Sir Malcolm Trustram Eve December 1954 17 May 1955 9483 The Organisation of the Atomic Energy Authority Sir Alexander Fleck October 1957 16 December 1957 338 Health and Safety in the Atomic Energy Authority Sir Alexander Fleck October 1957 19 December 1957 342 The Preservation of Downing Street Earl of Crawford and Balcarres July 1957 1 March 1958 457 The Windscale Piles Sir Alexander Fleck October 1957 17 June 1958 471 The Misuse of Official Facilities Sir Norman Brook 5 November 1958 11 November 1958 583 Security at the National Gallery Lord Bridges 26 September 1961 13 February 1962 1750 The Vassall Case Sir Charles Cunningham 22 October 1962 7 November 1962 (1871) The Security Service and Mr. Profumo Lord Denning 21 June 1963 16 September 1963 2152 Higher Education Professor Lord Robbins 8 February 1961 23 September 1963 2154 The Organisation of Civil Science Sir Burke Trend March 1962 23 September 1963 2171 Representational Services Overseas Lord Plowden 30 July 1962 2 December 1963 2276 The Remuneration of Ministers and MPs Sir Geoffrey Lawrence 19 December 1963 20 October 1964 2516 The Bossard and Allen Cases Sir Henry Wilson Smith 9 August 1965 6 September 1965 2773 The Civil Service Lord Fulton 8 February 1966 19 June 1968 3638 Defence Procurement D. Rayner October 1970 March 1971 4641 Dispersal of Government work from London Sir H. Hardman October 1970 June 1973 5322 Conduct in Local Government Lord Redcliffe-Maud October 1973 May 1974 5636 (ii) May 1979-present Non-departmental Public Bodies Sir Leo Pliatzky 1979 January 1980 7197 Value of Pensions Sir Bernard Scott 1980 February 1981 8147