§ 14. Mr. Favellasked the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he proposes to take to extend competitive tendering with regard to defence procurement contracts.
§ Mr. Norman LamontThe requirement to seek competitive tenders for defence equipment purchases whenever it is practical and sensible to do so is taken into account from the earliest stages of a project. We pay particular regard to this aspect when considering new projects. As a consequence of these actions the proportion, by value, of contracts placed following competitive tendering is increasing. At the same time we are taking steps to ensure that competitive tendering is employed to the full by our contrators when they place work at the sub-contract level.
§ 50. Mr. Sternasked the Secretary of State for Defence what savings he expects to make in the current year from increased competition in defence procurement.
§ Mr. Norman LamontIt is not possible to quantify the overall savings which since the price we would otherwise554W have had to pay is not necessarily known. Savings in individual cases have been considerable, however, and our experience confirms that competition has a central role to play in our policy of achieving the best value for money in our defence procurement.