§ Mr. Hawksleyasked the Secretary of State for Defence what costings his Department made of the effect of implementation of the contracting-out of administrative functions at Royal Army Ordnance Corp's central depots; and if he will publish them.
§ Mr. LeeNo costings have yet been made. Feasibility studies at each of the affected depots must first be carried out to enable us to draw up specifications on the basis of which tenders can be issued. When tenders have been obtained and evaluated, their content will be "Commercial in Confidence" as is our usual practice. The details will not therefore be released; however, the evaluation will take proper account of the then current in-house costs, for comparison.