§ Mr. Soamesasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list all the equipment programmes in which he is experiencing management or contractual difficulties; and if he will specify what precise steps he is taking to overcome them.
§ Mr. Lee[pursuant to his reply, 23 June 1986, c. 27]: The cost of the MOD equipment programme is currently running at some £8.5 billion a year, and we have extant at any one time some 100,000 contracts. Clearly, in a programme of this size, it would not be possible to answer the question without totally disproportionate effort.