§ Mrs. Dunwoodyasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the dates in 1983–84 and 1984–85 on which contracts for 5.56 ball, tracer, and blank ammunition with the firms Dynamit Nobel, Hirtenberger Patronen, and Fabrique Nationale were signed; and if he will list the dates in 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84 and 1984–85 on which contracts for 9 mm ball and blank and 7.62 mm ball and tracer ammunition were signed with the firms Dynamit Nobel, Raufoss and Metallwerk Elisenhutte.
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§ Mr. Norman LamontIn the financial years specified, orders were placed on the listed companies for the relevant natures of small arms ammunition as follows:
Description Company Date placed 5.56 tracer Fabrique Nationale 11 January 1985 9 mm ball Dynamit Nobel 4 February 1985 7.62 tracer Raufoss 19 July 1984 7.62 ball Raufoss 5 October 1984
§ Mrs. Dunwoodyasked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he is satisfied that there is no element of dumping in the prices quoted by the nationally-owned firms Hirtenberger Patronen and the Fabrique Nationale for the supply of ammunition to Her Majesty's Government; and whether he will investigate the state subsidies involved.
§ Mr. Norman LamontThere is no evidence that prices quoted by Hirtenberger Patronen and Fabrique Nationale for the supply of ammunition to Her Majesty's Government have been artificially low. The basis of such quotations is a matter for the companies concerned.