§ Mrs. Dunwoodyasked the Secretary of State for Defence from which companies and for what amounts orders have been placed to meet his Department's small arms ammunition requirement for 1986–87.
§ Mr. Norman LamontContracts for small arms ammunition for 1986–87 have been placed as follows:
- a. 17 million rounds of 7.62mm 1 ball/1 tracer on Royal Ordnance Small Arms, Radway Green;
- b. 4 million rounds of 5.56mm tracer on Fabrique Nationale, Belgium;
- c. 15 million rounds of 9mm ball on Dynamit Nobel of West Germany.
§ Mrs. Dunwoodyasked the Secretary of State for Defence with which companies his Department has entered into price linked contracts for small arms ammunition since 1981.
§ Mr. Norman LamontNone.
§ Mrs. Dunwoodyasked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the procedure for the submission of bids by foreign ammunition firms for defence contracts; and on what criteria selections of contracts are made.
§ Mr. Norman LamontBids are invited from recognised foreign ammunition firms that meet internationally agreed standards of quality. The criterion for selection is value for money, as stated by the Prime Minister on 13 January 1986, and as I made clear in the debate on the Army on 30 January 1986 at column 1182.
§ Mrs. Dunwoodyasked the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of his Department's 1986–87 small arms ammunition requirement will be open to overseas competition.
§ Mr. Norman LamontIt has not yet been decided to what extent the 1986–87 purchase of small arms 127W ammunition should reflect our stated intention of procuring about a quarter of the overall ammunition requirement for that year through competitive tendering.
§ Mrs. Dunwoodyasked the Secretary of State for Defence from which companies in the United Kingdom his Department has purchased small arms ammunition since 1981.
§ Mr. Norman LamontPurchases since 1981 have almost entirely been from Royal Ordnance plc. Apart from very minor requirements, the only other United Kingdom company from which purchases have been made is Eley Ltd.
§ Mrs. Dunwoodyasked the Secretary of State for Defence from which countries, and for what amounts, his Department has purchased small arms ammunition since 1975.
§ Mr. Norman LamontI shall write to the hon. Lady.
§ Mrs. Dunwoodyasked the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department plans to purchase additional ammunition from India.
§ Mr. Norman LamontWe have no plans at present to buy ammunition from India.
§ Mrs. Dunwoodyasked the Secretary of State for Defence what is his Department's requirement for small arms ammunition for 1986–87.
§ Mr. Norman LamontWe intend to order substantial further amounts of small arms ammunition in 1986–87. It is not our practice to disclose our total ammunition requirements.