§ Mr. Wareingasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on his procurement policy for warships' propellers; what percentage have been purchased abroad; and what percentage was purchased in the United Kingdom in each of the last six years.
§ Mr. LeeThe policy for the procurement of Defence equipment, including propellers, is contained in the publication "Value for Money in Defence Equipment Procurement", Defence Open Government Document 83/01, a copy of which is in the Library of the House.
All contracts placed by the Ministry of Defence in the past six years for propellers for warships have been placed with United Kingdom manufacturers or through United Kingdom shipbuilders. The Ministry of Defence does not require contractors to notify their sources for lower value subcontracts and we cannot therefore determine what portion of work is undertaken overseas.