§ Sir Ian Gilmourasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will specify the technical shortcomings found in Boughton's 1982 detachable rack off-loading pick-up system proposals; and if he will make a statement;
(2) if he will specify precisely which of his Department's stated requirements for detachable rack off-loading pick-up system the Boughton 1982 detachable rack off-loading system proposal for MMLC detachable rack off-loading pick-up system met less well than the Scammell MMLC; and if he will make a statement;
(3) if he will specify precisely which of his Department's stated requirements for detachable rack off-loading pickup system the Boughton 1982 detachable rack off-loading system proposals for IMMLC detachable rack off-loading pick-up system met less well than the Foden IMMLC; and if he will make a statement;
(4) if he will specify precisely which of his Department's stated requirements for detachable rack off-loading pickup system the Boughton 1982 proposals for the LM LC trailer met less well than the Craven Tasker Trailer; and if he will make a statement;
(5) if he will specify precisely which of his Department's stated requirements for detachable rack off-loading pickup system the Boughton 1982 flatrack proposals met less well than Marshal's; and if he will make a statement;
(6) precisly which of his Department's 1982 stated detachable rack off-loading pick-up system requirements the Boughton LHS proposals, as submitted to Scammell for incorporation into its MMLC, met less well than Multilift Mark 2; and if he will make a statement;
(7) precisely which of his Departments 1982 detachable rack off-loading pick-up system requirements the Boughton LHS proposals, as submitted to Scammell for incorporation into its MM LC proposals, met less well than Powell Duffryn; and if he will make a statement;
(8) precisely which of his Department's 1982 stated detachable rack off-loading pick-up system requirements the Boughton LHS proposals, as submitted to Scammell for incorporation into its MMLC, met less well than Multilift 4; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonThe Boughton's DROPS proposals were found to be technically inferior to those of the successful competitors in a number of areas. As I have indicated previously to my right hon. Friend, 15 January 1987 at column 308, I cannot disclose details of equipments tendered competitively by firms or the Department's assessments of them.
§ Sir Ian Gilmourasked the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what is the percentage increase between the production cost estimate submitted in 1982 for Scammell's MMLC detachable rack off-loading pick-up system chassis cab and the firm price for Scammell's MM LC now contracted; and if he will make a statement;
(2) what is the percentage increase between the production cost estimate submitted in 1982 for Foden 290W IMMLC detachable rack off-loading pick-up system chassis cab and the firm price for Foden's IMMLC now contracted; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonThe fixed prices secured from Foden and Scammel for production are lower in real terms than the production cost estimates it submitted in the 1982–83 competition.
§ Sir Ian Gilmourasked the Secretary of State for Defence precisely what quantities of (a) MMLC detachable rack off-loading pick-up system, (b) IMMLC detachable rack off-loading pick-up system, (c) flatracks, (d) trailers, (e) rail transfer equipment and (f) simplified RTE are included in arriving at the combined contract value of £220 million announced on Friday 5 December; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonIt is not normal practice to disclose exact details of the number of equipments ordered for operational use by the Services. However, as I announced to the House on 5 December, at column 840, the DROPS programme will cover some 2,000 vehicles and ancillary equipment.
§ Sir Ian Gilmourasked the Secretary of State for Defence what were the economic grounds for ruling out Boughton's in the 1983 detachable rack off-loading pickup system selection; if there is any particular reason for the use of the term economic; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonThe term "economic" refers to the programme costs indicted by the fixed and budgetary price estimates provided by Boughtons in the competition. These were considerably higher than those of the other competing firms.
§ Sir Ian Gilmourasked the Secretary of State for Defence (1) in what respect his Department's detachable rack off-loading pick-up system selection team in 1983 found Boughton's technical proposal lacking in completeness or less complete than its competitors; and if he will make a statement;
(2) which of the proposals of the detachable rack offloading pick-up system contenders in 1983 was adjudged by his Department's team to be superior in system appreciation and why; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonThe Boughton submission in the 1982–83 competition was judged to show a good appreciation of the requirements, being ranked joint second with two other contenders. It was judged less satisfactory than those of other contenders in terms of completeness, being more restricted in the range of vehicles and equipments offered and options.
§ Sir Ian Gilmourasked the Secretary of State for Defence if the chosen detachable rack off-loading pick-up system LMLC solutions of MMLC and trailer for use on roads meets road transport requirements while fully laden on roads in either the United Kingdom or Germany; if it is able to carry as great a load within such requirements as the Boughton proposal rejected by his Department; if legality was an argument advanced for the rejection of Boughton's in 1983; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonNone of the competitive proposals for a fully laden DROPS LMLC trailer combination could meet peacetime construction and use 291W regulations in the United Kingdom or Germany. Legal considerations were not paramount in the selection process for these combinations.