§ Mr. Home RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 25 November to the hon. Member for Gloucester (Mr. French),Official Report, column 700, if he will identify the principal equipment projects concerned in the payments of over £250 million to the Weir Group plc in the financial year 1990–91, as recorded in table 1.17 of "1992 Defence Statistics".
§ Mr. AitkenPayments shown against the Weir Group in table 1.17 of the "1992 Defence Statistics" include those to Devonport Management Ltd. by virtue of the fact that Weir Group was by a narrow margin the largest shareholder in the DML consortium. Some 97 per cent. of payments relate to DML's activity as the term contract holder for managing the Devonport dockyard licensed area and associated refitting and defect rectification of ships, submarines and other vessels, and other work required by the authority. Contracts placed with companies in the Weir Group, mainly for pumps, compressors and ancillary equipment, account for the remaining 3 per cent. of payments.
For clarity of presentation, DML will be shown separately in the "1993 Defence Statistics".