§ Dr. Lynne JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the sale of surplus weapons.
§ Mr. AitkenAs the Comptroller and Auditor General noted in the recent National Audit Office report on disposal by sale of defence surplus equipment and stores—HC 557—my Department has made good progress in establishing a unified organisation for disposal by sale. We are pursuing joint venture schemes with industry, aimed at tackling the exceptional disposal activity necessary in the next few years, which is on a scale unprecedented since the end of the second world war.