§ Mr. StephenTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the systems to ensure that design and manufacturing faults discovered in military equipment while in service are notified to the manufacturers and that due account is taken of them before further equipment of the same type is supplied to Her Majesty's forces.
§ Mr. AitkenThe three armed services each operate systems for the reporting of defects in equipment and for the rectification of any faults. The continuing efficiency of these systems is currently under review. Where appropriate, action is taken with the supplier to remedy, at his expense, the reliability of equipment that in the light of in-service experience does not meet the contractual requirement. It has been, and continues to be, my Department's policy and practice to take any unsatisfactory performance by a contractor into account when making a decision regarding repeat orders or the placement of new contracts.
§ Mr. StephenTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps are taken to ensure that sufficient account is taken in the equipment procurement process of the advice 311W of warrant officers and non-commissioned officers whose duty it will be to repair and maintain the equipment once in service.
§ Mr. AitkenRepresentatives of the services' in-service support organisations play key roles both in project and integrated logistic support management, and especially in the specification, review and validation of maintenance proposals.