§ Dr. David ClarkTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Cardiff, West (Mr. Morgan),Official Report, columns 473-74, if he will list those contractors that have quality management system certifications which have been (a) subject to assessment by his Department or (b) can be shown to be acceptable to the corresponding ministry in another NATO country.
§ Mr. AitkenApproximately 1,000 United Kingdom defence contractors hold quality system certification following assessment by MOD. They are listed in the "United Kingdom Register of Quality Assessed Companies" maintained and issued by the Department of Trade and Industry. The DTI register also identifies those United Kingdom contractors who hold quality system certification granted by third party certification bodies holding appropriate accreditation from the National Accreditation Council for Certification Bodies.
Each NATO MOD is responsible for identifying contractors with acceptable quality management systems, details of which are available to United Kingdom MOD, on request.