§ Mr. Nigel EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the establishment of the Disposals Sales Agency responsible for the disposal by sale of stores and equipment surplus to the requirements of his Department.
§ Mr. FreemanThe Disposal Sales Agency was established as an agency within the Defence Export Services Organisation of the Ministry of Defence on 1 October 1994. The role of the agency is to provide a disposal sales service for surplus equipment, stores, spares and other material to the Ministry of Defence and the Department's agencies.
In the past, there have been major sales to other Governments of equipment in operational condition, in particular ex-Royal Navy ships; and other ranges of surplus equipment and stores provide considerable revenue to the Department each year. The skills of the disposal sales agency in identifying the best marketing opportunities and increased private sector involvement are the key to the future success of the agency.
The previous organisation was headed by a grade 6 civil servant, who has been appointed the agency's first chief executive. The agency has 100 employees.
The chief executive has been set the following key targets for the financial year 1994–95:
- 1. to achieve disposal sales revenue of £60.8 million
- 2. to introduce three new storage and marketing agreements—joint ventures—with industry.
- 3. to implement the first stage of a three-year programme of withdrawal of the agency from direct selling, other than Government-to-Government sales.
- 4. to improve efficiency by reducing the overhead of the agency's stores activity in Germany.
- 5. to establish an agency resource data base and interim output budget, incorporating full cost accruals accounting.
- 6. to develop performance indicators.
Copies of the agency's framework document are available in the Library of the House.