§ Mr. SpellarTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 5 July,Official Report, columns 173–74, when the royal naval aircraft yard Fleetlands bid for the Puma NVG contract; if the bid was the lowest; if 1219W other contenders were invited to resubmit their tenders; and if the final bid accepted was lower than that for Fleetlands.
§ Mr. FreemanThe royal naval aircraft yard Fleetlands submitted a budgetary estimate for the Puma NVG modification which contained a number of qualifications and exclusions particularly relating to the timeliness of delivery of modified aircraft to the concurrent firm price Puma navigation update programme. It was decided that placing the work with Fleetlands or with any organisation other than the PNU prime contractor would have exposed the Department to considerable financial risk arising from late delivery to the Puma aircraft. For this reason the NVG modification was not offered for open competition. The work, including acceptance of all risks arising from NVG modification delays, was awarded at higher cost to the PNU prime contractor under single tender arrangements and priced under the Departments stringent "no acceptable price no contract" procedure.