§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the total value of contracts placed by his Department with(a) subsidiaries of foreign companies and (b) British companies working in partnership with foreign companies in each of the last five years. [7740]
§ Mr. ArbuthnotThe management data held centrally covering MOD headquarters contracts do not provide details about whether the contractor is a subsidiary of a foreign company or a British company working in730W partnership with a foreign company. Consequently, with some 8,000 to 10,000 businesses receiving contracts each year, research to answer such a general question could be undertaken only at disproportionate cost.