HC Deb 10 July 1996 vol 281 cc182-3W
Mr. Sheerman

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the annual cost of the Army Base Repair Organisation in each of the last 10 years. [36165]

Mr. Soames

This is a matter for the Army Base Repair Organisation under its framework document. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.

Letter from J. R. Drew to Mr. Barry Sheerman, dated 10 July 1996:

I am replying to your Question to the Secretary of State for Defence about the cost of the Army Base Repair Organisation (ABRO) in each of the last 10 years as this matter falls within my area of responsibility as Chief Executive of ABRO.ABRO was launched as a Defence Agency on 1 April 1993; you will understand therefore that it is not possible to provide financial information prior to that date. The Agency has however published and widely distributed its Annual Report and Accounts for each financial year since launch. The figures are as follows:

£ million
1993–94 1994–95 1995–96
Full costs 260.9 263.4 260.7
Cash expenditure1 156.0 155.6 155.7
1As a Defence Agency ABRO is still required to repor on a cash basis.

Mr. Sheerman

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to reduce or expand the Army Base Repair Organisation. [36164]

Mr. Soames

This is a matter for the Army Base Repair Organisation under its framework document. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.

Letter from J. R. Drew to Mr. Barry Sheerman, dated 10 July 1996:

I am replying to your Question to the Secretary of State for Defence about what plans he has to reduce or expand the Army Base Repair Organisation (ABRO) as this matter falls within my area of responsibility as Chief Executive of ABRO.ABRO is a Defence Agency and operates within the framework set out in the Framework Document. The role of the Agency is defined as the provision of base repair support to the Army in peace, transition to war and war. It is tasked to conduct repair and re-manufacture work by its Army and other customers.It is my job to ensure that the Agency conducts its business in the most cost effective way and to make proposals for the strategic direction of the Agency in the ABRO Corporate Plan. You may recall that in my letter to you of 12 June 1996, I explained that in recent years ABRO has been scaling down its in-house facilities to match capacity to the reducing requirement placed on it by the new defence profile. A major facility at Old Dalby in Leicestershire will close by the end of the year, while a smaller one at Ashford in Kent will close by the end of September. I also explained that I have been progressively exposing all the Agency's activities to commercial competition, through a vigorous Competing for Quality programme.The Agency will continue to seek to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of ABRO operations to deliver better value for the taxpayers' money. This will be achieved both through internal organisational improvements and through taut management of a very wide range (approaching 2,000 in number) of contracts placed with industry. It is demand from customers that will ultimately determine the expansion or reduction of ABRO activities.I have enclosed a copy of the ABRO Corporate Plan 1996 which explains the direction we are taking in greater detail and a copy of our Annual Report for 1995/1996. I hope that these are helpful to you.