§ Mr. DonohoeTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what contracts his Department has had with(a) Robert Wilson and Sons Ltd., (b) Hillsdown Ambient Foods Group Ltd. and (c) their subsidiary companies during the last five years; what was the value of each of these contracts; what goods were supplied; and to what extent these contracts will be affected by the closure of the Robert Wilsons and Sons Ltd. plant in Kilwinning. [5057]
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§ Mr. ArbuthnotThe data held centrally for MOD headquarters contracts show that the following contracts have been awarded since 1993:
Robert Wilson and Sons (Est. 1849) Ltd. (part of Hillsdown Ambient Foods Group) Value £ 1995 Produced at Kilwinning Canned meats 333,000 Retort pouched meals 1,392,000 Pouched water 42,000 1996 Produced at Kilwinning Canned meats 222,400 Retort pouched meals 4,639,000 Pouched water 59,600
HL Foods (part of Hillsdown Holdings) Value £ 1994 Produced at Kilwinning Canned meats 265,000 Retort pouched meals 1,365,000 Produced at North Walsham Baked beans 38,000 1995 Produced at North Walsham Baked beans 49,000 1996 Produced at North Walsham Baked beans 66,000 The following contracts were placed with the former company Haywood Foods Ltd. part of Hillsdown Holdings plc:
Hayward Foods Ltd. (part of Hillsdown Holdings) 1993 Value £ Produced at Kilwinning Canned meats 244,000 Canned puddings 31,000 Retort pouch meals 1,491,000 Produced at North Walsham Baked beans 34,000 1994 Produced at Long Sutton Tinned carrots 19,000 The above companies are subsidiaries of the large Hillsdown Holdings plc group, which includes a large number of household name food, domestic goods, furniture and property companies, for example, and further research on those companies could be undertaken only at disproportionate cost.
Several of the contracts will be completed before the planned closure of the Kilwinning site early next year. Work that is not completed will be novated to another "sister" company within the Hillsdown Group and it is not expected that there will be any adverse effect on the MOD.