§ Mr. BluntTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the value of new export contracts secured by the British defence industry between 1 May and 31 December 1997. [28311]
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§ Mr. SpellarInformation on defence related exports, which include support and infrastructure as significant elements as well as defence equipment, is recorded by the Defence Export Services Organisation. It includes information on contracts signed in each year, supplied by British industry on a voluntary basis. Every effort has been made to make the following information accurate, but the reports on which figures are based may not be complete.
The information is recorded on a quarterly basis. For the last three quarters of 1997 (ie 1 April-31 December 1997), the total value of new contracts recorded as signed was £4.73 billion.