§ Mr. JenkinsTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the location of the permanent headquarters of the Defence Logistics Organisation. [93064]
§ Mr. Doug HendersonAs I announced on 5 May, we have decided to base the headquarters of the Defence Logistics Organisation (DLO) at Ensleigh in Bath, subject to consultation with the Trades Unions. We have now completed this period of formal consultation. Having fully considered the Trades Unions' representations, which included no major objections, I have decided that the collocation proposal should proceed. The permanent headquarters will therefore, be based at Ensleigh with a progressive move to be completed by 1 April 2000. The headquarters will be small and strategic and the vast majority of the DLO's staff will not be directly affected. The Trades Unions will continue to be continue to be consulted during the implementation of the transition to the new headquarters.
The chosen location is the best site to enable the Chief of Defence Ligistics to achieve real long-term gains through the business improvements in acquisition management and logistic support which his organisation will help to drive forward.