§ Mr. Alasdair MorganTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the inclusion of DERA West Freugh in the DERA public-private partnership.[125950]
§ Mr. HoonI refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 17 April 2000,Official Report, columns 366–67W, to my hon. Friend for Huddersfield (Mr. Sheerman), which outlined our proposals for the DERA public private partnership. These are described in more detail in the consultation document, a copy of which can be found in the Library of the House and on the internet at www.mod.uk/commercial/ppp/dera/. Under current proposals, we envisage that the capabilities provided by West Freugh will form part of the NewDERA company. It is, therefore, likely that West Freugh would transfer to the private sector.
Our proposals are designated to secure a long-term future for both NewDERA and those elements to be retained within the Ministry of Defence. The new freedoms proposed for NewDERA will open up a range of commercial opportunities not previously available and help secure jobs in the longer term.
No final decisions on the PPP will be taken until all the inputs received during the consultation exercise, which ended on 9 June, have been fully analysed. We hope to be in a position to make an announcement on the way ahead for DERA before the summer recess.