§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence who requested the secondment of the Deputy Chief Executive of the Defence Procurement Agency to Thomson-CSF; who approved it; what was the cost to his Department; and if he will make a statement. [127180]
§ Dr. MoonieThe secondment of the former Deputy Chief Executive of the Defence Procurement Agency to the UK headquarters of Thomson-CSF arose out of discussions between Ministry of Defence officials and the company's senior management and is part of the Ministry of Defence's wider interchange programme. As with all top level civil service appointments, it was approved by the Permanent Secretary. There is no additional cost to the Department as salary and associated costs will be reimbursed by the company for the duration of the secondment.
Several MOD officials are currently seconded to UK defence companies, and two are with major US defence companies. Secondments are a valuable means of ensuring that the MOD remains an intelligent customer and obtains best value for money. They are also in the spirit of modernising Government and public sector reform.