§ Dr. CableTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of defence attachés' time was allocated to promoting military exports in the last five years. [140705]
§ Mr. SpellarI refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Great Grimsby (Mr. Mitchell) on 29 November 2000,Official Report, column 642W.
No comparable information is available for earlier years.
§ Dr. CableTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the occasions in the past two years when UK service personnel have been used to promote the sales of military equipment(a) in the UK and (b) abroad; and what income was derived from such activities. [140703]
§ Dr. MoonieMany staff in my Department contribute to the Government's support for defence exports. As an indication of the level of activity involved, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for South Derbyshire (Mr. Todd) on 16 November 2000,Official Report, columns 741–42W, which includes details of occasions when defence personnel, including service personnel, have been used to promote the sales of military equipment at specific events in the UK and overseas.
Defence exports save the defence budget around £400 million a year. These savings come from spreading fixed overheads over the longer production runs generated by exports, from the sale of surplus defence equipment and from receipts of commercial exploitation levy on equipment developed using public money.