§ Mr. HepburnTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will set out, with statistical information,18W relating as directly as possible to the constituency, the effects on Jarrow of his Department's actions since 2 May 1997. [153558]
§ Dr. MoonieThe Ministry of Defence has a wide-ranging presence throughout the UK in terms of defence establishments and the service and civilian personnel they employ. This presence brings benefits to many communities, local economies and jobs. Also, 60,000 new defence contracts are placed each year that provide support to industry and create and sustain defence-related employment.
The Ministry of Defence has maintained a presence in the Jarrow area: within a 25-mile radius distance of the constituency, MOD direct employees totalled around 910 personnel (service and civilian) on average during the period of interest.
Since 2 May 1997, around 100 contracts with a total value of some £33 million were placed with prime contractors in the Jarrow area1.
I draw attention to the Defence Analytical Services Agency report "UK Defence Statistics 2000", which contains a welfare of defence statistical information, a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House.
1The decision as to where work under a particular contract will be undertaken rests with the contractor, therefore work on a contract placed with a prime contract in the Jarrow area may well be done elsewhere: similarly, contracts placed with contractors outside the Jarrow area could lead to sub-contracts on companies in Jarrow.